Port Avalon will create its first independent ethics board under an ordinance approved Tuesday, requiring lobbyists to register and disclose meetings with council members within 30 days.
The five-member board, appointed by a panel of retired judges, will also be able to issue fines of up to $10,000 for violations.
“For years, the only way to know who was lobbying city hall was to ask city hall,” said Hana Moreau, a professor of urban policy at Avalon State University who advised the drafting committee. “Now the public will be able to see it for themselves.”
The ordinance takes effect in January.
