The Metro: Why Oakland County punted on ethics reforms
After reports of potential conflicts of interest arose in Oakland County’s leadership, there was a discussion on hiring some form of oversight. Now leaders have decided to pass responsibility to the state.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Michael Spisz
In Oakland County, local leaders have gotten more attention in recent months.
That’s because reports have shown potential conflicts of interest—some have voted on matters that affect their side jobs.
Discussions arose about hiring an ombudsman to oversee county officials’ operations, or having commissioners disclose their financial information.
But in a recent Oakland County meeting, neither of those things happened. Instead, county commissioners kicked the responsibility to the state legislature, urging those lawmakers to pass a bill mandating local officials to publicly disclose their assets.
Why didn’t commissioners pass an ethics resolution? And, what ethics rules should be imposed on commissioners?
Oakland County Commissioner Michael Spisz was originally advocating for the county to pass an ethics resolution, but changed course. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.
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