Panel opposes nepotism revision - Fayette law good, ethics group says

Although there's little they can do to prevent it, members of the city's ethics commission strongly oppose making a change to the city's anti-nepotism rules so Police Chief Anthany Beatty can be promoted.

Mayor-elect Jim Newberry asked the Urban County Council to change the rules so he could appoint Beatty public safety commissioner -- a post that would put Beatty in charge of his son, Embry, a Lexington firefighter.

Allison Connelly, chairwoman of the city's ethics commission, said commission members met Thursday night for their monthly meeting and discussed the proposed change, which received its first reading by the Urban County Government during Thursday's council meeting. The measure is scheduled for a final vote Tuesday.

Connelly said the ethics commission, which was not consulted about the change, reviewed the ordinance and voted unanimously that "it would be a bad decision to change the existing nepotism law."

The change -- which would apply to commissioners, Urban County Council members, the chief administrative officer and the mayor -- clarifies that a commissioner can't directly supervise a relative.

There are several levels of supervisors between Beatty's son and the fire chief, who reports to the public safety commissioner. However, the current law prohibits any supervision -- no matter how far up the chain of command. So, under current rules, Beatty's appointment would mean his son would have to resign.

The current rule is "a very strict policy," Connelly said. "To the ethics committee, it's a very good policy and good law."

Shaye Rabold, a spokeswoman for Newberry, said the change is needed to help find the "best possible candidates" for the city's top jobs, such as chief administrative officer and commissioners. She said Newberry does not plan to ask council to withdraw the proposal, which officials said was modeled after an ordinance in Louisville.

Although this is the first time Lexington's nepotism law has been challenged, it is not the first time the law created conflict.

Beatty's situation is similar to that of former police chief Larry Walsh.

In 2001, then-Mayor Pam Miller appointed Walsh to the public safety commissioner's post. At the time, Walsh's daughter, Pamela, worked in the police bureau of traffic. After the nepotism issue was raised by the city's legal department, Walsh stepped down from the commissioner's job.

Miller, reached by telephone Friday, said she appointed Walsh without realizing the nepotism policy would be triggered.

"When we found out it would be, we decided to forego," she said. "He didn't really want to challenge it, and neither did I."

Walsh, who had been chief since 1990, was technically in violation of the ethics act as police chief, because his daughter was in his line of command; however, they were not affected because both had worked at the department before passage of the act in 1994.

Newberry's move to change the law has been hotly debated in recent days.

During public comment at Thursday's council meeting, Robert Dalton, 46, of Lexington told the council to think hard about the situation before rushing to a decision. He encouraged council to turn it down because the change "opens the door to too many problems, and Kentucky's already got bad problems with corruption."

If Embry Beatty were to get a promotion, Dalton said, some would question whether he got the bump up on his own merit or "did he get it because of his father?"

The change is "something that needs to be thought over a little bit harder and something that, in my personal opinion, should not be passed because of the possibilities of corruption -- not with Chief Beatty, but with anybody else who would come into a position of power and do what they shouldn't be doing," Dalton said.

In fact, Connelly said the ethics commission's concerns "are many."

She said it's bad policy to change a law or ordinance for a single situation.

"It increases the danger," she said, adding that it removes safeguards. "And it won't stop the dinnertime discussions: 'My boss is giving me a hard time at work. Mom, do something about it.' You just don't change a law for one situation."

Rabold, Newberry's spokeswoman, said the mayor-elect understands the concerns that may surface after taking a first glance at the proposed ordinance. "However, once people take a closer look, we believe they will agree with us that it strengthens the law and makes us competitive with communities such as Cincinnati, Louisville and Nashville," she said.

Nashville's nepotism rule prohibits employees who are relatives -- immediate or extended family -- from being "placed within the same direct line of supervision whereby one relative is responsible for supervising the job performance or work activities of another relative."

Louisville does not prohibit employment of immediate family -- parents, spouses and children -- in the same department or administrative unit, "provided that one family member is not under the direct chain of command of another family member."

And Cincinnati established a human resources policy against nepotism, rather than a city ordinance, that says to "avoid those situations where employees participate in the employment decisions of or personnel actions pertaining to persons related to them by birth, adoption, or marriage."

Michael Allen, Lexington's human resources director, said the city's proposed change was modeled after Louisville's.

"In the war for talent, it's tough out there to get great people," he said. "You don't want anything to stand in your way that makes good business sense. And you also don't want something that is unfair. You have to walk a fine line."

Rabold pointed out that all commissioners and the chief administrative officer have to be confirmed by the council and any issues can be raised by the council during the hearings leading up to the confirmation -- another safeguard in the law.

"The fact that one person or any candidate has a relative somewhere in the Urban County Government should not automatically disqualify that person from consideration," Rabold said.