Grand Terrace Ethics... What a Sad Joke..

Grand Terrace NEEDS Ethics training

Grandpa,
Acting City Manager, Steve Berry says "We're held accountable to the public and need to act in a transparent manner." . Where are the documents reports and expenditures of his actions for the REEF Meetings, Halloween Haunt, Gala and GT Days.

The reports on-line are incomplete, as you stated earlier. The contributions to council’s campaigns, misuse of government money, i.e., lunches, gifts, bonuses, back room deals with developers.

Are they council members now claiming ignorance to ethics. How much is Harper charging us to teach our council members to be honest – just enough to not get caught. Can anyone take his class?

To think that "Our City Attorney" is giving the Ethics Class is also a sad joke. He has been part of the problem allowing the City Council and City Manager to block Citizen Questions and he fails to work for the Benefit of the Citizens but supports the Council and City Manager. He is not the City Attorney he is their Private Attorney paid for by the Citizens.

If the training was not required they would not sit for instruction. The question should be will it impact their conduct. It hasn't yet.


Grand Terrace to provide ethics training
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/02/2009 11:17:47 PM PST

GRAND TERRACE - Using public office for personal financial gain. Holding meetings in secret. Taking gifts from people who contribute to your campaign. There are lots of no-nos for the state's elected officials.

City Council members and planning commissioners this month will take a course to learn the ins and outs of ethical behavior. Department heads are also invited to participate.

City Attorney John Harper will conduct the seminar, scheduled for 4 p.m. Jan. 27 at City Hall.
"It's a good refresher course for our council and Planning Commission on conflicts of interest and the Brown Act," said acting City Manager Steve Berry. "We're held accountable to the public and need to act in a transparent manner."

The training is mandated under Assembly Bill 1234, signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005. It applies to local officials who receive compensation, salary, stipends or expense reimbursement. Training must be renewed every two years.

Councilman Walt Stanckiewitz, who was elected in November, said he is looking forward to the training.

"I'm going into it with my eyes wide open," said Stanckiewitz, who took office last month. "It's so new to me. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right."

Stanckiewitz, who owns La Pasta Italia restaurant on Barton Road , said City Clerk Brenda Mesa gave him a copy of a book on the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open-meetings law.
"I've gone through it cover to cover," Stanckiewitz said. "It will probably be nice to have someone also explaining it at the same time, to reconfirm this is what I think this says."
An open government expert said the ethics training law can only do so much to prevent wrongdoing by public officials.

"I think it depends entirely on the quality of the presentation and the diligence of the elected officials," said Terry Francke, general counsel and founder of Californians Aware, a nonprofit government accountability organization. "In other words, you can have some very diligent and well-intentioned officials but not a very good quality of instruction, or vice-versa."
Elected officials need to have the mind-set that they are going to be as open as possible with the public, Francke said.

"I think those that have to comply with the Brown Act (should) start with the point of view or spirit that says there must be a very, very good reason for keeping people ignorant or confused or uncertain about what we're doing," Francke said.