Kennebunkport looks at adopting an ethics policy (Printed Dec. 21, 2007)
By Stowell P. Watters
Staff Writer
Kennebunkport does not have a town charter, instead, those who work for the town are guided by standards for elected officials passed down by the Maine Municipal Association (MMA). The state does not mandate the standards of conduct for elected officials and during a Dec. 14 selectmen meeting the town’s administrative codes committee (ACC) presented their concrete solution to obscurity: a new ethics policy.
“Every town needs a code of ethics or something similar. More and more concerns about people who work in the public sector – where checks and balances control the standard – kept popping up. Everyone just assumes people are going to be honorable and it’s best to just get it on paper,” said ACC member Peter Sargent.
The ethics policy is a list of can and cannots for all municipal employees. The nine-page draft outlines various rules and standards ranging from behavioral guidelines to definitions of commonly used terms. For example, the draft defines a town employee as any individual drawing pay from the town. The definition goes on to say “the term shall not include consultants or special personnel providing services on a short-term contractual basis.”
In addition to outlining the need for discretion and confidentiality, the draft also outlines the requirement for a positive workplace environment. At the presentation to the selectmen, ACC member Barbara Rencurrel recommended the board accept the policy as a “stand alone,” meaning that it will not initially be adopted into the town’s house-rule.
“We took a lot from the towns of Wells and York. Our final conclusion was that we wanted to do something that was tailored to Kennebunkport,” Rencurrel said. “What we ended up with is something we consider more of an educational doctrine. We did not incorperate a board of ethics… anyone elected or appointed must read and sign this document.”
She went on to say that the responsibility to uphold the code of ethics will fall upon the individual but will be upheld and overseen by the board of selectmen. She and Sargent were present at the meeting and clarified that the code be adopted on a trial basis: Rencurrel said “live with it, see how it works, if we do it this way we can change and amend it and incorporate it into administrative code after a the town attorney looks at it.”
The board tabled the draft not because they found it unnecessary, said Town Manager Larry Mead, but because they wanted another week or two to fully explore its content.
“The previous board of selectmen had created the ACC as an ad-hoc group to sort of come up with something to standardize the rules, so to speak, for municipal employees,” Mead said, adding that Jan. 10 the draft will again be on the selectmen’s agenda. Copies of the current draft are available at Kennebunkport Town Hall.
To contact Stowell P. Watters, call 282-4337 ext. 219 or email news@kennebunkpost.com.
Staff Writer
Kennebunkport does not have a town charter, instead, those who work for the town are guided by standards for elected officials passed down by the Maine Municipal Association (MMA). The state does not mandate the standards of conduct for elected officials and during a Dec. 14 selectmen meeting the town’s administrative codes committee (ACC) presented their concrete solution to obscurity: a new ethics policy.
“Every town needs a code of ethics or something similar. More and more concerns about people who work in the public sector – where checks and balances control the standard – kept popping up. Everyone just assumes people are going to be honorable and it’s best to just get it on paper,” said ACC member Peter Sargent.
The ethics policy is a list of can and cannots for all municipal employees. The nine-page draft outlines various rules and standards ranging from behavioral guidelines to definitions of commonly used terms. For example, the draft defines a town employee as any individual drawing pay from the town. The definition goes on to say “the term shall not include consultants or special personnel providing services on a short-term contractual basis.”
In addition to outlining the need for discretion and confidentiality, the draft also outlines the requirement for a positive workplace environment. At the presentation to the selectmen, ACC member Barbara Rencurrel recommended the board accept the policy as a “stand alone,” meaning that it will not initially be adopted into the town’s house-rule.
“We took a lot from the towns of Wells and York. Our final conclusion was that we wanted to do something that was tailored to Kennebunkport,” Rencurrel said. “What we ended up with is something we consider more of an educational doctrine. We did not incorperate a board of ethics… anyone elected or appointed must read and sign this document.”
She went on to say that the responsibility to uphold the code of ethics will fall upon the individual but will be upheld and overseen by the board of selectmen. She and Sargent were present at the meeting and clarified that the code be adopted on a trial basis: Rencurrel said “live with it, see how it works, if we do it this way we can change and amend it and incorporate it into administrative code after a the town attorney looks at it.”
The board tabled the draft not because they found it unnecessary, said Town Manager Larry Mead, but because they wanted another week or two to fully explore its content.
“The previous board of selectmen had created the ACC as an ad-hoc group to sort of come up with something to standardize the rules, so to speak, for municipal employees,” Mead said, adding that Jan. 10 the draft will again be on the selectmen’s agenda. Copies of the current draft are available at Kennebunkport Town Hall.
To contact Stowell P. Watters, call 282-4337 ext. 219 or email news@kennebunkpost.com.
Comments