State tailors ethics training for municipal employees

The State Ethics Commission reports that it will launch a new ethics training program later this year designed specifically for municipal employees.

By Dec. 15, and on an annual basis thereafter, all state, county and municipal employees must be given a summary of the state’s conflict of interest law, and employees are required to sign an acknowledgement that they received the summary.

Additionally, every two years, employees must complete an online training course and a test on the state’s code of ethics. The Ethics Commission acknowledges that the training “is designed primarily for state employees.”

At the Sept. 12 meeting of the MMA’s Policy Committee on Personnel and Labor Relations, David Giannotti, chief of the Ethics Commission’s Public Education and Communications Division, said the commission is working to make the examples in the training relevant and specific to municipal employees. He said the commission plans to convene focus groups to get feedback.

After the meeting, the policy committee’s chair, Dartmouth Executive Administrator David Cressman, said, “It was encouraging to hear that the Ethics Commission appreciates the need to tailor the test so that it has meaning and relevance to municipal employees and local officials.”

The MMA, through the Massachusetts Municipal Personnel Association and in collaboration with the Massachusetts Town Clerks’ Association, intends to participate in the focus groups and provide additional input as needed.

For more information, visit www.mass.gov/ethics.