Chattanooga Mayor Andy BerkeA new ethics code issued by Mayor Andy Berke puts city administrators and anyone appointed by the mayor to a city board or agency on notice that any behavior that reflects negatively on the city will not be tolerated.
The executive order issued Tuesday afternoon goes into effect immediately, broadening the city’s ethics ordinance to include five additional rules that must be followed or risk action from a newly appointed ethics committee.
Previously they were governed by the same ethics rules as every city employee and including not to accept gifts, personally gain from employment and to disclose any personal interests.
The broadened interpretation means anyone impeding government efficiency or by their actions jeopardizing the public’s confidence in the city’s integrity faces discipline.
“This ethics ordinance was intended to say ‘everyone in government take notice,'” Berke said Tuesday.