The Dallas City Council members unanimously approved a proposal Wednesday to create a new office that will investigate accusations of wrongdoings by city officials and make other changes to ethics rules to reduce corruption.
According to The Dallas Morning News, council members said the changes would bolster transparency and accountability to Dallas residents. The changes will also make rules – and reporting ethics violations under those rules – more clear.
In light of the recent scandals and corruption involving city officials, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson created the task force to investigate the issue. The task force suggested several proposals submitted to the council members in September.
According to The Dallas Morning News, following the council’s vote to approve the proposal, Johnson said it was the most important vote the council has ever taken. “This vote today on ethics reform represents a sea change in the way this city does business,” Johnson said, as reported by the news station. “It’s a historic vote. It’s a monumental vote. And it’s the right thing to do to restore the public’s trust.”
The vote of approval now means there will be an inspector general division in the city attorney’s office that would investigate all internal waste, abuse, fraud, and corruption complaints against city officials. The attorney general’s office will also have subpoena power and present cases it finds credible to Dallas’ ethics advisory commission.
After the Wednesday vote, the city will begin finding prospects for the inspector general position. According to The Dallas Morning News, it will cost the city around $198,000 to create the inspector general’s office, the same amount needed to run the office yearly.
Other changes approved by council members include training for city officials, staff, and registered lobbyists, allowing council members to use their city title in political endorsement instead of “honorable.”
The changes will also ban those seeking a public subsidy from directly or indirectly lobbying a council member about the matter before a decision has been made.