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| | 1. | | Roll call and approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.
Minutes note: Members present: Kalscheur, Kruse, Nicholas and Notestein.
Members excused: Mueller.
Mr. Block from the City's Attorney Office was present as well.
Mr. Nicholas moved approval of the meeting minutes of November 15, 2023. The motion was seconded by Mr. Kruse. There were no objections. | | | |
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| | 2. | | The Board may convene into closed session pursuant to s. 19.85(1)(h), Wis. Stats., to consider and render confidential advice. The Board will then convene into open session as authorized by s. 19.85(2), Wis. Stats. to continue with the remainder of the agenda.
Minutes note: Mr. Kruse made the motion to convene into closed session seconded by Mr. Nicholas. There were no objections.
Mr. Nicholas made the motion to reconvene into open session seconded by Ms. Notestein. There were no objections.
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| | 3. | | Open Meetings Law Training.
Minutes note: Mr. Block made a Power Point presentation. The presentation was shared via e-mail with the members. | | | |
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| | 4. | | Discussion and vote relating to future virtual or in-person meetings
Minutes note: Mr. Bradley asked if there is a chance to have hybrid meetings.
Mr. Block confirmed that it is possible, that there is a room with that capability.
Mr. Bradley suggested to keep it flexible in order to keep the quorum.
Mr. Kruse said that it is more convenient for him to stay virtual for commuting/time purposes.
Mr. Nicholas said that he is fine virtual and probably to meet in person in the warmer months.
Ms. Notestein said that she is fine sticking to the virtual mode.
Mr. Kruse made the motion to stay in the virtual mode for now and to keep it flexible (hybrid mode) for the future. Mr. Nicholas seconded the motion. There were no objections.
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| | 5. | | Discussion of the Inspector General's report and determination on whether to conduct an investigation.
Minutes note: Inspector Ronda M. Kohlheim was present.
Mr. Block indicated that the report pertains to one of his supervisors, Deputy City Attorney Odalo Ohiku, and indicated that he could answer procedural questions with regard to this item; however, he would have to recuse himself from this matter if the Board elects to authorize an investigation into whether Mr. Ohiku violated the Ethics Code.
Ms. Kohlheim said that her recommendations for changes to the Ethics Code are stated starting on page 47. She added that there is a draft being worked on to amend Chapter 303, that there is a sponsor for that amendment, and that one of the changes in the draft is to widen 303-5-9 to apply to all attorneys in the City Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Kalscheur said that his understanding is that there are two matters before the Ethics Board:
1. Whether Mr. Ohiku violating the Ethics Code by omitting information in his SEI forms
2. Whether Mr. Ohiku committed a separate violation of the Ethics Code.
Ms. Kohlheim said that it is correct.
Mr. Kalscheur indicated that, as laid out in 303-19-2, the Ethics Board can vote to conduct an investigation into an alleged violation of the ethics code if there is a verified complaint or if the Board receives other information that provides a reasonable basis to believe that a violation of the Ethics Code has occurred.
Ms. Kohlheim verified that she did not file a verified complaint.
Mr. Kalscheur said that if Mr. Ohiku did not properly fill out his statement of economic interests, it would be a violation of the Ethics Code, and that he believes that the report provides a reasonable basis to believe that Mr. Ohiku left information off all of his statements of economic interest.
Mr. Kalscheur asked Ms. Kohlheim to identify what other provisions of the Ethics Code that Mr. Ohiku had violated, but Ms. Kohlheim was unable to point to a specific code section. Instead, Ms. Kohlheim stated Mr. Ohiku violated city policies, and that adherence to policies is a part of all codes of ethics.
Ms. Kohlheim asked the Ethics Board to take no action with regard to the allegation that Mr. Ohiku committed a violation of the Ethics Code, separate from the allegations related to the SEI forms, and stated that she would review the Ethics Code after the meeting and then get back to the Board if she was able to identify specific provisions of the Ethics Code that she believes that Mr. Ohiku has violated.
As for the SEI forms, Inspector Kohlheim indicated that Mr. Ohiku earned money from his private law practice while serving as a deputy city attorney, and did not report those earnings on his SEI forms.
Mr. Kalscheur said that the Board received a copy of the SEI forms from 2019 to 2022 and that the Board can request a copy of the tax returns for those particular years to verify if they match the filed SEI forms. He added that he does not believe that additional/outside counsel would needed at this time, as the Board would only be requesting Mr. Ohiku’s tax returns.
Mr. Block indicated that if outside counsel is needed, the Board would make a request to the City Attorney’s Office for a list of potential candidates, those candidates and any other candidates the Board wishes to add, would then be interviewed by the Board. Once a candidate is chosen, a contract would be put together, reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office, and then approved by the Common Council.
Mr. Kruse made a motion to authorize an investigation, for the years open to review, into whether Deputy City Attorney Odalo Ohiku violated 303-11 and 303-13 of the Ethics Code, by not declaring that he was receiving income from his private law firm while working for the City of Milwaukee.
The motion was seconded by Ms. Notestein. There were no objections. | | | |
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| | 6. | | Report from staff relating to office activities of the previous month.
Minutes note: Yadira Melendez gave the following report:
-The 2023 SEI digital forms went out by e-mail on Thursday, January 4, 2024.
-The 2022 Reimbursement Form was submitted to the Comptroller's office on December 26, 2023.
-Working on the 2023 Activities Report.
-Will work on the dismissal letter for Mr. Thomas received today.
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| | 7. | | Set next meeting date(s).
Minutes note: The board agreed to meet on Monday, February 19, 2024 at 3PM | | | |
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| | 8. | | Election of a new Board Chair.
Minutes note: Mr. Nicholas recommended Mr. Kruse for the Chair.
Mr. Kruse accepted the nomination.
Mr. Nicholas moved to nominate Mr. Kruse as Chair of the Ethics Board seconded by Ms. Notestein. There were no objections.
Mr. Kruse was elected Chair of the Ethics Board. (Prevailed 4-0)
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