Mayor could face city ethics charges

Jeffrey Libby

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 11:02 a.m.

Before the din has quieted on the unprecedented mid-term raises the Boulder City Council voted itself last June, Mayor Robert Ferraro could face another charge of ethics violations.

Unlike last December, when the state Ethics Commission ruled Ferraro had violated state ethics codes by failing to disclose retirement benefits connected with his $8,000 annual raise, this hearing could be closer to home -- in Boulder City Municipal Court.

If a violation was determined, Ferraro could be charged with a misdemeanor violation and be sentenced to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.

In an apparently little-known section of city code, Councilman Bill Smith came across language earlier this week similar to state ethics laws he used to bring a complaint against Ferraro last summer.

The conflict of interest section in the city code could form the basis for a complaint against Ferraro, said City Attorney Dave Olsen.

The section states that "all' financial interest in any matter must be disclosed by public officials in a public meeting before they take any action. Ferraro, who said during the 1999 mayoral campaign that he would not seek re-election, did not disclose the $300 a month in extra retirement benefits that his mid-term raise would provide.

A special prosecutor would be hired if a complaint based on city code were filed, Olsen said. Also, in all likelihood, another Municipal Court judge would have to sit in for Victor Lee Miller, Olsen said.

It was Smith who filed the complaint with the state Ethics Commission. In that complaint he argued that Ferraro had broken state ethics laws. The councilman said he would not likely bring a second complaint against Ferraro. But if the referendum to repeal the salary raises is defeated April 3, Smith said someone would likely come forward with a formal complaint.

Olsen was skeptical that any complaint based on city code would be found to be valid.

"The worst you could accuse the mayor and council of is following the advice of their lawyers,' Olsen said. "These guys didn't think this (the mid-term raises) up on their own."

The City Council voted itself raises of $5,000 for councilmen and $8,000 for the mayor that would take effect in June before the mayor and two of four councilmen stand for re-election. Since 1970, four raises have been staggered to allow voters a chance to decide whether council members have earned those raises.

Olsen argues that the state Ethics Commission could have fined Ferraro for not disclosing the $300 in additional monthly retirement benefits he would receive in connection with the raise. Instead, based on a ruling that Ferraro had not willfully withheld the benefits, the board handed down only a verbal reprimand.

But Smith counters that Ferraro got off easy. Due to a stipulation worked out between Olsen and Nancy Vargas, then acting executive director of the state ethics board, Ferraro was able to avoid a full hearing with witnesses, Smith said.

If a complaint is brought forward in Boulder City, new evidence is likely to come forward if the city manager and others are subpoenaed to testify, Smith said.

Ferraro knowingly orchestrated the raises, Smith said Thursday.

Ferraro, who has served Boulder City for more than 24 years, most of those years as mayor, maintains that the retirement benefits connected with the raises were the last thing on his mind.

"I never did the job with the idea of providing for my retirement. If I did, I'd have to have my head examined," Ferraro said. "I do my job because I like doing a good job for the people of Boulder City."

Any complaint would have to be filed by June 27, 2001, a year from the date the raised were approved.