February 17, 1993

Letters to the Editor
The Town News
50 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ 07652

RE: Proposed Dumont local government ethics ordinance

Editor, The Town News:

As the proponent of the local government ethics ordinance currently being considered by the Dumont Council, which would create a local ethics board consisting of Dumont citizens, I would like to address some of the reasons why I feel this law is needed, as well as some of the objections voiced.

The basic premise behind my proposal is simple: As elected public officials, we hold a public trust. We must therefore hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethical conduct, and the people of Dumont expect, and deserve, no less. At the same time, since the Council is responsible for representing the interests of the people of our town, we must hold all Borough employees to those same ethical standards.

There are four general purposes which this proposed ordinance is designed to promote. The first is increased accountability of local government officials and employees: my proposal gives the Mayor and Council a unique opportunity to send a clear message to the people of Dumont that we intend to hold ourselves fully accountable to them for our actions. The second purpose is to promote greater public confidence in the integrity of their public officials and employees. I believe that we have an obligation to provide our residents with standards by which they may rightfully judge our conduct. The third purpose is to create greater citizen participation in the process of governing. This participation depends upon the people's confidence in the integrity of their representatives. The fourth purpose is to help public officials and employees better perform their functions, by providing a mechanism by which they can receive advice, information, and clear standards to guide them in their conduct.

There are those, however, who are vocal in their opposition to my proposal. The first argument is that we don't need a code of ethics for Dumont, because a code of conduct is already set forth in state law. However, most people are not aware of the existence of the state law and what it requires of public officials and employees. In fact, at least one member of this very Council admittedly had never even seen the state statute before my proposal, and thus was unfamiliar with the standards of conduct expected of him. Secondly, the local ethics board established under the ordinance would adopt a local code of ethics which could be tailored to address particular local concerns.

The second argument is that we don't need an ethics board in Dumont, because an aggrieved citizen could file a complaint now with the Local Finance Board for violation of the state ethics code. However, as I stated above, most people don't even know of the existence of this procedure, or else they might be dissuaded from traveling to the Local Finance Board in order to pursue a grievance. And that argument ignores the purposes of promoting public confidence and encouraging greater citizen participation. The people of our town will know that there is a local board, made up of themselves, which gives them the direct opportunity and involvement to oversee the conduct of their elected officials.

The third objection is fiscal: there will be certain expenses in having such a board, such as an attorney. First of all, we already have a number of boards in town (Planning, Zoning, Rent Leveling) that retain attorneys. Second, I believe for the reasons stated above that it would be a worthwhile expense, and one that is in any event controlled by the Council in making the budget appropriation.

In summary, I believe that this ordinance represents a dramatic, positive step toward increasing accountability and promoting public confidence in the integrity of Dumont's officials and employees. I hope that the people of our town agree and support my proposal, and would appreciate their comments either by letter or telephone (my home number is 501-0852).

Very truly yours,
CARMINE A. DeMARCO
Councilman, Borough of Dumont