King County Board of Ethics
Department of Executive Services
The Chinook Building
401 Fifth Avenue, Suite 131
Seattle, WA 98104-1818 CNK-ES-0131
206-296-1586 Fax 206-205-0725
board.ethics@kingcounty.gov
www.kingcounty.gov/ethics

KING COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MEETING NOTICE

AGENDA

1. Approval of Agenda

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of April 20, 2009

3. Statement of Principles. Status report

4. 2009 Financial Disclosure Program . Status report.

5. Education and Training . Mid-year report

6. Board of Ethics Membership

7. Staff Report

   • Staff informational response summary
   • Office staff - status
   • Ombudsman findings on complaint 2008-02364
   • Future board meeting schedule - save the date September 21, 2009

Upon advance request, reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available by calling 206-296-1586 or TTY Relay: 771

Minutes of the June 15, 2009, meeting of the King County Board of Ethics

The June 15, 2009, meeting of the King County Board of Ethics was called to order by Acting Chair Watanabe at 9:33 a.m. Board members in attendance were:

Gunbjorg Ladstein
Bruce C. Laing
Anne J. Watanabe, Acting Chair

Roland H. Carlson and Lois Price Spratlen had excused absences.

Others in attendance:

Catherine A. Clemens, Executive Director, Board of Ethics
Kathryn Killinger, Senior Deputy Prosecutor, Board Counsel
Michael Strouse, Administrator, Department of Executive Services

1. Approval of Agenda. Following discussion, Mr. Laing moved that the proposed agenda be amended to move item #6, Board of Ethics Membership, to the end of the agenda; Ms. Ladstein seconded the motion. With the re-ordering of items, the board unanimously adopted the motion and approved the proposed agenda.

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes of April 20, 2009. With minor corrections, Mr. Laing moved and Ms. Ladstein seconded that the board approve the April 20, 2009, meeting minutes. The board unanimously adopted the motion and the minutes were approved.

3. Statement of Principles. Ms. Clemens briefed the board, referring to a memo dated March 19, 2009, from Executive Director Eric Johnson to the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) executive board delivered at its March meeting. In particular, Ms. Clemens noted his four recommendations: 1) adopt a resolution to support the King County Multi-lateral Statement of Principles; 2) create a model resolution that other counties can utilize to adopt the general principles of the King County Multi-lateral Statement of Principles; 3) work with MRSC to disseminate and collect county "Ethics in Public Service" ordinances, codes and policies; and 4) conduct "Ethics in Public Service" breakout session at the WSAC November conference. Of the four recommendations, Ms. Clemens noted that the board did adopt a resolution to support the King County Multi-lateral Statement of Principles a copy of which was included in board packets. Due to the Washington state legislative session, recommendations 2 and 3 had not yet been realized. However, Ms. Clemens has sent messages to Mr. Johnson responding to his 4^th recommendation to explore how the county might participate at the November WSAC conference, and will report on that information as it becomes available. Mr. Laing commented that Mr. Johnson's follow-up actions as noted in the memo were positive.

4. 2009 Financial Disclosure Program. Ms. Clemens briefed the board with a status update on the 2009 financial disclosure program. As of the April 15^th deadline at 4:30 p.m., 99.5% of 3,404 individuals required to file were in compliance. As of June 9, all five non-compliant county employees had now filed; three of the 12 board members had not yet filed. In addition, four of the five individuals who requested suspensions had filed - the remaining individual is serving overseas and is expected to file in August. Ms. Clemens has communicated with the Office of Citizen Complaints - Ombudsman to ask if that office plans to take any action or if it has jurisdiction to do so. The Ombudsman may only act on signed complaints related to ethics violations. In response to a question of whether the Board of Ethics might sign a complaint, Ms. Clemens explained that such an action might later present a conflict since appeals on findings are filed with the ethics board. Mr. Laing suggested that copies of notifications to non-compliant board and commission members also be sent to the board chair. Ms. Clemens agreed and will add that step in the notification process. The board expressed approval of the program.

   Finally, Ms. Clemens noted that the current challenge is to educate department disclosure coordinators and human resource personnel to ensure that newly hired or promoted employees who fall into affected job categories, file throughout the year. The ethics office will send reminders at least twice during the course of the year to encourage proper timely filing.

5. Education and Training. Ms. Clemens briefed the board with a mid-year report on the 2009 ethics education and training program conducted by the executive director. Since 2003, she has provided in-person ethics education and training to an average of 1,911 individuals annually or approximately 15% of county employees. An overview of this training, found on the ethics Web site, was provided. Categories of employees and number of attendees as of June 9, 2009, were new employees 453; directors and deputies 154; supervisors 84; contract managers 80; human resource personnel 45; and disclosure program staff 33. Based on these figures, 849 individuals have received ethics training in 47 sessions over 34 hours; each hour of class time requires an average of one hour of preparation and/or travel. Ms. Clemens reviewed positive survey data related to the ethics program and outlined future training initiatives which may include developing a 'refresher' course offered to supervisors who have previously taken the mandatory half-day seminar. The course will be shorter and will focus on interactive ethics discussions and solving ethics dilemmas. The goal is to offer refresher courses beginning 2010.

6. Staff Report. Staff informational response summary. The executive director issued 28 written staff informational responses (SIR) between April 13 and June 5, 2009, as requested by employees and elected officials of King County. Ethics issues addressed by the responses are: use of position; lost and found item disposal; employees serving on non-profit boards (4); lobbyist contributions; employee relationships with outside vendors; employee solicitation of vendors for county initiatives (4); employees using county resources to sell personal products; acceptance of vendor-provided meals/events (4); nepotism; complaints - how to proceed (2); use of county resources - interoffice mail and private mail deliveries; potential conflict for board members; whistleblower protections; filing requirements for county office candidates; outside/secondary employment (2); campaign activities; and honorarium. Office staff - status. The ethics office hopes to hire a .5 FTE but is awaiting budget outcomes. Ombudsman findings on complaint 2008-02364. Members were provided with a copy of the findings on the matter resulting in no reasonable cause. Future board meeting schedule - save the date September 21, 2009. Ms. Clemens reviewed plans for the annual leadership reception on September 21; board members confirmed their attendance.

7. Board of Ethics Membership Terms. Ms. Clemens briefed the board regarding the process by which the board nominates a new chair of the board under KCC 3.04.080. The board discussed whether it should proceed without the two members present, the board chair and Mr. Carlson. However, they determined that under the Code of Ethics, the chair is specifically not included in the group to determine the list of nominees to be submitted to the executive. In addition, Mr. Laing provided a copy of an email he received from Mr. Carlson stating his recommendation of how to proceed. Ms. Clemens also noted that she recently facilitated a conference call with Dr. Price Spratlen and Mr. Carlson in which they discussed the nomination which supported Mr. Carlson's email. Ms. Clemens was asked to provide the follow-up summary email of the call to the other three members to ensure that all points of view were taken into consideration. Given that all four members could be represented, the board determined to go forward. Ms. Watanabe and Mr. Laing were willing and able to serve; Mr. Carlson and Ms. Ladstein declined. Ms. Ladstein stated she was comfortable supporting Ms. Watanabe given her seniority on the board and her experience. All agreed that they would be pleased to support the final appointee. Ms. Ladstein moved that the board submit to the executive a list of two names - Ms. Watanabe and Mr. Laing - for nomination as chair to the Board of Ethics. Mr. Laing seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

   There being no new business, Mr. Laing moved and Ms. Ladstein seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The board unanimously approved the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 10:38 a.m.

Approved this --17^th day of August, 2009, by the King County Board of Ethics.

Signed for the Board: __________________________________________________

Gunbjorg Ladstein, Acting Chair