At its September 12 meeting, the ICMA Executive Board voted to publicly censure Michael Freilinger, former administrator, Tazewell County, Illinois. Freilinger accepted an offer to become the city manager of Independence Iowa, entered into negotiations with the city, and then signed an employment agreement. Thirty-seven days after signing the employment agreement, Freilinger notified the city that he would not be reporting to work; he accepted a position in the private sector in Peoria, Illinois.

The executive board found that Freilinger provided insufficient justification for not honoring his commitment to Independence and that his delay in notifying the city that he changed his mind required the city to reinitiate its search, thus delaying filling a critical position.

Members are encouraged to read the ICMA Code of Ethics and Guidelines and to seek advice when unsure of their ethical obligation by contacting Martha Perego, ICMA director of ethics at 202-962-3668 or mperego@icma.org; or Jared Dailey, program manager, at 202-962-3557 or jdailey@icma.org. Ethics advice, information, and the ICMA Code of Ethics are available online at icma.org/ethics.