Ethics - Conflicts of Interest
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conflict of interest
:
- a conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities
of a person in a position of trust
- This is pretty simple if you ask me.
Conflicts of interest should simply not be allowed to exist in any
elected or appointed body in our city. Period.
Unfortunately, many such conflicts exist currently and have existed many
times in North Richland Hill's past. This practice should be put
to an end. Here are some current and
recent examples to consider:
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Tim Welch, my opponent, owns a civil
engineering firm that does work for clients that must come before the city
for their project approvals. He benefits personally if his clients'
projects are approved. Tim has had to abstain from voting
due to his conflict. The Mayor had to vote recently, maybe for the
first time in his career as a Council person or Mayor, to break the tie that
resulted. Did the Mayor or any other members of the council
give special consideration to Tim's personal interests when they cast their
votes? Would a citizen with a similar project who was not represented
by Welch's firm receive equal treatment?
-
Our newest council person, Suzy Compton, was
appointed by Mayor Trevino to fill the unexpired term of Frank Metts, Jr.
when he resigned his post. Ms. Compton has
a potential conflict since her brother is "a home builder in a neighboring
community"1.
Will her brother do any development in NRH now that she is on City Council?
If so, who's interests will she represent? Hopefully this
particular issue won't come up during her term on the Council.
Stay tuned.
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Mayor Trevino had conflicts of his own as his
construction company did a major portion of the reconstruction work on Rufe
Snow Drive while he was acting as Mayor. He also received special
favors from BISD and fellow Council members when he was allowed to locate
his concrete plant next to city facilities located on Dick Fisher Road.
The Council voted to rezone the land to allow the plant
to be built despite objections raised by residents of a nearby neighborhood.
Would another construction company have received the same courtesy as Mr.
Trevino's company? I think not. Mayor Trevino is not on the
ballot this year but he is an active supporter of the incumbents that are.
Do any of our current council members swap favors? I don't know for
certain.
The real question is, should we have to wonder? Should there be obvious or
likely conflicts of interest on the part of those that make the rules that the
rest of us have to follow? Are we being represented fairly?
The city has a code of ethics
but it does not appear to get much attention from city leaders. The Ethics
section from our NRH City Charter
follows:
SECTION 13. ETHICS.
(1) No elected or
appointed officer or employee of the City shall benefit unduly by reason
of his holding public office.
(2) No officer or
employee having a direct or indirect interest in any proposed or
existing contract, purchase, work, sale or service to or by the City
shall vote or render a decision, or use his position, authority or
influence in a manner that would result in his financial betterment to
any degree. Further, any elected officer shall publicly disclose any
such interest upon assumption of office or prior to consideration of any
such matters. This provision is cumulative to Article 371 and 373 of the
Penal Code, and all other applicable laws in regard to elected officers.
(3) Failure to comply
with any provisions of the foregoing Section 13 (1) or 13 (2) shall
constitute malfeasance in office and any officer or employee failing to
so comply shall immediately forfeit his office or position, and said
office or position shall be deemed vacant.
(4) Any violation of the
foregoing Sections 13 (1) or 13 (2) with the knowledge, express or
implied, of persons or corporations contracting with the City shall
render the contract voidable by the Council.
I am unaware of any public declaration made by any current member of the Council
when they assumed office, in accordance with the ethics rules of our City
Charter. Should we just ignore the Charter and overlook these conflicts?
You be the judge.
As I mentioned at the outset, these are only a few current examples of
conflicts that exist in our city leadership. I know of others that I
would like to document here, as time permits. Perhaps some of you have
personal experience with or have suffered from the abuses that resulted from such
conflicts in our city leadership. If so, let me hear from you. Now is the time to do
something about it and set things right.
1 - NRH City Council Meeting, Dec. 13, 2004
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