Ethics Commission? Whistle-blower Hotline? How does that empower special interests?!?

The Sacramento City Council had an intense evening, including a very thorough grilling of some staff members regarding a development permit scandal in Natomas.

Through questioning from Councilman Rob Fong, the public learned that the city guy at the permit counter had to ignore a warning flashing on his computer screen decreeing that no permits could be issued because of a federal building moratorium. The same staff member then had to manually override the computer to allow him to issue 35 allegedly illegal permits to the developer. That same city staffer (a son of Councilman Robbie Waters) apparently undercharged the developer in question, and then kept a $61,000 check written for development fees in his desk for three months. Wow.

City Councilman Kevin McCarty said Sacramento – like many other major cities – should institute a whistleblower hotline so other such problems can be reported and investigated. And, he noted that the city is looking at the possibility of forming an ethics commission. At the end of the discussion, the council agreed to move forward on a more substantial probe, including other development department problems found by the City Attorney’s office, including possible “quid pro quo.”

The hotline and the ethics committee – and the continued investigation – offer more meaningful methods of improving transparency and accountability in the city than anything contained in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s extreme Boss Mayor initiative. And imagine – all without a constitutional overhaul.

And throughout this discussion, what leadership did his Strongness, Mayor Johnson, provide? He asked not one question. He simply moved on to the next agenda item.