By Nathan Henne
The Ethics Committee was busy during 2020. The frequency of complaints seemed to be higher—although their substance was largely the same as in previous years. However, there was one trend I was concerned about as a committee member and MME/ICMA member: Subjects of complaints deciding to resign their MME/ICMA membership to justify—or avoid an investigation into—their alleged violation of the ICMA Code of Ethics. Please know that this may cause more problems in the long term and will not stop an investigation.
If you’ve been a diligent consumer of our state organization’s publications, you’ll remember some very informative articles from previous Ethics Committee chairs. Two such articles go well with understanding the pitfalls of the scenario I’ve mentioned here.
In the column, “If You See Something, Say Something?,” James Wickman notes that “Rules of procedure [of the Ethics Committee] outline steps that provide due diligence to the member in question and are appropriately confidential. If a violation is found, the most common outcome is a private censure. As the name implies, that result is known by very few.”
Unless the alleged ethics violation is especially egregious, most of our regular membership is never aware of the complaint or the outcome—and rightly, so given the confidentiality of the Committee’s work.
To cap it off, an earlier article from Oliver Turner explains that any new application for membership in the MME is reviewed by the Ethics Committee, and a recommendation is given to the full board for their consideration in approving the new membership.
My point here is that resigning your MME membership does not forestall an ethics investigation. It will continue to its conclusion regardless and be kept for posterity should the member reapply. It is better to remain a member during this process because it will be more difficult to be readmitted. It should be mentioned that this knee-jerk act of resignation in light of an ethics investigation seems to be more prevalent with early-career members or those who hold assistant positions. Sometimes, participating in an investigation and accepting the outcome is a more valuable testament to good character and professionalism. After all, we all make mistakes—your 2021 Ethics Committee chair included.
Nathan Henne
Chair, Ethics Committee
Owosso City Manager
Nathan Henne began his employment in his hometown of Owosso as city manager in April 2018. He has previously served as a MLGMA Fellow for the City of Mason, town manager of Lake City, Colorado, and city manager of Springfield, Michigan. He and his wife, Carrie, live on his family’s ancestral farm in Owosso—spending their spare time maintaining and operating the farm, fostering dogs, and enjoying the Michigan outdoors. You may reach him at 989-494-8407 or nathan.henne@ci.owosso.mi.us.