Sugar Land City Council recently appointed members to a newly created Independent Ethics Review Board.
The board includes Chair Conrith Davis, Krista Stegemiller, Ann Malecha, Andrew Wolf, Bruce Hicks, Naushad Kermally and Rachel Varghese. Appointed as alternate members were Amy Bergman and Frederick Kellermann.
The goal of the board is to ensure the highest level of transparency for citizens. Members will review violations of the City’s code of ethical conduct, standards that are included in Chapter 2, Article IV of the Code of Ordinances.
The independent board was recommended by a citizen-led Ethics Task Force after members conducted a review of the city’s code of ethical conduct for city officials.
Although there have been no written complaints filed during the 10-year history of the ordinance, the task force worked on updates and improvements that reflected the needs of Sugar Land residents and best practices. One of their adopted recommendations was to change the Ethics Review Board’s membership from City Council members to an independent citizens’ review board.
Applications to serve on the board were due on June 1. Of the 22 qualified candidates, each City Council member selected their top three choices. Twelve finalists were interviewed. The interview and board selection processes were conducted in open meetings on July 23 and July 30. Nine members were appointed on Aug. 7.
The board will be sworn in on Aug. 13 at 4 p.m., and will begin training that day.
This is a news release from the City of Sugar Land.