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Tag Archives: City of Austin Ethics Review Commission

Ethics commission finds Prop J PAC violated campaign finance laws

After hours of politically caustic testimony, the Ethics Review Commission found at its May 8 meeting that the No on Prop J political action committee had violated city ethics codes by failing to disclose a $10,000 donation in a timely…

Austin City Hall front

Rodriguez case fails to find agreeable settlement

In a novel solution, the Office of the City Auditor and Frank Rodriguez presented a settlement agreement to the Ethics Review Commission at what should have been the final hearing on the case May 8. However, ethics commissioners felt the…

Ethics commission loses some duties

Austin’s Ethics Review Commission will no longer be looking at allegations of ethics violations related to most city employees. On Thursday, City Council approved changes to the ordinance governing the commission’s authority after ensuring that reports about such allegations would…

Ethics violation raises questions about city laptop policies

DeShawn Scott, a temporary administrative specialist in the Public Works Department, left his position in December after the Office of the City Auditor opened an investigation into Scott’s use of his city computer for purposes related to his two outside…

front of City Hall

Ethics Commission looks into omission of PAC donation

How does one forget to report $10,000? That was the question of the evening for the Ethics Review Commission at its March 13 convocation. In a complaint filed by Fred Lewis last November, he accused the No on J political…

front of City Hall

Despite statute of limitations, ethics commission moves forward with Rodriguez case

More than a year after Austinites and reporters raised questions about Frank Rodriguez’s continued ties to Latino HealthCare Forum, a nonprofit he founded while he was serving as a senior policy adviser for Mayor Steve Adler, the issue came before…

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Ethics Review Commission dismisses case against Human Resources director

The city of Austin professes to have a “mother-friendly” work environment that supports new moms and working parents. However, a complaint filed in December by the Office of the City Auditor brings that policy into question. The complaint filed by…

'Valid' ethics complaint dismissed for being unconstitutional

Last October, Mayor Steve Adler’s campaign manager, James Wick, filed an ethics complaint against Megaphone GPAC, a general purpose political action committee opposing the mayor’s re-election. At the time, several attorneys opined that the complaint would be dismissed due to…

Reporter’s Notebook: The bonus no one wanted

Violations that make lawyers giggle… On Jan. 9, the Ethics Review Commission heard the preliminary case of DeShawn Scott, an administrative specialist in the Public Works Department, who used his city computer for purposes related to his own outside businesses: Texas…

Austin Energy employee accused of fraud found to be 'not in violation'

After three hours of discussion surrounding the definition of “intent” in application to fraud, the Ethics Review Commission found Curtis Graves, Austin Energy’s former superintendent of system operations, not in violation of city code by virtue of three votes. “You…

Camelback is back, but this time at the Ethics Review Commission

After so much contention and inflamed passions on both sides, it’s no surprise that the story of the Camelback planned unit development did not end with the Nov. 1 approval by Council. On Dec. 12, the Ethics Review Commission heard…

Ethics Review Commission declines to weigh in on city anti-discrimination and harassment policy

City Council recently asked the Ethics Review Commission to review its proposed amendments to the anti-discrimination/anti-harassment portion of the City Code, which includes language such as “No City official or employee shall engage in conduct or use language that is…

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