Ethics and public trust

Deseret Morning News editorial
Published: Monday, Feb. 4, 2008 12:05 a.m. MST
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Considering that federal, state and local governments handle vast amounts of money — tax money — it is hardly surprising that some government employees violate ethical standards, policies or laws.

Just this past week, the former town clerk of Genola, Utah County, was charged with 27 felony counts alleging she took more than $65,000 from city coffers. Meanwhile, two former Davis County School District officials await trial in federal court on embezzlement charges. They are accused of bilking the school district of $4.3 million in federal education funds.

These are high-profile and, arguably, extreme examples of unethical behavior by government employees. The alleged conduct of these individuals is not representative of the vast majority of Utah government employees who are dutiful public servants.

A new survey by the nonprofit Ethics Resource Center, however, paints a troubling picture of misconduct among public sector employees nationwide. It found that nearly 60 percent of government employees at all levels — federal, state and local — had witnessed violations of ethical standards, policies or laws in their workplaces within the past year. These problems ranged from conflicts of interest, abusive behavior, alterations of public documents and financial records to lying to employees, vendors or the public.

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The overarching concern about such conduct is how it affects government's ability to maintain public trust.

Interestingly, that was the central theme of the Deseret Morning News report regarding felony charges against the former Genola town recorder. As Genola resident Sandra Greenwood put it, "It's very sad when you find out your confidence and your trust has been misrepresented."

After all, Greenwood lamented, "Those funds belong to the citizens."

In many respects, scandals in governments are more troubling than in the private sector because they involve public resources. While the Enron scandal of 2001 impacted employees and stockholders, it was limited in scope. In the case of government embezzlement and corruption, taxpayer' resources are involved. While no one likes to pay taxes, people do so with the expectation that the funds will be used responsibly for their intended purpose and the people overseeing or using those resources will conduct themselves ethically and appropriately.

That's been the aim of policies on gifts and ethics enacted by local governments in recent years, most notably Salt Lake County. To make a formal statement of these expectations and implement them in policy and practice pays dividends, the Ethics Resource Center survey showed.

In government organizations with well-implemented ethics programs and strong ethical cultures, misconduct fell by 60 percent, and the reporting of bad behavior increased by 40 percent, the survey showed. No question, it is important to set the tone from the top down that the public trust is vital and all government employees should conduct themselves in a manner that cultivates that relationship.

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Recent comments

Wow! Unbelievable nastiness. DN editorial strangely overlooks the…

Jud | Feb. 4, 2008 at 6:56 p.m.

Anyone who expects their tax dollars to be spent wisely is delusional.

Dave | Feb. 4, 2008 at 7:44 a.m.

The government is not the church, and "public servants" are not servants…

Anon | Feb. 4, 2008 at 7:15 a.m.