Press Release from the Office of the Mayor, David N. Cicilline

Providence - Today, Mayor David N. Cicilline fulfilled his pledge to create a formal ethics plan for the City of Providence. He received the work of the Mayor’s Ethics Task Force that included a draft municipal Code of Ethics Ordinance, a Providence Code of Ethics Handbook, and a recommendation for a Municipal Integrity Officer, at an afternoon news conference attended by the Task Force, city administrators and union5

Donald Iannazzi, Local Union 1033; David Peters, Local 799; Robert Panicchia, Providence Lodge #3 FOP; Rep. Stephen Smith, Teachers Union, and Joanne Micheletti, Providence School Department Clerical Union 1339, and Larry Roberti, AAPSA.

The city Ordinance incorporates all the provisions of state law but is more rigorous than the State Code of Ethics.

• It includes a ‘revolving door’ provision that prevents the hiring of elected officials for other City employment within a year of leaving their offices or positions;

• It augments sanctions that could be imposed for administrative, civil and/or criminal violations. It makes it clear that any infraction of the City Code can be considered and punished independently of a violation of the State Code of Ethics;

• It creates a position of Municipal Integrity Officer who will be responsible for ethics education for all municipal employees, elected and appointed officials and for the administration of the City’s Code of Ethics;

• It establishes a mechanism to educate officials and employees that conflicts of interest are not an option for any public servant, and to advocate for and foster a culture in which “the public interest remains the constant concern for all;”

• It creates a “plain English” handbook for public officials and city employees to guide them in potential areas of concern such as recognizing, disclosing and recusing themselves from situations which present conflicts of interest, and sets forth the process for seeking ethics advice and penalties for violations.

The Plan comes at the end of a 15-month study by a seven-member task force, first chaired by then-US Attorney Margaret Curran, and since managed by Vice Chair Kent Willever, executive director of the RI Ethics Commission. The Task Force was created soon after Mayor Cicilline took office to prepare the Ordinance, and to establish a plan that would create a culture of compliance through education, advocacy and guidance. It comes in fulfillment of the Mayor’s promise to restore ethics to city government and rebuild the public’s confidence in it.

“There can be no more important a trust than that between the public and those who serve them,” said Mayor Cicilline. “The principal mission of this effort is to encourage a culture of compliance with ethics rules and regulations. It will use education, training and advocacy to guide and encourage our city workers to know and appropriately follow laws and standards, and to feel comfortable reporting cases where confusion or possible violations occur.”

The Ethics Task Force met eight times between April 2003 and December 2003, and during that time, reviewed the present City Charter and Ordinances that included standards of ethical conduct; considered the qualifications and responsibilities of a Municipal Integrity Officer (MIO) to implement the City’s Ethics Code; examined the State Code of Ethics to determine areas the City might wish to make more stringent; and drafted a report with recommendations for a draft ordinance to “significantly tighten the City’s existing standards.”

“Ethics in government is the most basic of commitments public employees make with those whom they represent,” said Councilman Kevin Jackson, who will be the primary sponsor of this Ordinance. “The plain-English handbook will be an important resource for city workers who may or may not know how to act in a certain situation, like when they are presented a gift from the public.”

“The Task Force recognizes that only the combined efforts of the Mayor and the City Council can create the legal structure necessary to adopt these proposals and set the right ethical tone for the City,” said Alan S. Flink, Esq., a senior partner in the law firm of Edwards & Angell LLP, former President of the RI Bar Association and member of the Task Force. “ In the end, it will take the combined commitment of the Executive and Legislative branches of City government, together with the cooperation of all City public officials and employees, to bring about important and imperative ethical reform.”

“The vitality and stability of our City rest in public confidence that persons entrusted with public service will fulfill their duties in ways that are manifestly lawful, fair and impartial. An Ethics Code will restore confidence only as the people perceive that all who are elected or appointed or employed in public service guard against both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their everyday behavior,” the summary indicates.

Cicilline, who was elected on the message of change and “breaking the link” between money and jobs, said the creation of the Task Force and production of a municipal Ethics Ordinance and Plan were fundamental to the rebuilding of Providence’s reputation of excellence and that of its public employees.

“Providence is a great city, and the employees of this government are overwhelmingly devoted to faithful and excellent public service,” said the Mayor. “Today’s actions make it easier for administrators and employees alike to know the rules and to follow them.”

Members of the Task Force included: former United States Attorney Margaret Curran; Kent Willever, Esq., Executive Director of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission; Rita M. Williams of the Providence City Council; Providence City Solicitor Joseph M. Fernandez; former Rhode Island Bar Association President Alan S. Flink, Esq.; Dr. Alfred G. Killilea, Professor and Co-Director, Center for Ethics and Public Service; President of the South Providence Development Corporation and former State legislator Mr. Joseph E. Newsome; and Common Cause of Rhode Island Executive Director H. Philip West.