Who Watches New Rochelle’s Ethics Watchdog?

An inquiry about an ethics complaint against a New Rochelle City Council member led Talk of the Sound publisher Robert Cox to examine why the municipal body responsible for enforcing ethical standards operates with so little transparency. The New York State Committee on Open Government confirmed that the Board of Ethics is subject to FOIL and the Open Meetings Law, despite provisions in the city’s ethics code purporting to exempt it from both. In a new Words in Edgewise commentary, Cox calls on the City Council to overhaul the ethics code, using New Rochelle’s Civilian Complaint Review Board as a model for public meetings, annual reporting, mandatory training and greater accountability.

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