As Island Matters has demonstrated, there are two groups of stakeholders who need a simple, secure, and confidential process to submit a complaint – especially “whistleblower” types of complaints – citizens and staff.
How do you file a complaint against an elected or appointed official?
When Randy Algoe served Mayor McNulty and the City Council with his self-drafted “Notice of Violations of the City Home Rule Charter,” it was good city council theater, but procedurally meaningless.
Step 1: What is the problem?
According to the South Padre Island City Ordinance, "The Board of Ethics shall establish a Code of Ethics and administer and enforce the conflict of interest and Finance Disclosure State Laws." So, step one becomes determining if the violation was a conflict of interests or a financial disclosure violation.
Step 2: Fill out the form!
Step two involves filing an ethics complaint form which includes an Ethics Complaint Affidavit Form, which can be found at the end of the South Padre Island Code of Ethics Handbook. According to the Board of Ethics Rules and Procedures Sec. 4 (b), Filed complaints "must be in writing and under oath and must set forth in simple, concise, and direct statements: (Ethics Code Complaint Form #4)
The complainant must give their name, address, and number, with their statements of facts, affidavit, and consanguinity/affinity relationships, which establish connections between blood relatives and spousal relationships.
