Politics & Public Administration
PATiMES.ORG PATIMES PAGE 7 VOLUME 36, NUMBER 2 PUBLIC SERVICE: PUBLIC GOOD APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2013
NOTES FROM THE FIELD The Role of Ethical Public Service in Promoting the Public Good ByJosephG. Jarretf
DURING THE COURSE ofthe last two decades, I have served several state and local public entities as both a manager and attorney. I have consistently attempted to iritulcate in my clients, colleagues and employees the value of a code of ethics or conduct that goes beyond the basic tenets of "don't lie, cheat or steal." Clearly, my goal is one shared by a multitude of professional public administrators aroimd the globe. Still, it is one that must remain in the forefront of the minds of our elected and appointed counterparts if the public good is ever going to become the beneficiary of professional and ethical public service.
The Queensland, Australia Government (Queensland) suggests that "A code of " conduct plays a key role in demonstrating the government's commitment to the highest levels of integrity and accountability, whether you work in
. a state government department, local councu, government-owned corporation or university." In passing the Queensland Public Sector Ethics Act (PSEA), the government called upon its employees to "maintain integrity and impartiality, promote the public good, commit to the system of government and honor accountability and transparency."
In 2006, the State of Tennessee passed the "Comprehensive Governmental Ethics Reform Act (The Act). The Act served to strengthen Tennessee's ethics ' laws by creating a new Tennessee Ethics Commission. The Act required all counties, municipalities and boards of education to adopt an ethics code of their choosing, or a model code promulgated by the County and Municipal Technical Advisory Services. What do Queensland Australia and Tennessee have in common? Both entities recognized the fact that the public good can only be promoted by a "good" public • service. That the terms "open government," "transparency," "open records" and participative government must be more than catch phrases if the public is ever going to benefit from the toils of its professional public administrators.
Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of Britain's Charity Commissions suggests that "All charitable organizations which advance a particular moral or belief system should dêïine that belief system in their objects with a sufficient degree of clarity and certainty and must be able to show that it is, and will be; advanced for the public benefit." So too must public entities convince the general public by the practical and consistent application of their ethics policies that said policies are advanced for the public good.
As pointed out by Nadler (2012) "High ethical standards are especially important
• in the public sector because they are key to credibility and lead to increased support for government agencies and political leaders." Once an entity publishes or touts an ethics policy designed to ensure the actions of government adhere to the public good, how do words morph into action? Queensland suggests that public administrators should:
a. Accept and value their duty to be responsive to both the requirements of government and to the public interest.
b. Accept and value their duty to engage the community in developing . and effecting official public sector priorities, policies and decisions.
c. Accept and value their duty to mapage public resources effectively, efficiently and economically.
d. Value and seek to achieve excellence in service delivery.
e. Value and seek to achieve enhanced integration of services to better service clfents.
Douglas J. Amy, professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College observes that good government can be the source of much public good. He suggests that "the institutions that do the most 'good works' in our society are not churches or charities; they are our local, state and federal governments. These governments do an enormous amount to feed the hungry, heal the sick, take care ofthe old, protect the
young and so on. In fact, the good created by these governments far exceeds, all the good accomplished by churches and charities in our society." Despite the fact that most citizens will agree, even grudgingly, that government does serve the public good, Frank Benest, city manager, of Brea, AC, observed, "Citizens have lost confidence in all institutions, including local government. In the past, people had less confidence in federal and state government but trusted local government because it was 'closer to the people.' Disenchantment with all major institutions, particularly government, now affects local government as well." An interesting assumption, considering the fact that the adoption of ethics policies at
in less than cordial fashion? It is real life •* scenarios such as the aforementioned that continue to vex the most ethical of public servants. Perhaps the answer lies in Benset's suggestions that public servants should: • Inform themselves on key issues
confronting their communities.
• Participate in civic improvement groups.
• Struggle to find common ground with others, as well as advocate their private interests. N.
• Become responsible for their local governments and their communities.
In the end, it is only through the efforts of good public servants that the needs ofthe
the terms "open government," "transparency," "open records" and parlicipative government must be more than catch phrases if the public is ever going to benefit from the toils of its professional public administrators.
the locid government level has become the norm. Why then, would an experienced city manager make such a statement? Perhaps it's because elected and appointed officials still struggle with those ethical conundrums in the form of grey areas that, although are not enumerated in one's ethics policy, nevertheless don't seem to pass the proverbial smell test.
It's simple to advise a public employee not to lie, cheat or steal. It's quite another to tick off a comprehensive list of do's and don'ts that should bé the rule and guide their public sector service. Although it may not be illegal or a violation of one's ethics policy for an elected official to have lunch with a developer who may soon appear before the board for a change in zoning, at what point does the relationship between the two precipitate into a conflict of interest? Is it unethical for an elected body politic to be deferential to a well-heeled cornmunity leader who appears before it yet treat an aggrieved citizen of lesser means
public good can be fulfilled. If ever there was a variable that can be manipulated, it is the variable of public servants exercising good, ethical and honorable service on behalf of the people they serve.
Joseph G. Jarret is a public sector manager ,attorney and mediator who lectures on behalf of the Master of Public Policy and Administration program in the Department of Poiitical Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxviile. He is the 2013 president of the E. Tennessee Chapter of ASPA.
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