In 2013, the ICMA Executive Board began a structured effort with the Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) to review each tenet of ICMA's Code of Ethics with the membership. In October 2019, the membership approved changes to Tenets 1 and 2 that have been incorporated into the ICMA Code of Ethics. To date, Tenets 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 12 have been revised. Amendments to the tenets require membership approval, while changes to the guidelines require executive board approval.   

Formal review of the Code of Ethics continues with a current focus on Tenets 5 and 6 and the Tenet 5 guideline on conflicting roles. The CPC facilitated discussions with members during the regional conferences and state association meetings in the first part of 2019 to gain feedback on the tenets’ relevancy to the profession and ethical challenges members encounter in developing and implementing policy with elected officials. 

The committee then reviewed the feedback received from members to draft proposed changes for the membership’s consideration. All members were sent an email inviting comments on the proposed recommendations through a short survey. The survey will be open until November 21 and all members are encouraged to respond. The committee is interested in your feedback on the new proposed language to help the committee further refine its recommendations to the ICMA Executive Board.

Members with questions about the survey or the efforts to revise the ICMA Code of Ethics can contact Martha Perego, director of member services and ethics, at mperego@icma.org or Jessica Cowles, ethics advisor, at jcowles@icma.org.