You read about a local government manager’s conduct that raises an eyebrow and wonder, what should I do about this? If the individual is an ICMA member, you should report it so that it gets an impartial and objective peer review. The profession’s commitment to a high set of standards is meaningless without accountability.

Filing a complaint with ICMA is a simple and straight forward process. The complaint, filed by email or letter, should outline the conduct that appears to be a violation of the ICMA Code of Ethics and include sufficient documentation to support the allegation.

While most are filed by ICMA members, complaints come from a variety of sources, including elected officials or residents who are aware of ICMA’s standards. On occasion, they are even filed anonymously. A complainant can choose to go on record and have his or her name associated with the complaint or request to be unidentified.  

Assuming that the complaint has enough supporting documentation, ICMA will write to the individual to ask for his or her side of the story. The ICMA Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) will review the member’s response and complaint to determine if a violation of the Code occurred. If the CPC needs additional information, it will refer the matter to the state association where a fact-finding committee will gather the missing information.

The committee’s effort generally begins with an in-person interview with the member. Once the fact-finding committee completes its work, it will submit a formal report of its findings to the CPC for review. This is the final step in the review process.

At this stage, the CPC must reach a conclusion: did the member’s conduct violate the Code? If the CPC decides that the conduct was a violation, it has the option of issuing a private censure or recommending any combination of public censure, suspension, credential revocation, and membership expulsion/bar. The most serious sanctions require approval by the ICMA Executive Board.

At the conclusion of the process, ICMA notifies the complainant and the state association president that the matter has been resolved. When a public censure is issued, notice of that action is shared with the news media as well as the appropriate governing body.

If you have questions about whether a matter warrants formal review by ICMA or need confidential advice on an ethics issue, contact Martha Perego, ICMA director of ethics, at 202-962-3668 or mperego@icma.org; or Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth, ethics advisor, at 202-962-3513 or mbailey@icma.org.