HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-044 Ethics Ordinance Structural ChangesJuly 31, 2026 Report No. 2026-044
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Structural Changes to Section 2-279 of the Ethics Ordinance
BACKGROUND:
On July 1, 2026, Council Member Ferrie submitted a two-minute pitch to have a work session to
change the structure of the Ethics Ordinance to (1) authorize anonymous complaints, (2) shift the
burden of proof, and (3) implement a secure hotline. On July 14, 2026, the City Council gave
direction to proceed with the two-minute pitch proposal as outlined in Ordinance 24-1725.
DISCUSSION:
1. Authorize Anonymous Complaints: Sec. 2-272 of the Ethics Ordinance allows a City
Official to make an anonymous report using the City’s current fraud, waste, or abuse
hotline (i.e., Lighthouse), to discharge their duty to report known violations of the Ethics
Ordinance. However, Sec. 2-279 requires that a Complainant provide certain information
for the City Auditor to determine if the Complaint is Administratively Complete,
including the name of the Complainant, the street or mailing address, email address, and
telephone number of the Complainant. When a Complaint is received without this
information, the City Auditor sends the Complainant a Notice of Deficiency and informs
the Complainant that the Complaint will be considered Abandoned unless the
deficiencies are corrected within ten business days.
Historically, two Ethics Complaints were received through Lighthouse and were
ultimately Abandoned due to administrative completeness issues.
If Council would like for Ethics Complaints submitted anonymously to be processed
Staff recommends the City Council:
i. Direct staff to schedule a work session to discuss options for processing
anonymous complaints, including any needed amendments to the Ethics
Ordinance; or
ii. Direct the Board of Ethics to propose an amendment to the Ethics Ordinance to
implement a method for processing anonymous complaints.
2. Shift the Burden of Proof: Sec. 2-279 of the Ethics Ordinance requires that a
Complainant provide certain information for the City Auditor to determine if the
Complaint is Administratively Complete, including the name of the Complainant, the
street or mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the Complainant. Sec.
2-281 of the Ethics Ordinance requires that the Complainant testify at a Hearing of their
Complaint, or the Complaint must be dismissed. Both the Complainant and the
Respondent have a right to be represented by legal counsel at a Hearing, and all meetings
of the Board of Ethics must be conducted pursuant to the Texas Open Meetings Act.
July 31, 2026 Report No. 2026-044
The current Ethics Complaint process is modeled on civil court proceedings where the
Complainant must provide evidence that a violation of the Ethics Ordinance has
occurred. The City Council, upon recommendation by the Board of Ethics, recently
amended Sec. 2-281 of the Ethics Ordinance to clarify the evidentiary standard for
violations of the Ethics Ordinance to be “reasonably certain” that a violation has
occurred. If the evidentiary standard is met, the Board of Ethics may issue a sanction,
including issuing (1) a Letter of Notification, (2) a Letter of Admonition, (3) a Letter of
Reprimand, or (4) a Recommendation of Suspension for non-Councilor City Official.
The City of Denton does not currently have staff primarily dedicated to investigating and
resolving alleged violations that only constitute violations of the Ethics Ordinance. For
allegations of ethical issues that violate City policy, including the City’s ethics policy
applicable to employees, or other law, these investigative duties can be dispersed between
the Human Resources Department, the City Auditor’s Office, and the Police
Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, all of which are supported by the City Attorney’s
Office. Some municipalities in Texas, such as the City of Dallas, have established
Inspector General Offices to centralize these functions.
If Council would like to explore changing the structure to be modeled on a criminal court
proceeding (i.e., a government employee identifies, investigates, and prosecutes
violations of the ethics ordinance) staff recommends the City Council:
A. Direct staff to hire a legal consultant to recommend changes to the Ethics Ordinance
that would allow a designated City employee to submit Ethics Complaints against
City Officials on behalf of an anonymous Complainant to ensure due process rights
will be respected; Staff expects these services to cost at least $5,000, which is
currently unbudgeted;1 and
B. Discuss any additional resource needs identified by the consultant as part of the next
available budget process.
3. Implement a Secure Hotline: Currently, the City of Denton procures a 24/7 anonymous
Ethics & Compliance Hotline (i.e., Lighthouse) from Mitratech, which may be used by
any individual to report alleged fraud, waste, or abuse of City resources. Reports are
received by the Investigation Committee, which includes staff from the City Auditor’s
Office, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Human Resources Department. Since October
1, 2024, 35 of the 44 reports received in Lighthouse were submitted anonymously.
Mitratech reported that information about a reporter’s identity is not collected when a
report is submitted by phone or online if they indicate they would like to remain
anonymous. If a report is submitted via email and identifying information is included, the
processing team verifies with the reporter whether that information should be included in
the report. The information is removed if the reporter indicates they wish to remain
anonymous.
1 The City budgets $5,000 annually for outside legal counsel support of the Board of Ethics. To date about $2,000 of
this amount has been spent for Fiscal Year 2026.
July 31, 2026 Report No. 2026-044
Should City Council direct staff to explore new Hotline options, additional funding may
be required.
STAFF CONTACT:
Madison Rorschach, City Auditor
City Auditor’s Office
(940) 349-7228
Madison.Rorschach@cityofdenton.com
REQUESTOR:
Council Member Ferrie
PARTICIPATING DEPARTMENTS:
None.
STAFF TIME TO COMPLETE REPORT:
2 Hours