Tagged: Ethics

New ethics standards are on their way to San Antonio City Hall as the city council voted to add changes to the ethics code after several recent incidents cast a shadow of doubt on city leaders.

The most recent incident was over the vote for a new District 9 library, which was located next to Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s North Side business.

At the time, city staffers working on the project knew the library and Chan’s business, Unitech, were bordering each other, but said nothing to the city council on the matter.

San Antonio City Attorney Michael Bernard has proposed changes to the city's ethics code and some council members would like time to review the proposed changes.

As of right now, city council is expected to vote on the changes in early May.

Among the most drastic recommended changes to the city's ethics code is adding a compliance officer to be hired by the city manager.

Bernard said that takes the burden off him because, as he told the city council, it's hard to be the lawyer and the client.

In The First Segment:

Art Downey, chairman of the Ethics Review Board, and Brian Chasnoff, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, join us to talk about the continuing role of ethics in decisions made at City Hall.

After the latest incident, this one involving District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan, San Antonio residents want to know what the city plans to do about the culture at City Hall.

The San Antonio City Council followed the lead of District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal Thursday to hold off on a vote about a proposed library branch on the city’s north side.

The 10 members and Mayor Julián Castro initially voted to approve the project at its April 4 meeting, but District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan, who represents the district where the library is proposed, asked for the item to be brought back to council. This time she recused herself from the process.