The opportunity to connect with international peers drives home with clarity the understanding that what we have in common is far greater than what divides or differentiates us. Who does not strive for clean water and a safe environment? Or economic viability so that people can thrive? Or personal safety? Regardless of government structure, culture, or availability to assets, local government staff and leaders across the globe share a commitment to providing safe, sustainable, and viable communities for their residents.

We also share one predilection that can torpedo those efforts: corruption. Corruption is an unfortunate, shared human condition that especially at the government level can inflict much misery and harm. In its worst form, it deprives the most vulnerable of their very basic human right to personal freedoms, liberty, and access to essential services. Imbedded into the structure and culture, pervasive systemic corruption undermines civil society, the development of good public policy, and where it exists, democracy.

Patricia Moreira, managing director of Transparency International, describes it best: “Corruption chips away at democracy to produce a vicious cycle, where corruption undermines democratic institutions and, in turn, weak institutions are less able to control corruption.”

Combating Corruption

Strategies to combat corruption stress more stringent laws, an independent judiciary for enforcement, maintaining a free press, and institution building. On that last component, local government professionals in all roles and at all levels can make a difference.

In place for over 95 years, the ICMA Code of Ethics is now a defining characteristic of our profession here in the United States. It’s taught in graduate schools. Its principles are reinforced with elected officials in the hiring process and held as a commitment in employment agreements. ICMA members have demonstrated decades-long leadership in ethics.

The ethical standards of U.S. local government are reinforced by the work of other professional associations. The American Planning Association (APA) adopted “Ethical Principles in Planning” back in 1992 to guide the ethical conduct for all who participate in the process of planning as advisors, advocates, and decision-makers. It presents a set of principles to be held in common by certified planners, other practicing planners, appointed and elected officials, and others who participate in the process of planning. Expertise in ethical standards is incorporated into APA’s certification process. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) set out to reinvent its approach to ethics and adopted a revised set of ethical standards in 2019 to reinforce the important role that finance officers play in building trust with the public.

ICMA is not alone in promoting ethics at home nor on the global stage. The United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Denmark, for example, have developed codes to guide their members and other dedicated public servants in related professions.

Common Themes

These codes use different approaches and different language, but they are based on remarkably similar principles that align with the tenets of the ICMA Code. Some of the common themes:

•    Personal integrity, honesty, and accountability.
•    Openness and transparency.
•    Impartiality and evidence-based decision-making.
•    Respect for the democratic process, the law, and the respective roles of elected and appointed officials.
•    Neutrality in partisan political matters.
•    Reporting ethical violations.
•    Stewardship of public and community resources.

In 2019, ICMA worked with its newly affiliated partner, Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) to provide ethics training for 30 Palestinian city managers. One of the exercises was to define the core values of public service from their perspective. They defined the six most critical values as commitment, equity, integrity, transparency, responsibility, and loyalty.

A Code for Senior Public Managers

The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) in the United Kingdom worked with colleagues from nine other organizations of senior managers in local government to create the “Local Public Services Senior Managers: Code of Ethics.” It is applicable even to individuals who are bound by separate professional codes of conduct. The principles on which the SOLACE code is based are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership, and democracy. Sound familiar?

Values and Rules of Conduct

Similarly, the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM) has a Code of Ethics outlining the values of honesty and integrity, transparent stewardship, valuing diversity and respecting others’ rights, and continuous learning. The code includes rules of conduct that closely parallel those in the ICMA and SOLACE codes: avoid conflicts of interest, do not use the position for personal gain, be professional, address ethical lapses by other members, and work within the law.

Dialogue and Duties

The Code of Quality and Ethics in the Public Administration prepared by Local Government Denmark sets forth seven standards, each with “themes for discussion” to encourage dialogue. The standards are legality, truthfulness, professionalism, party-political neutrality, responsibility and management, development and cooperation, and openness about errors. To help individuals relate the standards to their day-to-day work, the document presents questions centered on several “inspirational themes”: the basis, framework, and support of the political work and the professional’s role in policy development, external relations, implementing political goals and decisions, and handling the media. Finally, the document sets forth specific “obligations,” which are concrete examples of a professional manager’s duties.

Associations supporting local government staff across the globe have a critical role in preventing corruption. They do so by setting high ethical standards, training on those standards, imbedding those standards into the operations of local government, and strengthening the ethical resolve of those working in local government to do what is right.

MARTHA PEREGO, ICMA-CM, is director of member services and ethics, ICMA, Washington, D.C. (mperego@icma.org).