TITLE
Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare an ordinance to amend and restate Chapter 2.07 of the Long Beach Municipal Code to adopt a revised Code of Conduct and Ethics, as proposed by the Ethics Commission. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On December 9, 2020, the Ethics Commission (Commission) identified the need for a Commission Action Plan and the development of a Code of Conduct and Ethics (Code) for City of Long Beach (City) officials and staff. The Commission created an ad hoc committee to focus on the development of the Code to be included as an integral foundation for a formal Ethics Program.
The ad hoc committee worked with City staff to review the City’s existing Code and gather best practices to present a draft of the updated Code to the full Commission for approval. The Code was approved by the full Commission.
On July 14, 2021, the Commission received feedback on the Code from City Departments and internal stakeholders. The Commission made additional edits based on the feedback, and on February 2022 the meet and confer process began with the City’s labor organizations. On August 25, 2022 the City closed out the meet and confer process with the final labor organization. City staff provided additional information on the Ethics Education Program, which is currently under development. The Code did not change as a result of the Meet and Confer process. On September 14, 2022, the Commission approved the proposed Code and referred it to the City Council for an update to Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Chapter 2.07 for codification.
Code of Conduct and Ethics
The Commission respectfully requests that the City Council directs the City Attorney to draft an Ordinance to replace the current Code of Ethics in LBMC Chapter 2.07 with the revised Code of Conduct and Ethics proposed by the Commission, and agreed upon by labor organizations. The proposed Code includes a values statement that highlights the importance of having a government that operates...
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