The City of Fort Wright recently received the Kentucky League of Cities “Certified City of Ethics” (CCE) designation.
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Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter said the designation as a Certified City of Ethics is “an important accomplishment because our role as elected officials and employees of the city is serve our citizens efficiently, effectively and with honesty and transparency. City Council and I felt that the process and requirements to earn this certification would be a good way to vet and affirm our commitment to these important principles.”
The voluntary program, developed by the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC), encourages cities to adopt and adhere to a set of key ethical principles and a comprehensive model ethics ordinance. The ordinance guides conduct of city officials and their employees in areas such as financial disclosures, conflicts of interests, transparency and outside employment. The ordinance also contains strong penalty provisions – including public reprimands, fines and removal – for city officials and employees who violate the ordinance.
Hatter
The certification process also includes specific training which city officials and employees completed on April 19, 2017. Mayor Dave Hatter said he led the effort to pursue this certification because “we are elected by our friends and neighbors to serve the citizens of this great community, and it is critical that we do so in an ethical and responsible fashion. This certification ensures that everyone involved in providing service to our residents and visitors is held to a high standard of ethical conduct reflective of the values of our community.”
Fort Wright is proud to join a small but growing list of cities to earn this certification. Out of 425 cities in the state of Kentucky, we are the 16th to earn this certification, and the first in the Northern Kentucky region.
KLC conducted a comprehensive review of the Fort Wright code of ethics ordinance to ensure that it complies with the criteria set out in KRS 65.003 as well as the principles of this program. After the ordinance review and traninig, the city received a plaque and is now authorized by KLC to use a “Certified City of Ethics” logo on stationery, road signs, city vehicles and other uses. The City of Fort Wright will be required to recertify every four years to maintain this certification.
Mayor Hatter and City Council extend their thanks an appreciation to the KLC and Andrea Shindlebower, the KLC’s represtantive for the CCE program, for developing this program and working with us to earn the CCE. Mayor Hatter said “Andrea did a great job walking us through the ethics training required for the CCE, and made some excellent suggestions for strenghtening our ethics ordinance. We plan to review her suggestions in the very near future.”
Based in Lexington, KLC is a voluntary, nonprofit membership association that provides legislative advocacy, legal services, consulting services, and training to more than 360 member cities. KLC also provides insurance and financial services to municipal agencies throughout Kentucky.
For more information on the Certified City of Ethics designation, contact KLC at 800.876.4552 or visit: http://www.klc.org/news/2408/Aspire_to_become_a_KLC_Certified_City_of_Ethics.
