Council backtracks on ethics plan

A proposed ethics code for the Kalispell City Council is headed back to the drawing board after sharp criticism from a local bankruptcy attorney who praised the effort but stopped short of calling the final product a sham.

Jim Cossitt compared Kalispell’s proposal to some of the legislation that emerges from the U.S. Congress. It’s well-intentioned but would be ineffective as written, he said.

“We start to peel off layers of the onion and look behind it and find there’s nothing there,” Cossitt said.

After several work sessions to craft the “policies and procedures manual” and local ethics code, City Council members had agreed to vote on adopting the document on Monday.

Cossitt urged them to wait and improve upon what they have drafted so far.

“It might be that there’s some rush to get this adopted,” Cossitt said. “But I would urge you to consider that it’s better to have a good product than just get something adopted.”

For two years Cossitt has served on the American Bankruptcy Institute’s national ethics task force. Cossitt criticized several parts of the Kalispell document that use broad or undefined terms, but took particular issue with its “gutted” disclosure section.

“The meager disclosure requirements contained within section 3.7.1 of this document eviscerate or undermine the overall goals that are articulated and the standards that are set throughout the document,” he said.

As proposed, it would require council members to file statements with the city clerk each year and disclose only their names, addresses, present employers and any boards on which they serve.

The section was cut by all of the council at a prior work session. That was done partly at the request of Mayor Tammi Fisher, who is also an attorney, and council member Tim Kluesner.

Removed sections would have required council members to disclose property they hold an equity interest in; each business, firm, corporation, partnership or other professional entity in which they hold equity interests; entities for which they are officers, directors or registered agents; and any past or present employers from whom they are receiving benefits.

Nearly identical disclosures are required for all members of the Montana Legislature and candidates for state-level offices. Some Montana cities also have chosen to adopt those disclosure requirements for their council members and other “key financial decision-makers.”

Rather than “pick on the mayor because she’s another lawyer,” Cossitt pointed to his own law practice, which he said has generated a significant share of its income working for a local bank.

“If I ever choose to run for this council or some other public office, should I be called upon to disclose that 20 percent or more of the revenues at my law firm come from X?” Cossitt asked.

“To the extent that people come to a person working in this community who also serves in a public official capacity and has access to insider information, deals that are in the works, contracts that are in the works, should the public and everyone else be able to have the information to connect the dots and ask questions? I’ll leave that question hanging. You know what my answer is,” Cossitt said.

It’s not “that profound of a leap” to require such information from lawyers, Cossitt said, adding that his own malpractice insurance carrier asks many of those same questions whenever he goes to renew his policy.

“I think this is a good start. I think you’re headed in the right direction,” Cossitt said of the document that Kalispell has crafted.

“But my view of what I’m seeing here is a fair number of lofty goals and some good direction but a lacking of the appropriate disclosure machinery and transparency to really get the job done. At least in the fashion that some of us would like to see it done in this community.”

COUNCIL MEMBERS Kluesner and Kari Gabriel moved to vote on adopting the policies and procedures manual and ethics code.

Jim Atkinson moved to table the issue and reconsider the document and “late information” at another work session, most likely on Monday, Feb. 25. The latter motion passed 6-2, with Kluesner and Bob Hafferman opposed.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.