Wishnie to Serve on New Westchester County Ethics Task Force

In 2014, the Westchester County Charter Revision Commission recommended several updates to the Board of Legislators (BOL) regarding the Ethics Board and dealing with employment waiver requests. The BOL has been discussing this issue and debating various reforms since that time, according to Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D Somers).

After extensive effort the BOL drafted Legislation that a revitalized Board of Ethics would follow receiving all waiver requests from County Officers and employees. This proposed Legislation was to go to the BOL for their approval and then to the voters for their assent through a referendum on election day this November.

However, last week this compromise legislatively fell apart. Therefore, Kaplowitz announced that he would form a volunteer citizen task force to investigate and report to the BOL on the appropriateness or propriety of all future employment waivers that are brought before the board.

The task force will be comprised of five public citizens, he said. The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader will each appoint one member. He will appoint three.

The Task Force will be given 30 days to interview the employee requesting the waiver and representatives of the enterprise for which the employee is seeking employment. They will also review past and current contracts between the County and any prospective private employer. The members of the Task Force will by a vote and or a report make a recommendation to the BOL on the merits of granting or not granting a waiver. The BOL could accept or reject such a recommendation.

Kaplowitz described the Task Force as a necessary “stop-gap” until ethics reform legislation is passed.

“I would have much preferred to memorialize real ethics reform through passed Legislation via a public successful referendum that would provide a better and more transparent ethics law for not only the current County Government but for all future Legislatures and County Executives,” Kaplowitz said in his announcement. “This Task Force will be comprised of a neutral and objective panel of citizens to consider the validity of future waiver requests. I have already confirmed that Richard Wishnie, the Chairman of the Charter Revision Commission and a former County Legislator, will be one of my appointees. I will also seek appointees from the League of Women Voters and the current County Ethics Board.”