Agenda Item 6BAGENDA ITEM # 613
FEBRURAY 28, 2011
RESOLUTION NO. 11 -18
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA,
DECLARING ATLANTIC BEACH'S SUPPORT OF THE DUVAL
DELEGATION 2011 BILL J -6 RELATING TO ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY,
APPLYING IN ITS ENTIRETY TO THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH WITH
THE EXCEPTION THAT; IN ORDER TO PRESERVE ATLANTIC BEACH'S
HOME RULE AS AN INDEPENDENT MUNICIPALITY THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH SHALL ADOPT A SEPARATE CODE OF ETHICS FOR
THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH AND SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO
CHAPTER 602 ETHICS OF THE JACKSONVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE.
WHEREAS, the proper operation of responsible government requires that public
officials and employees be independent, impartial, and responsible to the people; that
government decisions and policy be made in the best interests of the people, the community and
the government; that public office not be used for personal gain, and that the public have
confidence in the integrity of its government, and
WHEREAS, public perception of our local government is at a record low, there is deep
felt, nationwide, pervasive and growing climate of mistrust for public officials with residents
feeling disengaged from their local government officials, and
WHEREAS, the lack of community education defining ethics and the expectations of
public servants increases ethical challenges, and
WHEREAS, good ethical behavior is essential to effective government operations, and
WHEREAS, local government should emphasize and enforce a high standard of ethical
expectations at all levels of public service, and
WHEREAS, the J -6 bill is the culmination of a citizen led directive with wide spread
support from citizen groups such as the Jacksonville Community Council, Women League of
Voters and the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County who in their support declared "that a
strong ethics officer is essential to a strong ethics commission and in the end it saves taxpayer
money ", and
WHEREAS, the State Ethics Commission handles certain offenses under Florida Law,
Chapter 112 and has no jurisdiction to assist local ethics commissions or to enforce local ethics
laws and an offense of a state law violation, would go to the state for handling, and a local ethics
offense would be handled here, locally, with the Duval County Ethics Commission, there is no
duplication in this area, and
WHEREAS, the training and education of Ethics translates into prevention of offenses,
and
AGENDA ITEM # 613
FEBRURAY 28, 2011
WHEREAS, this bill strengthens an existing framework within the county government to
aide in education, intervention and investigation, which the taxpayers of Duval County are and
have been supporting for many years, and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Atlantic Beach are also citizens and taxpayers of Duval
County, have contributed taxes for many years for these services and are deserving of these same
county services, and
WHEREAS, an amendment excluding Atlantic Beach would prohibit its citizens from
utilizing these services, limiting local oversight and accountability, and
WHEREAS, the denial of the citizens of Atlantic Beach access to these services would
be tantamount to taxation without representation, and
WHEREAS, the cost burden of creating and maintaining a separate Ethics Commission,
Officer and Hotline for Atlantic Beach alone after Atlantic Beach taxpayers have already
contributed to the funding of these services at the county level would represent double taxation
and be cost prohibitive, and
WHEREAS, the County of Duval has spent over two years working on assuring the
Ethics Officer, Commission and Hotline become independent in their duties in order to provide
citizens a means to ensure their representatives are responsible to their office, duties and
constituents, and
WHEREAS, the City Ethics Office has been effective in improving ethical standards
within Jacksonville city government, and
WHEREAS, the Jacksonville Council in recognizing the importance of this issue to
providing its citizens with good and fair government passed this legislation unanimously, and
WHEREAS, the Duval Delegation supports this legislation and requested the City of
Atlantic Beach Commission consider this issue and reach a consensus.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON BEHALF OF
THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH:
The City of Atlantic Beach fully supports the Duval Delegations passing of the 2011 J -6
Bill relating to Ethics, with removal of the amendment excluding Atlantic Beach from
this legislation and adopting an amendment which provides for Atlantic Beach in this
legislation and provides for each and every independent municipality within the County
of Duval's consolidated government the right to adopt and be governed by its own code
of ethics with all of the support and privileges provided by the County wide Ethics
Commission, Ethics Officer and Ethics Hot Line.
AGENDA ITEM # 6B
FEBRURAY 28, 2011
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Atlantic Beach this
day of February, 2011.
ATTEST:
Donna Bartle, City Clerk
Mike Borno
Mayor, Presiding Officer
Approved as to form and correctness:
ALAN C. JENSEN, ESQUIRE
City Attorney
AGENDA ITEM # 613
FEBRURAY 28, 2011
Duval Delegation Bill 2o11 J -6
J -6
AN ACT RELATING TO THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF
JACKSONVILLE, AS ESTABLISHED IN CHAPTER 67 -1320, AND
RECODIFIED IN CHAPTER 92-341, LAWS OF FLORIDA, ALL AS
AMENDED; RELATING TO ETHICS, THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE'S
ETHICS CODE, AND THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE'S ETHICS
COMMISSION; AMENDING ARTICLE 1 TO ADD A CHAPTER 2
(ETHICS) TO ESTABLISH AN ETHICS POLICY, TO AUTHORIZE THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ETHICS CODE AND AN ETHICS
COMMISSION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE CITY'S
CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE ETHICS
CODE; REPEALING SECTION 18.10 OF THE CHARTER; PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Section 1. Article 1, Charter, Amended. Part A, Article 1, of the Charter of
the City of Jacksonville, as established in Chapter 67-132o, and recodified in Chapter
9 - 34 1 , Laws of Florida, all as amended, is amended to divide Article 1 into chapters, to
title Chapter 1(Consolidated Government), and to create a new Chapter 2 (Ethics), all to
read as follows:
CHARTER LAWS
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE
ARTICLE i. GOVERNMENT AND ETHICS
CHAPTER 1. CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT
Section mol. Consolidated government.
Section mot. Cities of Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Neptune
Beach and Town of Baldwin.
CHAPTER 2. ETHICS
Section i.2oi. Declaration of Ethics Policy
The proper operation of responsible government requires that public officials and
employees be independent, impartial, and responsible to the people, that government
decisions and policy be made in the best interests of the people, the community and the
AGENDA ITEM # 6B
FEBRDRAY 28, 2017
government, that public office not be used for personal gain, and that the public have
confidence in the integrity of its government.
Section 1.202. Ethics Code, Ethics Commission.
The City of Jacksonville, acting in its capacity as a county, shall enact an ethics
code with jurisdiction over the officers and employees of the consolidated government of
the City of Jacksonville, its constitutional officers, and independent agencies and
districts, whether elected or appointed, paid or unpaid, and to the officers and
employees of the school district. The ethics code mom, as allowed bylaw, supplement
state ethics laws. The ethics code shall provide for an independent ethics commission,
whose membership shall have appropriate subject matter expertise, and which shall:
(a) manage a citywide ethics hotline for intakes of allegations of
violations of the ethics code;
(b) manage and coordinate the training and education of local officers
and emplo ey es in state and local ethics
(c) have the authority to refer ethics matters to appropriate enforcement
agencies;
(d) recommend changes in legislation to City Council in the areas of
ethics laws and administration, conflicts of interests, hotline policies,
ethics education, ethics in procurement, campaign ethics, and
lobbying;
(e) have jurisdiction to levy those civil fines or penalties authorized by
the City Council for violations of the City's ethics code;
(f) act as the hiring committee for the administrative staff of the ethics
oversight and compliance office;
and whose enforcement Dower is limited to the ethics code authorized by this section
and enacted by city council. A structure shall be established for the ethics commission
that ensures independence and impartiality
Section 1.2og Ethics oversight and compliance office. The ethics code shall
include the establishment of an independent citywide ethics oversight and compliance
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FEBRURAY 28, 2011
office to coordinate ethics training, ethics compliance, and ethics oversight issues and to
staff the ethics commission. The ethics code, ethics commission, and ethics oversight
and compliance office in place at the time of enactment of this section shall continue
until amended or altered by the Council.
Section 1.2o4 Administrative Support. Appropriate support, as determined by
City Council, shall be provided to the ethics commission and to the citywide ethics
oversight and compliance office to carry out its duties and responsibilities. This support
shall include a mechanism to obtain documents and testimony in connection with
violations of the City's ethics code.
Section 1.205. Ethics Education and Application of Ethics Laws.
Within go days after taking office, every elected official within the consolidated
government shall complete such ethics training as may be required by the ethics code.
This requirement shall apply to all elected officials within the consolidated government,
including, without limitation, the Mayor, all City Council Members, all Duval County
School Board Members, the Sheriff, the Supervisor of Elections, the Property Appraiser,
the Tax Collector, and the Clerk of the Circuit and County Court. Additionally, all such
elected officials shall be included in the definition of the term "officer" regarding any
ethics code definition referring to officers as any person elected to any City office and all
such elected officials shall comply with all laws applicable to officers in the city's ethics
code.
Section 2. Section 18.1o, Charter, Repealed. Having enacted a new
Chapter 2 to Article 1, which includes the provisions of Section 18.10 (Ethics education
and application of ethics laws), Section 18.10 of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville,
as established in Chapter 67 -1320, and recodified in Chapter 92 -341, Laws of Florida, as
amended, is hereby repealed.
Section 3. Effective Date. This act shall become effective upon becoming
law.
G: \SHARED \LEGIS.CC \2010 \Z.J -Bills 2010 - 2011 \Crescimbeni.Ethics.Article 1 Chapter V.6.doc