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Home My WebLink AboutBZ Council Ethics Presentation Feb2012What is Good and What is Right: Ethics in Montana Municipal Government Betsy J. Webb Associate Director MSU Local Government Center February 2012 1 2008 City Charter, Bozeman, MT The city commission shall …establish an independent board of ethics …(and) provide annual training and education of city officials, city boards, and employees regarding the state and city ethics codes. Art. VII Sec. 7.01(a)(b) Jan. 1, 2008 2 By the close of 2011 Two series of trainings have taken place 2009 – “Live” in-person trainings to all employees, elected and appointed officials 2010/2011 – “On-line” training related to Bozeman’s specific Code of Ethics and the Montana State Code of Ethics 3 Ethics Handbook 600 City employees, elected and appointed officials (City Council and Boards) 4 Independent Board of Ethics established 5 Has it made any difference? 6 Ethics Resource Center Well-implemented ethics and compliance programs double reporting and lower the rate of misconduct A strong ethical culture also increases reporting and cuts misconduct in half When both a well-implemented ethics and compliance program and a strong ethical culture are in place, misconduct drops by 60% and reporting rises by 40% (ERC, 2008 and 2010) 7 Comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program 6 components: Ethics training for all employees Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics in Place Evaluation of ethical behavior as part of regular performance appraisal Mechanism to report misconduct anonymously Mechanism to discipline employees Mechanism to seek advice about ethics-related matters 8 Has it made any difference? 1. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics and compliance programs observe a significantly lower rate of misconduct than municipal governments who do not have such programs in place? 2. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics and compliance programs demonstrate a significantly higher rate of reporting misconduct than municipal governments who do not have such programs in place? 9 3. Do employees of a municipal government with an ethics and compliance program in place perceive the ethics program as effective? 4. Do employees of municipal governments with ethics and compliance programs perceive a stronger ethical culture in their work environment than employees of municipal governments who do not have a formal ethics program in place? 10 Study Significance 129 cities and towns in Montana; 56 counties Informal survey 75% of municipalities do not give new employees a copy of the Montana State Code of Ethics upon hire 93% of municipalities provide no training on ethics to their employees (survey conducted by Survey Monkey, October 2011, emailed by list serve to 129 Montana municipalities, 45 responses or 35%) Findings can be incorporated into ethics program development across Montana and outside Montana 11 Methods Research Design: Perceptions of Ethical Climate survey Pelletier & Bligh, 2006 38 scaled questions Electronic “survey monkey” or paper version Two First Class cities in Montana (over 10,000 pop) Bozeman – 346 employees (75 in random sample) Kalispell – 181 employees (57 in random sample) Random sample – 132 responded The sample size of 132 allows for a 95% confidence level and a +/-7.4% confidence interval. 12 Bozeman: 37,280 population Annual ethics training for employees, elected, appointed officials Code of Ethics – State and City-specific Ethics Handbook Evaluation of ethical behavior (city core values) as part of performance evaluation Whistle-blower policy defined; mechanism to report ethical violations defined Mechanism to discipline employees and independent Board of Ethics established Ethics resource staff identified for guidance Kalispell: 19, 927 population Periodic training as needed. Group discussions in work areas as impacted. Code of Ethics – State Ethics covered in personnel handbook As part of performance evaluation if issues are present Mechanism to discipline employees 13 After 2+ years… Significant differences between Bozeman and Kalispell in: Ethics Code Awareness (policy guides employees in decision-making; have read the code; understand the code; know the city’s ethical expectations; know that policies exist) Ethics Resources (resources are available; easy to get help; staff are available) Ethics Program Effectiveness (program is effective; confidential manner; increased trust in city; city concerned about ethical standards) 14 Results No significant differences between Bozeman and Kalispell in: Perceptions of Ethical Decision-Making Process, Perceptions of Ethical Resources Scales for Time and Money, Perceptions of Informal Ethical Norms, and Perceptions of Ethical Leadership No significant differences between Bozeman and Kalispell in: Observations of Misconduct, Reporting Misconduct 15 Bozeman 36% Kalispell 31% 16 16 Results Noteworthy: Positive low concern about retaliation if they did report misconduct Employees in both cities demonstrated support for their immediate supervisors (discuss ethical issues, consult with them, good examples of ethical behavior) Employees in both cities rated the top leadership as concerned with ethical practice (above neutral but below somewhat agree) Both sets of employees believe that ethical concerns are heard in their specific departments 17 Results Other results: Employees leaned negative about whether the city is willing to do the right thing no matter the financial costs They also leaned negative about whether the city rewards employees for ethical behavior Employees from both cities were close to neutral about personnel decisions (hiring and promotions) reflecting ethical principles. 18 Scale used 7 = Strongly Agree 6 = Agree 5 = Somewhat Agree 4 = Neutral 3 = Somewhat Disagree 2 = Disagree 1 = Strongly Disagree 19 Bozeman lower means The City rewards employees who exhibit ethical behavior, BZ mean = 3.23 The City is willing to do the right thing no matter the financial costs, BZ mean = 3.84 Personnel decisions reflect ethical principles, BZ mean = 4.13 The Ethics Program is effective, BZ mean = 4.16 Moral concerns are given top priority by the City’s top leaders, BZ mean = 4.25 If I were to have an ethical concern, I know I would be supported by the City, BZ mean = 4.35 20 Conclusions Employees need to be provided with appropriate tools and models to align their behavior with the organization Significant differences were demonstrated between Bozeman and Kalispell since the Charter was revised in 2008 (and should not be minimized), however, the differences did not translate to behavior or to the overall culture Look at the important role of leaders in creating and maintaining ethical culture in municipal governments 21 Comments/Questions 22