Ethics board recommends code changes
The Lakeway board of ethics voted unanimously to recommend ethics code changes, which would prohibit city officials from misrepresenting their identity when talking about city business or elections, board chairwoman Laurie Higginbotham confirmed.
The recommendations were made in response to resident complaints filed with the board regarding Mayor Joe Bain’s false identity on the online forum Nextdoor.com, Higginbotham said. The revelation that the mayor was using the name John Smart to discuss the May election and city matters caused a furor among some Lakeway residents, including those who demanded the City Council or the board of ethics take action to investigate or remove Bain from office.
Higginbotham said there was “a lot of misconception” over the powers of the board.
“We followed the procedure in the code of ethics, and a subcommittee reviewed the complaints to see if they alleged anything actionable in the ethics code,” Higginbotham said. “The subcommittee didn’t find any provision in the code of ethics related to (Bain’s) behavior, but they all felt it was inappropriate and undesirable.”
The board voted to recommend adding language into the code that would prohibit any city official — employee, elected, appointed or volunteer — from discussing any city-related business while misrepresenting who they are. The language would not apply to law enforcement, Higginbotham said.
If someone violates the ethics code and a complaint is made, the board will again form a subcommittee, and then after that, an investigation by the entire board might take place. If the board determines wrongdoing, violators may face a range of consequences from a “verbal reprimand” to a recommendation for removal from his or her position, though that particular consequence doesn’t apply to elected officials, Higginbotham said.
“The code is narrowly written, and it primarily focuses on financially appropriate behavior, such as the taking and giving of bribes, things of that nature,” Higginbotham said. “This is in the interest of transparency and honest and fair dealings with the city.”
City Manager Steve Jones said he could see issues in the way the code changes were worded that city staff might address, but Bain praised the board for its “hard work” in a statement emailed June 21.