Attorneys for the city will continue to offer advice on ethics policies to city officials and employees despite concerns that doing so encroaches on the role of the Ethics Commission.
In December, Honolulu Corporation Counsel Donna Leong sent a memorandum to all city employees stating it would provide them with ethics advice, drawing the ire of Executive Director Chuck Totto and commission members.
Leong reiterated her stance at an Ethics Commission meeting this week.
"My department and I completely support the Ethics Commission and its mission to ensure that city officers and employees comply with ethics laws and the city’s standards of conduct," Leong said Monday, adding that she recognizes the commission has the sole authority to issue formal advisory opinions on ethical issues and make rulings on ethics complaints.
But questions about potential ethics violations or conflicts of interest "arise within the context of other laws and it’s very important … to understand the context in which ethics laws are being analyzed so that we don’t inadvertently violate other laws in conducting your good work," Leong said.
Leong also pledged that her department will support the mission of the ethics panel and work collaboratively with Totto’s staff.
Rachel Wong, commission vice chairwoman, said telling city employees that city attorneys would also issue advice on ethics "seems like a duplication of services" that could lead to "mixed messages" from the two offices.
"The commission was created for this very role," she said. "This is what we do. This is what our staff does."
Leong said rather than being duplicative, she views having her attorneys offer ethics advice as being "supportive," especially given the commission’s recent concerns about an increasing workload.
Wong said it would make more sense to provide additional staffing to the commission, referring to another recent sticking point between Leong and Totto, who has accused the Corporation Counsel’s office of overstepping its authority by shooting down its budget request when the commission office is attached to Leong’s department strictly for "administrative purposes." In the verbal sparring between Totto and Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration during the past several months, Totto has accused the administration of excessive meddling and being uncooperative with his staff’s inquiries.
The City Charter and ordinances are clear that her office has the power and duty to advise city officers and employees on all matters tied to their official powers and duties, Leong said.
The commission has an established series of advisory opinions readily available online that city attorneys can use to provide advice to city employees, Leong said. "There’s precedence to guide us."
In situations involving "novel issues" for which there is no precedent, attorneys in her office will direct city employees to the commission office, she said.
Commission member Katy Chen said there is "a serious problem" and confusion when employees don’t know where to turn for help.
Leong said city employees "are free" to seek the advice of the commission.
"We’ve never said ‘don’t go to the Ethics Commission.’"
Commission member Jeffrey Burroughs said he was troubled by that remark.
"I guess what I’d like to hear you say is that it’s your policy to encourage people to go to the Ethics Commission," he said.
When several commission members raised a concern that city attorneys issuing advice to city employees would constitute an attorney-client situation, Leong responded: "My guiding light is to do what’s in the best interest of the people of the City and County of Honolulu."
On a separate issue, city Human Resources Director Carolee Kubo agreed to work out the details of what type of employee emails would be given to Totto’s staff provided her office is given "proper justification" for the request, a specified time frame and scope of work.
Kubo had taken issue with providing unfettered access to employee email by the ethics office, citing potential violations of privacy provisions in labor contracts. Kubo said it’s not her intent to impede city investigations, but "I need to protect the privacy rights of employees and I can’t have (commission staff) witch-hunting on everything under the sun. They should tell me what they’re looking for and we’ll provide them with that information."
Commission member Michael Lilly said it should be up to the ethics panel to determine what it should investigate and what emails would be relevant.
