On June 2, 2020, the Town Council met in executive session to review the findings and conclusion of an ethics inquiry involving Councilmember David Spelich. After reviewing the complaint and a report from the ethics officer, the Town Council has declined to take action on the matter.
An ethics complaint was received on April 29, 2020, after Councilmember Spelich made comments at a Council meeting on April 7, 2020, regarding an unnamed business’s compliance with the Governor’s executive orders related to dine-in services. The complaint was transmitted to an independent ethics officer who conducted an ethics inquiry. As part of the ethics inquiry, the ethics officer found that the Councilmember could have used other methods to convey his concerns about a local business not complying with the Governor’s executive orders. Based on his review of the matter, the ethics officer suggested reviewing the Town’s Code of Ethics as a remedy.
Under the town’s code of ethics procedures, the findings and conclusions from an outside ethics officer are advisory and are taken into consideration by the Town Council before taking possible action. Following ethics inquiries, possible actions of the Town Council include rejecting the ethics officer’s conclusions, giving an admonishment, or taking no action.