In response to the onerous new ethics regulations forced upon Maryland towns by the General Assembly in 2010, Commissioner Tad duPont resigned from his post on Friday, August 23, 2013. He had said in public on several occasions that if the town was forced into adopting the State Ethics Commission’s “Model B” (specifically, the financial disclosure and conflict of interest standards offered by the state for smaller jurisdictions), he would be unwilling to continue his term as a Commissioner.
At the Commissioners meeting on Wednesday evening, August 28th, Commission President Mike Vlahovich read aloud Mr. duPont’s letter of resignation, in which Mr. duPont said that he found the ethics requirements under the new law to be a huge invasion of privacy. He also said that he believed it would severely limit the town of St. Michaels from attracting qualified persons to serve on the town Commission. In the interests of protecting the privacy of his own business patrons and family members, his letter said that had no choice but to resign his post.
After reading the letter, Commissioner Mike Vlahovich said that the resignation “leaves a huge hole in this Commission.”
The next steps for the Commissioners will be to appoint a replacement by majority vote to serve out Mr. duPont’s term, which continues through June of 2014.
After 3 years of debate, discussion and action after the 2010 state ethics law was put in place, the town of St. Michaels has not yet formed a final response to the state ethics commission. Town Attorney Chip McLeod was present at Wednesday’s meeting, and offered a recap of the present standings of the town and the State Ethics Commission.
The town initially asked for a full exemption from the law, as did hundreds of small towns in Maryland. St. Michaels was granted an exemption to the state law requiring regulation of lobbyists, but not regarding conflict of interest or financial disclosure.
The Commissioners met a number of times since 2011 to address the issue, and even drafted a new ethics ordinance with the assistance of the town’s ethics commission. That ordinance was never introduced, because the Commissioners decided in 2012 to pursue a different strategy suggested by McLeod. That strategy was to offer the state’s “Model B” with an additional paragraph granting specific rights to the town’s ethics commission to grant exemptions in individual cases. That request was denied by the state. After that denial, the Commissioners met twice and revised the ordinance that was created in 2011 with even more stringent financial disclosure requirements than the current ethics policy in place.
The state has asked St. Michaels to either submit their new ethics ordinance or a report on their progress by September 12, 2013.
Commissioner Ann Borders said that she had done homework on the issue, and found that some 80 jurisdictions were granted full exemptions to the ethics law. Oxford, Trappe and Rock Hall are among the 80 granted exemptions. The exemptions are granted based on size of population relative to town budget and payroll. It is believed that factors such as St. Michaels’ police force and public works department size, as well as funds for Miles Point are among the reasons that St. Michaels was not granted the full exception, in spite of the town’s relatively small population. The fact that the town requires a larger staff in response to the tourist trade puts it in a different position than towns of similar population in Maryland.
Acting upon the advice of Attorney Chip McLeod, the Commissioners may ask the state to re-consider a full exemption to the ethics law, given that the issue has been such a philosophical dilemma for the town, including the fact that the issue has resulted in an action as serious as the resignation of a Commissioner.
McLeod reminded the Commissioners that they have had an ethics ordinance in place for some time, including an ethics commission and a procedure through which anyone could pursue an ethics complaint against a public servant.
The Commissioners introduced both the revised town ordinance and the state’s Model B ordinance into the record, so that they will be able to vote upon either one of those options at a subsequent meeting. Attorney McLeod is preparing a response to the State in which an update of the town’s progress will be ready by the September 12th deadline.
Several members of the public spoke at the meeting. One of them was Ted Doyle, representing the Talbot County Taxpayers Association, who wrote a letter to the state against the town’s request for the initial exemption. Doyle said that his group did not believe that it was necessary for the town to have to go to the extent of “Model B”, but that public officials should be required to disclose any ownership in property anywhere, not just in Maryland, and that all sources of income (but not amounts) should be disclosed as well. He said that with the inclusion of those two items in the town’s ethics code, his group will support the town’s request for a full exemption from the state law.
Commissioner Vlahovich asked members of the public to participate in the process by writing letters to the State Ethics Commission. The public can reach the State Commission at: 45 Calvert S., 3rd floor, Annapolis, MD 21401.
The Commissioners will take up the issue again at their next meeting, on September 11, 2013.
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Sandra Showell says
Once again, a fine individual has had to make a choice between individual freedom, as was granted by the Constitution, and fought for by brave Americans, to preserve……………and the bureaucracy. How many more qualified people will now not choose to run for office because of invasion of privacy? I have known Tad Dupont for years. He is a fine individual and loves his community. He has contributed to St. Michaels what St. Michaels needed…….the perspective of a business owner and long-time resident. What a loss!
Bob Porter says
Once again, SHAME ON THE STATE OF MARYLAND. If something can be screwed up, they’ll surely find a way. I truly feel sorry for St. Michaels and agree wholeheartedly with Mr. duPont’s position. I can not remember a Commissioner who brought more insight and hard work to such a thankless task. His love and concern for the town is seen daily through his investment of both time and money for its betterment.
Hopefully this issue can be resolved and he can be persuaded to return to his position on the Commission. Small towns don’t need this type of bullying especially considering the small pool of available, capable or willing participants to fill the many positions of public service.
Hopefully many letters will be written to the State Ethics Commission !!! Thanks for the forum, Bob Porter
S.L. Freeland says
Thank you, Showell and Porter, for your fine comments.
Julia HBJH says
Wow – very hard to lose a hardworking Councilman. I too admire the unending dedication and effort TD has put in. BUT, truly, these are times of extraordinary finances and debt and (in many other places) corruption. What piercing questions could possibly have been in that disclosure form that caused this resignation? I personally don’t find it “against the Constitution” to make sure that Town tax dollars are being spent legally without conflicts-of-interest from any of its employees. Many of us guard our money against government encroachment on the Federal and State level and we insist on oversight there. Why should local government be exempt from oversight? Where do you all stand on Government Ethics, anyway? Thank you again, Talbot Spy
Bob Porter says
Seems to me that “government ethics” is an oxymoron. Perhaps Julia should run for St. Michaels commissioner. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind spilling her guts and all her personal information to serve a town for almost no compensation. In a small town everybody has their nose in every bodies business any how, so therefore every body knows all they need to know and can question the Commissioners at any time.
Tod Engelskirchen says
Mr. Doyle misses the point. There is nothing wrong with owning property…. anywhere. There is something wrong with conflict of interest and corruption. If there is corruption then we have laws against it and jails to house the miscreants. No one is suggesting that Tad DuPont is corrupt or acting in his own self interest beyond making Saint Michaels a place where tourists want to visit and therefore jobs can be created. I wonder if we should ask for full financial disclosure from anyone making a statement in a public forum? After all the Talbot County Taxpayers Association is an unelected group with an obvious ax to grind.
My wife and I lived for a while in a place where we had an organization which searched out superior people for the village board. I wonder how many of those folks who made their living in the private rather than the public sector would go thru this witch hunt. We will write a letter.
Chris A. says
OMG ..have you read this ethics law Model B? It is no wonder Mr. DuPont stepped down. This is truly an invasion of privacy, and could have the potential for identity theft for those whose information can be copied by anyone at will. If this law is forced on our small town, the ability to attract quality leaders in the future will be gravely diminished. Just meeting the requirement of a two year resident and a qualified voter does not equal QUALITY LEADERSHIP ! One of our quality leaders, Mr duPont, has already demonstrated he is NOT willing for his privacy to be invaded. I am sure there are more citizens in our wonderful little town who feel the same and would not serve under this mandate. The State has given small towns the ability to get an exemption. We need to try again.
Jon E. says
I would like know why this only applies to the elected officials? It seems to me that if te town goes forward with Model B, it should apply to all other boards and commissions as well. All boards and commissions should be held to the same standards as our elected officials. In any small town, you would never get enough people willing to serve. That’s why, as the article states, 80 small towns have already been exempt.
Cathy Stinchcomb says
I think your comments are totally appropriate. In order to make a difference please attend the meeting on September 11th. at the Town Office on Mill Street.
I hope the room is full!!!
Shirley Anne B. says
I just want to weigh in on what a great lost Tad duPont stepping down is for the Town of St Michaels. Everywhere I went this weekend with family and friends the sentiment was the same. Everyone echoed the same about privacy and what they thought would be the right ethics law for this small Town. Not one person said they would be willing to step up and run if model b is mandated on the Town. Moreover the theme was “Not me that lets me out”…. This will forever affect the future of this Town. Tad and good leaders like him will be missed.
Carol Parlett says
It is a sad day in St. Michaels when commissioners start resigning, and in this case a commissioner, Tad duPont, who has worked tirelessly for the Town, and helped enormously in getting things done – most notably his efforts with Miles Point! Are the remaining 4 commissioners willing to stay in office for the rest of their lives because St. Michaels does not have term limits for commissioners, and because future qualified candidates may hesitate to even consider running for office if Model B of the State Ethics Commission is adopted?