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Commissioners
Overview
“Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.” — Jane Addams
The public has a right to expect that every official and employee behaves in a manner that preserves public confidence. Public trust is essential for municipal government to function effectively.
In addition to fully and faithfully investigating any complaint brought before it, the Board of Ethics is committed to developing and implementing a robust and comprehensive Code of Ethics ordinance. The board is also committed to streamlining the complaint process, to educating residents and taxpayers on what they should expect from their elected and appointed officials, as well as municipal employees, and to promoting transparency.
The board is taking a “start-from-scratch” approach. In addition to the pending Code of Ethics ordinance, it is creating a new ethics disclosure form, a new complaint form, and a new handbook for residents and taxpayers to better understand what they should expect from municipal government and the process used to hold them accountable.
A NOTE ON TRANSPARENCY: When a complaint is received, the Board of Ethics is first tasked with determining if probable cause exists to hold an administrative hearing to determine if a violation has occurred. During the probable cause phase, all information, documents, discussions, communications and notes are confidential by operation of Connecticut law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-82a and 7-148h).
If you have a matter you would like the board to look into, please email Chairman Christopher E. Vargo Jr. at cvargo@westhaven-ct.gov.
