Complaints Received and Heard by Town Ethics Boards or Commissions

Topic:
ETHICS CODE; MUNICIPALITIES;
Location:
CODE OF ETHICS; MUNICIPALITIES;

OLR Research Report


April 14, 2004		2004-R-0385
COMPLAINTS RECEIVED AND HEARD BY TOWN ETHICS BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS

By: Sarah Black, Legislative Fellow

You asked for an update of OLR Report 2002-R-0315, which lists the number of complaints received and heard by ethics boards or commissions in various towns.

SUMMARY

We contacted the mayor’s office, selectman’s office, town clerk, or other appropriate authority for each of the 27 towns shown in Table 1. In some cases, we contacted the chairman or a member of the ethics board or commission. Table 1 shows (1) the number or frequency of complaints the ethics board or commission received, (2) whether there was a hearing on those complaints, (3) the general procedure for dealing with complaints, and (4) miscellaneous information.

Most of the people we spoke with used personal knowledge or anecdotal data to answer the questions. In general, the boards or commissions reported they received few complaints. However, the number constituting “few” varied by town. For example, Meriden said it did not receive many complaints, yet its one complaint per year is high in comparison to other towns. Similarly, Ridgefield noted that complaints were few and far apart. Yet, it received its last complaint less than a year ago. In contrast, Clinton reported that it received only two complaints in the past 20 years.

Table 1: Ethics Complaints and Hearings by Town

*Town*	*Name*	*Complaints*	*Hearings*	*Miscellaneous*
Ansonia	Board of Ethics	1 complaint in the last 4 years	Upon receipt of a complaint, the board holds a hearing and makes a ruling.
Berlin	Code of Ethics Board	No information available		The town clerk had no information about this board.
Branford	Board of Ethics	2 complaints in the last 9 years. One of these complaints was made recently while the other was made over 3 years ago.	Hearings are conducted according to the procedure in the town ethics ordinance.
Bristol	Board of Ethics	No complaints in the last 3 years. However, the board has received 2 complaints in the past 5 1/2 years.	When the board receives a complaint, it has a confidential hearing to determine if there is probable cause. If probable cause is found, it holds a full hearing.	Complaints handled according to ethics ordinance § 2-124
Burlington	Ethics Commission	No information available		First selectman’s office had no information about this commission.
Clinton	Board of Ethics	2 complaints received in the last 20 years	The board holds a meeting upon receipt of any complaint.
Derby	Ethics Board	No information available		According to the mayor’s office, Derby currently does not have an ethics board. However, according to the Derby website, they have a board that meets monthly.
Easton	Board of Ethics	1 complaint received within the last 2 years. Additionally, a new board is currently meeting for the first time and it has a couple of new complaints to address.	The board holds a hearing upon receipt of any complaint.

Table 1 continued

*Town*	*Name*	*Complaints*	*Hearings*	*Miscellaneous*
East Windsor	Ethics Commission	None		The commission was established to set policy for the town and has recently reconvened. It has functioned as a steering committee for rules rather than a body to deal with complaints.
Enfield	Ethics Commission	Infrequently receive complaints. No complaint that led to an investigation has been received in the last 5 years.		There was a flurry of complaints when the commission was first established in 1986, but lately there have been no complaints.
Glastonbury	Ethics Commission	None		The commission was formed in the fall of 2003. It is still setting rules and procedures.
Mansfield	Board of Ethics	No information available		Town council and town clerk had no information about this board.
Meriden	Board of Ethics	About 1 complaint per year	The board holds a meeting upon receipt of any complaint.
Monroe	Board of Ethics	Not very many		The board has only been in existence for a couple of years.
New Britain	Board of Ethics	No information available		Neither the mayor’s office nor town clerk had any information about this board.
New London	Board of Ethics	No complaints received in the last 3 years
North Haven	Ethics Board	No complaints received in the last 2 years

Table 1 continued

*Town*	*Name*	*Complaints*	*Hearings*	*Miscellaneous*
Norwich	None	No information available		According to the mayor’s office, Norwich does not have an ethics board or commission.
Old Saybrook	Ethics Commission	2 complaints received recently	The commission determined that no action was necessary on these complaints.	Commission has regular bimonthly meetings and discusses any complaints it received.
Orange	Board of Ethics	The most recent complaint was received in about 2001. Before 2001, there had been no complaints for a long time.	For the 2001 complaint, the board had a hearing and decided that no further action was necessary. Therefore, there was no public hearing.
Ridgefield	Board of Ethics	No complaints in the last 6 months to a year. Complaints are few and far apart.	The board meets quarterly whether or not there is a pending complaint.	The board is governed by § 11-9 of the town charter.
Southington	Board of Ethics	No information available		The town clerk had no information about this board.
Stonington	Code of Ethics Commission	None	None	A February 1999 ordinance allows the town to establish the commission if necessary. Because there have been no complaints, the town has never established the commission.
Suffield	Ethics Commission	3 –7 complaints or requests for advisory opinions per year
Torrington	Board of Ethics	2 or 3 complaints in the past couple years	The board meets when it receives any complaint.

Table 1 continued

*Town*	*Name*	*Complaints*	*Hearings*	*Miscellaneous*
Trumbull	Ethics Commission	No information available		The first selectman’s office and town clerk did not have information about the number of complaints received. If the commission decides that a complaint does not warrant a hearing, then the town offices will not know about the complaint as the commission reviews complaints in executive session.
Winchester	Ethics Commission	Very few		The commission was defunct but has been re-established with new members in the last six months.

SB: nf

Name

Name

Name

Name