My name is Lauren Beacham and I live in Frederick. I want to thank you all for prioritizing the efforts of reforming the ethics ordinance for Frederick City. I think it's very important that, outside of cyclical elections, our government leaders and elected officials are held accountable for their actions in ways that also protect anyone who needs to report an incident of misconduct. I believe this can be achieved if there is a clear ethical standard to follow, a diverse ethics commission to which they answer and which can conduct investigations, and a clear path of how the public can report misconduct with a series of pre-determined actions that will follow to address their case. It is important to have a mechanism in place where residents of our community can report misconduct or harassment if they are not employed by the government and, therefore, not covered by the city HR department. As the charter is currently written, there exist loopholes that prevent this kind of accountability and do not provide a safe, professional space for a private resident to come forward if they have been wronged by an elected official. I hope you will consider adding ways for the public to report such instances should they ever occur, and that you will immediately review the current ethics commission membership to consider new appointments that better reflect the diversity of our community and promote better representation and inclusivity. There is a lot of work to be done and I am grateful that it is beginning. Thank you.
(I apologize if this submitted twice, I was not sure if it went through the first time.)
I write to urge adoption of stronger ethics guidelines and rules that work to protect city employees and residents while holding office holders to account. These loopholes in the system provide protection for elected officials to avoid accountability, while victims are forced into silence, having no recourse to seek justice. We also have an Ethics Commission with no members of color and no women. I would urge this Board to appoint more diverse members of the Ethics Commission that actually reflect our community and our needs. Please support adoption of these changes.
My name is Lauren Beacham and I live in Frederick. I want to thank you all for prioritizing the efforts of reforming the ethics ordinance for Frederick City. I think it's very important that, outside of cyclical elections, our government leaders and elected officials are held accountable for their actions in ways that also protect anyone who needs to report an incident of misconduct. I believe this can be achieved if there is a clear ethical standard to follow, a diverse ethics commission to which they answer and which can conduct investigations, and a clear path of how the public can report misconduct with a series of pre-determined actions that will follow to address their case. It is important to have a mechanism in place where residents of our community can report misconduct or harassment if they are not employed by the government and, therefore, not covered by the city HR department. As the charter is currently written, there exist loopholes that prevent this kind of accountability and do not provide a safe, professional space for a private resident to come forward if they have been wronged by an elected official. I hope you will consider adding ways for the public to report such instances should they ever occur, and that you will immediately review the current ethics commission membership to consider new appointments that better reflect the diversity of our community and promote better representation and inclusivity. There is a lot of work to be done and I am grateful that it is beginning. Thank you.
(I apologize if this submitted twice, I was not sure if it went through the first time.)
Tyler Oyler
Frederick, MD
I write to urge adoption of stronger ethics guidelines and rules that work to protect city employees and residents while holding office holders to account. These loopholes in the system provide protection for elected officials to avoid accountability, while victims are forced into silence, having no recourse to seek justice. We also have an Ethics Commission with no members of color and no women. I would urge this Board to appoint more diverse members of the Ethics Commission that actually reflect our community and our needs. Please support adoption of these changes.
Thank you.