The Ethics Question on Your Ballot for November 2020

Here’s what you should expect to see on your ballot with regards to the Board of Ethics:

(   ) YES  “Shall the Act be approved which revises the Board of Ethics for DeKalb County?”
(   ) NO

Here are the reasons why you should vote YES:

1. The Board of Ethics remains independent; no one under the purview of the Board of Ethics is making appointments to the Board.
   1. Unlike the 2019 bill, this bill does not provide for the CEO to make a Board of Ethics appointment and does not call for the Board of Ethics to submit its policies and procedures to review by the CEO and confirmation by the Board of Commissioners.
2. DeKalb employees continue to have direct access to the ethics office to express concerns about ethics violations.
   1. Unlike the 2019 bill, this bill does not require employees to funnel complaints about their immediate supervisor through the Human Resources Department and exhaust Merit System remedies before turning to the Board of Ethics.
3. The position of Ethics Officer is retained, and the Ethics Officer is still vested with the authority to investigate and file ethics complaints.
4. The Board’s authority to investigate and report to the public has not been weakened.
   1. The 2019 bill included a provision that required the Board of Ethics to abandon the investigation of elected officials or county employees if the resigned, retired or completed their term of office.
   2. The 2019 bill included a provision that prevented the Board from rendering any decision on a complaint against a candidate within 45 days of an election.