Toothless watchdogs?

T he fallout from the notorious Kentucky Derby junkets has raised serious questions about the ability of local ethics boards, staffed by appointed volunteers, to effectively enforce ethics rules.

The story is now familiar. Executives from Groton Utilities and Norwich Public Utilities, along with family members and selected friends, attended Kentucky Derby weekends from 2012 to 2015. All expenses were paid for the five-star treatment using funds channeled through the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, a quasi-public agency collectively owned by municipal utilities in the state and used to purchase power supplies.

There was no junket this year after news reports disclosed the annual overindulgence.

While a new state law should provide greater transparency of CMEEC finances, and its internal board has approved restrictions intended to prohibit such future excursions, only one public official has paid up.

After its investigation, the Norwich Ethics Commission recommended that Mayor Deberey Hinchey reimburse the city $1,945, the share it determined would have gone into a rate-stabilization fund if not spent on the trip. To her credit, Hinchey, who is not seeking re-election, paid up.

The Ethics Commission also recommended that NPU General Manager John Bilda and Division Manager Steve Sinko reimburse the city $15,560 each. Enforcement of the penalty was left to the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners. It has yet to act.

Instead, Bilda and his department went on the offensive, attacking the Ethics Commission for alleged procedural violations. It is beginning to appear that the two NPU executives won’t be paying up, ever.

Meanwhile the Groton City Board of Ethics has yet to rule on ethical complaints filed nine months ago against Groton Utilities executives.

Complicating matters is that the energy cooperative is itself not a part of municipal government, unlike the municipal utilities. That raises questions about the standing of the local ethics boards if the matter were to end up in court.

Several years ago this newspaper advocated for the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments to form a commission to hear ethics complaints and issue advisory rulings. The COG took steps in that direction, only to end the process when it realized it did not have the statutory authority.

In 2018, the legislature should consider providing such authority and give regional ethics commissions, where they are formed, some real teeth. Because try as they might, in this case, it appears the local ethics panels are relatively toothless.