Ethics are the core of building and maintaining public trust in the local government management profession and with the communities in which members serve. ICMA’s Code of Ethics was adopted in 1924 to reflect the profession’s values. Guidelines to it were added in 1972 to help members better understand how to meet their ethical obligations outlined in the tenets. Amendments to the tenets require membership approval via election ballot while changes to the guidelines require ICMA Executive Board approval.
Complete the Member Feedback Survey on Proposed Changes to Tenets 8 and 10
Members are invited to provide feedback on the proposed language revisions through a short survey. The survey will be open until Wednesday, March 19, 2025, and all members are encouraged to respond. The board’s Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) is interested in feedback on the proposed language to help further refine their recommendations to the Board.
Background
In 2013, the board began a structured effort with the CPCto review each tenet with the membership. The graphic below shows the effort’s progression with Tenet 8 on professional development and Tenet 10 on job encroachment as the final two tenets to review with the membership.
Engaging members in discussion has always been a crucial component of the Code review effort. More than 700 individuals provided feedback on Tenets 8 and 10 and their associated guidelines as part of this structured review. The overwhelming majority of members providing feedback online and in person (~95%) believe both Tenets 8 and 10 are still relevant to the local government management profession.
ICMA facilitated in-person discussions at six state association meetings and ICMA’s two Local Government Reimagined Conferences in 2024, engaging with more than 600 members in discussion and collecting 50 written handouts with comments and suggested revisions.
The CPC requested feedback from any member who could not attend those sessions through an online survey. During August 2024, 128 ICMA members responded and offered 602 comments.
The CPC then reviewed the member feedback to draft proposed changes to Tenets 8 and 10 and their associated guidelines for the membership’s consideration. Please take the final survey in this review cycle.
Contact Us
Members with questions about the survey or the efforts to revise the ICMA Code of Ethics, can contact Jessica Cowles, ethics director, at jcowles@icma.org.
New, Reduced Membership Dues
A new, reduced dues rate is available for CAOs/ACAOs, along with additional discounts for those in smaller communities, has been implemented. Learn more and be sure to join or renew today!
