After discussion 鈥� and an appeal to official鈥檚 sense of legacy and morals 鈥� the Dallas city council voted to update the ethics code.
That includes updated disclosures for campaign staff, an amended subpoena process for ethics violations and a new standard of evidence.
That鈥檚 what came out of Wednesday鈥檚 meeting. But at least one council member questioned the city鈥檚 inspector general鈥檚 recommendation for a different way of evaluating evidence in ethics complaints.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson uncharacteristically stepped out of his administrative role to speak on the agenda item. He says this is a unique opportunity to leave a lasting impression on residents.
鈥淭his is one of those things where I think you have to make a decision about where you stand on this issue,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e, I think, should want to lead. And be at the vanguard, really, of any discussion when it comes to behaving ethically and honorably.鈥�
A high standard
Clear and convincing evidence is defined as 鈥渉ighly and substantially more likely to be true than untrue,鈥� according to a 1984 Supreme Court decision. That basically means the level of evidence needed to prove a violation is high.
According to Dallas Inspector General Bart Bevers, the city has relied on the standard for around 22 years. In that time, Bevers says there鈥檚 been five Dallas city council members convicted of felonies.
鈥淚鈥檓 in pretty good touch with folks in the [Inspector General] community,鈥� Bevers said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard anyone say anything close to that.鈥�
The city has an Ethics Advisory Commission. Its made up of 15 members. Five commissioners adjudicate a case at a time 鈥� if Bevers and his staff think they can prove it.
To do that, they have to show the complainant 鈥渋ntentionally and knowingly鈥� committed the violation.
But more than one Dallas official called to attention how the ethics system is made up.
The commission is appointed by council members. And the Inspector General鈥檚 Office reports to the City Attorney. Johnson says that system 鈥� and the current standard of proof 鈥� almost defeat the purpose of the policy.
鈥淭he standard right now is so high鈥t amounts to a difficult system to actually achieve the stated goal,鈥� Johnson said.
The amended code will change that standard to 鈥減reponderance of evidence.鈥� That means the threshold for trying ethics violations by city officials and employees is lower.
Reputations and Careers
Not every council member agreed with the change. District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley initiated two motions over the proposed ethics amendment.
The first was to delete the phase 鈥渘or admonish鈥� from a portion of the policy related to how city council members are to address city employees before them.
That section states: 鈥淐ity officials shall treat city employees as professionals and shall not berate nor admonish city employees.鈥�
Ridley says this is something that happens in the normal course of council business.
鈥淚t means, according to Merriam-Websters definition, 鈥榓 gentle or friendly reproof鈥�,鈥� Ridley said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think those kinds of comments should be a violation of our ethics code because they are part of the normal discourse.鈥�
That motion passed.
But the other was to keep the standard of evidence the same as it has been for over two-decades.
鈥淚 believe that the current standard of proof鈥hould be retained,鈥� Ridley said. 鈥淭hat is to ensure that the reputations and careers of people who are the subject of complaints are not unduly threatened or damaged by less than clear and convincing evidence.鈥�
Johnson formed a taskforce in 2021 to investigate how the city might create more trust between Dallas residents and local government. One of the key recommendations was to create an office of the inspector general and establish the advisory council.
He says this is about more than just policy.
鈥淚 think the impression we will leave on the public, if we leave that standard where it is鈥ill be bad,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚t will be a black-eye for us.鈥�
Rooting out bad apples
The motion to keep the standard of evidence the same failed 10-5. The city attorney鈥檚 office says the ordinance is forward facing and would be applied to cases after the change is made effective.
Bevers says with the new standard, the city can start to set and example that ethics violations will be taken more seriously.
鈥淚f you lower the standard鈥ou鈥檙e going to see more substantiated cases,鈥� Bevers said at Wednesday鈥檚 council meeting. 鈥淧eople are going to see that鈥nd that will affect their behavior.鈥�
Bevers says he researched 38 state inspector general offices to figure out what standard they use. All of them use preponderance of the evidence.
Johnson says he hopes the vote will rebuild trust between local government and Dallas residents.
鈥淭his is about representing people,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淎nd I think they want their government to be one that they feel like is interested in rooting out its own bad apples.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter .
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