Code of ethics? Why on earth not?

It’s a no-brainer that transparency in government at any level is a good thing. We expect our elected officials to disclose any conflicts of interest and conduct themselves with the public’s best interests at heart. When they don’t, it further erodes our trust in those we choose to represent us.

The Kalispell City Council recently agreed to explore the creation of a code of ethics. This is a worthy decision. Even if such a code of ethics is adopted largely as a symbolic gesture with no real enforcement muscle, it goes a long way toward building and strengthening the public’s trust in its elected officials.

Council member Randy Kenyon has pushed for such a policy for years, and we applaud his tenacity.

Whitefish was the first incorporated city in Flathead County to adopt an ethics policy, and it’s no secret it was a controversial thing back in 1997 when the council was drafting the policy. During the council meeting at which the code of ethics finally was adopted, the council spent four hours dissecting the proposal line by line before a standing-room-only crowd.

In the end Whitefish watered down the policy somewhat, but still kept a controversial business and real estate disclosure clause. It requires the mayor and council members to supply a written disclosure of their business interests, though it doesn’t ask for the financial value of those interests or related loans.

Every January the Whitefish city clerk updates those disclosure forms.

Two years ago there was a push to make the ethics policy more comprehensive by including all city employees. That effort stalled, and an update of the original policy remains in limbo.

The city of Bozeman has an ethics policy that’s often studied as other Montana cities consider their own options. Bozeman’s code requires city council members and other major financial decision-makers to file yearly disclosure forms detailing their past and present employers and their affiliations with businesses and organizations.

We’re not suggesting Kalispell adopt a policy that’s a carbon copy of Whitefish or Bozeman’s code of ethics. It is time, though, for Kalispell to have the discussion.

Sooner or later there likely will be a situation where a conflict of interest — perceived or actual — will surface. A code of ethics, while not a cure-all for such conflicts, at least lets the public know the council takes the matter of disclosure and public trust seriously.

We agree fully with local attorney Jim Cossitt’s advice to the Kalispell council last week: “When in doubt, disclose, disclose, disclose.”