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Posted by: mturnipseed on 03/09/2010 06:22
Updated by: mturnipseed on 03/09/2010 06:22
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00
Conflict of Interest Within The County of Kern
Conflict of Interest Within The County of Kern
by Lisa Pinson, KERNTAX Intern
18 January, 2010
With authority comes responsibility; and with responsibility comes honesty. If a person with a leadership title takes advantage of his role and the benefits that come with his job, it is very possible that he could be involved with conflict of interest.
Conflict of Interest Within The County of Kern
by Lisa Pinson, KERNTAX Intern
18 January, 2010
With authority comes responsibility; and with responsibility comes honesty. If a person with a leadership title takes advantage of his role and the benefits that come with his job, it is very possible that he could be involved with conflict of interest.
Webster describes conflict of interest as “a conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.” Conflict of interest occurs when one has a position or occupation (i.e. lawyer, director or a corporation, etc.) that assures his clients good faith.
There are a number of ways in which good faith, or a bona fide intention could be ruined. Just a few of these examples may include: family interests, gifts from friends, and self-dealing.
Family interests transpire when a close relative becomes employed by the official’s company Other benefits include merchandise or services from their relative or corporation authorized by the relative.
Family may not be the only ones that gain advantages from this situational hazard. When an official accepts gifts from someone he does business with, conflict of interest is about to take its toll. This concept isn’t only limited to tangible products. Added incentives and luxuries are just as likely to fit into this category.
Self-dealing summarizes nearly all of the categories listed above for it consists of an anointed leader that takes advantage of his position. More specifically, while taking on this role, he will overlook an organization that prepares it for a transaction with that company’s official. Self-dealing becomes recognized when the leader profits from both sides.
Recently, the city of Fresno has dealt with a number of conflict of interest instances. Most recently, money had been misspent within Fresno Unified schools regularly. An auditing firm hired by First 5 Fresno County discovered that the district had been spending money unethically on cameras, computers and employee trips to Napa and Washington D.C.
Not only was the money spent carelessly and improperly, but the services that these early-childhood programs were providing were ineligible services. According to The Fresno Bee, “Auditors couldn’t account for children at Lowell Elementary, but determined that 66% of the families served there were ineligible, because children were too old or records weren’t kept, the audit showed.” (Branan, 1).
In this particular scenario, process auditors should be required to check their company’s monetary status more frequently. By auditing yearly, these services and commissioners could be held more accountable. Also, better communication between Fresno Unified, First 5 and auditors could result to a more trustworthy settlement.
But what happens when The Board of Supervisors themselves make personal gains for themselves? The Fresno Bee reported in December of 2009 that each member of the Fresno County commission that had been recognized for allotting millions of dollars in tobacco-tax revenue each year has either worked or represented a business that has received money from the commission. On top of that, the commission awarded nearly $53 million to businesses that have had either employees or board members on commission. Granted, not all of these awards were presented when commissioners were on the board.
Last summer, Fresno was accused of conflicts of interest surrounding Fresno Co. Mental Health Board. It was reported that the county was allowing those with conflicts of interest to sit on its health advisory board. According to Fresno County officials, this act would be disrupting state law.
Many of the board members have connections with corporations that do business within the county. State law claims that Mental Health Board members or their spouses must not be employees of government mental health departments or businesses that have contracts with them.
Considering these acts of conflict of interest have occurred all within a year within the same commissioners, it is time to make replacements. Now would be the time to re-elect the commissioners as a whole. It is astounding that this option hasn’t already been seriously considered.
Another option is for a conflict of interest policy to be made if it hasn’t been written already. By doing so, members will understand precisely what is or isn’t acceptable.
Conflict of interest is a self-absorbed matter that restrains officials from offering their talents and services to the public. It is difficult to determine how much freedom should be allotted to companies without being monitored. Not only does conflict of interest affect those directly involved, but often times taxpayers, or the general public as a whole.
Works Cited
Branan, Brad. “Fresno Unified misspent First 5 funds.” The Fresno Bee. 29,
November 2009: www.fresnobee.com 3, January 2010.
“Conflict of Interest” http://www.merriam-webster.com 2010.
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