By Matthew Bartosh
Contributing Writer

The Boerne City Council approved on first reading a clearer, more stringent ethics ordinance that upgrades a resolution passed in October 2006.

Mayor Dan Heckler said the ordinance represents an attempt to rid the city’s ethics policies of ambiguity by using transparent, well-defined language.

The ordinance was prepared by Bradford Bullock, an attorney with the law offices of Wm. M. McKamie, P.C., and he used as templates ordinances from cities across the state.

“It is an amalgam of several ordinances that have passed through several legal minds,” Bullock said.

One hang-up City Council worked its way through on July 22 concerned potential conflicts of interest regarding city commission or committee members, and their families, who also serve on the boards of nonprofit organizations.

As it was presented, the ordinance did not prohibit council members from acting on items concerning nonprofit organizations on whose board they, or family members, serve. According to Councilman Bob Manning, that is an unwise exclusion.

“I think we need that clarity around ourselves, our spouses, and our families,” Manning said.

Manning argued for transparency and specificity, suggesting that committee members recuse themselves from voting when facing these situations, and the council agreed. Bullock pointed out that this policy modification exceeds what is generally accepted across the state, and he said the onus is now squarely on committee members to recognize conflicts of interest and to act accordingly.

“It disappoints me about (other cities), but it doesn’t scare me about us,” Manning said. “This is not that big of a sacrifice. It’s easy to do.”

The Council also discussed a carryover policy from the previous ethics resolution, which forbids committee members from addressing the committee on behalf of other entities, including their own business.

Councilman Rob Ziegler said: “That’s one of the items that prompted the fact we needed an ethics code back in 2006. It was a regular thing to have a commissioner recuse himself and then turn around and make the presentation.”

He added, “It just doesn’t look right. It’s perception.”

Councilman Jeff Haberstroh disagreed and took particular umbrage with the policy’s provision that precluded him from representing his own business in front of the council if necessary. The council decided to address the issue further in next month’s meeting and asked Bullock to bring variations representing the differing opinions.

At the July 22 meeting, the council also appointed Michael Latimer to fill the alternative municipal court prosecutor vacancy.