Laserfiche WebLink
CHAPTER I <br />THE OATH OF OFFICE: <br />ETHICS, LIABILITY AND BEST PRACTICES <br />By: Tami A. Tanoue, CIRSA Executive Director & <br />Sam Light, CIRSA General Counsel <br />A typical oath of office might go as follows: <br />"I solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution and laws of the <br />United States of America and the State of Colorado, [the Charter,] the ordinances <br />and other laws of the City/Town, and that I will faithfully perform the duties of the <br />office upon which I am about to enter." <br />With the passage of time since you took office, does your oath have continuing meaning <br />as an ethical commitment? This chapter examines the oath as a commitment to best <br />practices in carrying out your responsibilities, and as a path to avoiding liability. Well <br />focus on four key areas: allocation of responsibilities, transparency in meetings, quasi- <br />judicial rules of engagement, and personal conduct. <br />Honoring the Allocation of Responsibilities <br />As in other levels of government, municipal powers and responsibilities are typically <br />allocated among the governing body, judge, staff, and possibly others, according to charter <br />or statutory requirements. Thus, for instance, the governing body is responsible for all <br />legislation, the municipal judge is responsible for determining ordinance violations, and <br />the manager/administrator and staff are responsible for administrative matters. <br />To the extent the charter or statutory provisions set forth a clear allocation of <br />responsibilities, respecting that allocation is part of an elected official's oath. Inappropriate <br />involvement in administrative matters, then, could be a violation of your oath. <br />Personnel matters are among those in which inappropriate involvement tends to occur. <br />The governing body typically supervises a limited number of its own direct reports — <br />for example, the chief administrator, judge, attorney, and perhaps a few others. As an <br />individual elected official, if you are asked by an employee who's not one of the governing <br />body's direct reports to become involved in an employment issue, or if you take the <br />initiative to become involved, that could be a red flag in terms of your oath to respect the <br />allocation of responsibilities. <br />7 <br />