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Sedgwick County Commissioners Adopt First Ethics Code

Deborah Shaar
/
KMUW/File photo
Sedgwick County commissioners adopted their first code of ethical conduct on Wednesday.

A new set of ethical standards will guide Sedgwick County commissioners as they conduct county business.

The county commissioners unanimously approved and adopted their first code of ethical conduct at a meeting Wednesday morning.

The code suggests appropriate commissioner behavior, accountability and ethical standards. It includes six sections and more than 20 policy statements.

The county has talked about adopting an ethics code for about 15 years. Commission Chairman David Dennis brought up the idea at a county staff meeting in early February. Wednesday was the first time it came up for a vote at a commission meeting.

Commissioner Jim Howell says having a code of standards is long overdue.

“This is not directed at any commissioner. This is not because of anything going on. I just think the community wants us to have a code of ethics. And it’s the right thing in my opinion,” Howell says.

At least two investigations are looking into county leadership issues and the commissioners.

The code of ethical conduct does not include any punitive action if standards are not followed. Commissioner Richard Ranzau wants to change that. He said at Wednesday’s meeting that he wants county staff to look into the possibility of adding enforcement practices.

Sedgwick County’s new ethics code is based on a version from the Kansas County Commissioners Association.

Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Deborah joined the news team at KMUW in September 2014 as a news reporter. She spent more than a dozen years working in news at both public and commercial radio and television stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Detroit, Michigan. Before relocating to Wichita in 2013, Deborah taught news and broadcasting classes at Tarrant County College in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.