The Long Beach Ethics Commission introduced the updated Code of Ethics for Long Beach employees and staff and shared their plans to create a more equitable city. The code was passed unanimously and adopted as part of the City’s ordinances.
The new code is a four-page document for City employees, elected officials, volunteers, board members, commissions and committees, which includes a values statement and specific principles for City staff to pledge to.
Values highlighted in the code are accountability, equity, impartiality, diversity, transparency and integrity.
Ethics board member Susan Wise said the ordinance will also serve as the “foundation” of all of the Ethics Commission’s work for the next few years, specifically for the education training aspect.
“Our goal is to create an ethical culture within the city to have everyone look at their work and what they’re doing and how they’re treating people through an equitable lens,” Wise said.
The City drafted its first Code of Ethics in 2003, and in 2020 the Ethics Commission recognized the need for an update as well as a formal Ethics Education Program. An ad hoc committee was created to draft an update, which then went through rounds of edits following feedback from City departments, labor organizations and internal stakeholders.
“It’s good to see this progress, us having a value statement, us having a code of conduct that will be codified into an ordinance … and us showing a real commitment to ethics. This is going to increase accountability for all of the employees in the city of Long Beach, including elected officials.”
Councilmember Al Austin
The Ethics Commission is a seven-member team that focuses on implementing the City’s Charter, statutes and ordinances particularly pertaining to campaign financing, lobbying, conflicts of interests and developmental ethics.
The creation of the Ethics Commission was part of Measure CCC approved by Long Beach voters on Nov. 6, 2018.
“I think updating our code of conduct is smart. As I look through it I see a lot of things that we’re being held accountable to by state law and it’s all presented in one way,” Vice Mayor Rex Richardson said. “I also want to note, based on conversations with board members, there was really a need to expedite the implementation [of the code of ethics] or have more capacity to deal with issues as they arise. I know there were issues over the course of the last year.”
The Ethics Commission received a one-time allocation of $100,000 in Long Beach’s 2023 budget with the goal of “furthering transparency” and supporting the Public Records Act, according to City Deputy April Walker.
Walker said the funds are being used to recruit temporary staff, since there are not enough funds yet allocated for permanent hires.
“I would say our current team has the capacity to build the framework for compliance and further support, but we do not have the capacity to actually deliver that day-to-day,” Walker said.
Richardson said he thinks the City should be looking into permanent ways to support the Commission so they can look more closely into issues of conflicts of interest and compliance with the City’s Charter.
Current projects the Commission is working on include finishing the Ethics Education Program then implementing it across City departments, a city-wide survey on Long Beach’s motto, symbol and catchphrase, an ethics helpline, new employee orientation and professional development.
Future goals are micro-trainings and workshops for City employees, an employee’s handbook update, an ethics guide for City officials and tracking data through the Disclosure Reports and Ethics Portal.
Councilmember Al Austin said that he will volunteer to sign the Code of Ethics and encouraged his fellow council members to do the same.
“I think it’s very important that we lead on ethics,” Austin said. “It starts with the leaders, and it starts with the elected officials … it has to permeate through the culture of this organization.”
Deborah L. Betance, president of the Women’s Education Circle for Democracy in Long Beach, suggested the City replace the word “diversity” with the word “inclusion” and that the code aligns itself more closely with the United Nations goals.
“We send our children out into the world … I think it’s important in the education system and legal system in our city that we make sure that we’re focusing on a global vision, so I think we need to have higher goals as we set this policy,” Betance said.
“It’s good to see this progress, us having a value statement, us having a code of conduct that will be codified into an ordinance … and us showing a real commitment to ethics,” Austin said. “This is going to increase accountability for all of the employees in the city of Long Beach, including elected officials.”
