AUSTIN, Texas -- Austin leaders have taken pride in efforts to ensure transparency and accountability. But a unanimous vote Friday exempted the entire City Council and their staffs from being subject to punishment for "interference with personnel matters."
In Dec. 2015, the City Council explicitly asked the City Auditor to draft code amendments that allow the Ethics Review Commission to have jurisdiction over Article II, Section 9 of the City Charter, which deals with Interference in Personnel Matters.
City staff spent the next year drafting the new rules, which were unanimously recommended to the full City Council in Nov. 2016 by the City Council's Audit and Finance Committee. The Ethics Review Commission also signed off on the rules that month with an 8-0 vote.
On Tuesday, newly elected District 10 Council Member Alison Alter questioned the scope of the new regulations.
"As written, it was inadvertently moving over to the realm of the separation of powers," she said. "I was just trying to make sure we were addressing those concerns."
The draft ordinance gave the City Auditor the ability to investigate the City Council and their staff members for allegations of a violation related to interfering with personnel matters. It was intended to prevent elected officials from pressuring city staff to go against their best professional judgment.
"The city auditor shall hire an external party to investigate the allegation if the city auditor finds that an allegation merits an investigation," the draft ordinance read.
City employees tell Spectrum News striking the provision means the existing complaint structure remains.
"That person would discuss it with their manager," Deputy City Attorney Deborah Thomas said during Council Work Session Tuesday. "It would ultimately get to the City Manager, and the City Manager and that Council Member would have a discussion."
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That means a City Council member, their direct staff and the City Manager are not subject to due process.
Alter moved to adopt the amended ordinance that struck those provisions. District 7 Council Member Pool seconded, and the City Council approved it 11-0.
Alter declined requests Friday from Spectrum News for an interview. Another Council Member said us they were not aware of the impact Alter's amendment carried until it was too late.
Adding that language back would require the City Council to start the entire process over. Thursday's ordinance took more than a year to create.
Ethics attorney Fred Lewis said Saturday - after this story was published - he worked with Alter to strike the provision relating to interference in personnel matters.
"Allegations of City Council personal and ethics violations will go to the Auditor and Ethics Review Commission under the new law," Lewis said. "Separation of Powers issues, however, between the City Manager's staff and council would be still decided by Council and the City Manager as they should be."