ETHICS PANEL HAS NO TAKERS

Nearly a year after voters approved the creation of a city Ethics Commission, the deadline for applying for charter membership is near. But as of Tuesday afternoon, no one had applied, said Gayle Conrad, deputy city clerk.

The deadline is Saturday. Anyone who wants to be on the seven-member commission must pick up an application by 5 p.m. Friday and mail it with a postmark no later than midnight Saturday, Conrad said.

City ordinance says members may not be state or local government employees, be employed as a lobbyist, be a member of any other government board, be an officer of a political organization, participate in a political campaign or be a convicted felon. After the City Council appoints the members, the ordinance calls for them to submit financial disclosure forms within 30 days.

The council modeled those requirements after state statutes governing the Missouri Ethics Commission, said Mayor Al Spradling III. He said he knew the requirements eliminated many people who normally serve on community boards; however, "We wanted to make it as clean as possible."

The law calls for the first members to draft bylaws to govern the commission's operations. The city charter gives the Ethics Commission broad powers to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by members of all city boards plus the city manager, chief purchasing officer and judge. It would recommend actions to the City Council, which has final authority to act.

Unlike the state Ethics Commission, which has the power to investigate the same people, the city Ethics Commission will make reports of all investigations of city officials who are not employees public when they submit them to the City Council. Also unlike the state commission, the city ordinance gives anyone the commission investigates the right to see copies of records it obtains during the inquiry.

Members will work without pay.

People can pick up applications at the city manager's office in City Hall, 401 Independence.