Time for KCMO Ethics Legislation?

Mayor Mark Funkhouser recently spent some uncomfortable time in the spotlight because of his decision to accept the use of a Hybrid Honda from a local dealership. After more than a week of media frenzy, he decided to decline the offer.

One of the things that struck me in the debate was the fact that it all took place in an ethical free-fire zone. The Star resorted to out-of-town "ethics experts" to opine that this was a bad thing, while supporters of the mayor pointed out that all mayors in recent memory have accepted gifts without criticism. Neither side could point to an on-point law, ordinance, or provision of an ethics code that addressed whether it's okay for the Mayor to accept Chiefs tickets but not something to park in the lot. The current Kansas City Municipal Ethics Code merely requires disclosure of such gifts within 30 days.

The Jackson County Ethics Commission is hard at work drafting an Ethics Code to guide County officials - perhaps it's time for Kansas City to take a fresh look at its own code. An attempt at putting some meat onto the bare-bones version we currently have could go a long way toward avoiding similar problems in the future. Perhaps they could even piggy-back on the work done by the Jackson County Ethics Commission . . .