The Chesapeake City Council held a work session at 5:00 PM to discuss a code of ethics, followed by a closed meeting at 5:30 PM, and the regular meeting at 6:30 PM. The regular meeting included presentations, public comments, consent and regular agenda items, board nominations, and new business. All voting items passed unanimously (9-0) unless noted.
I want to welcome everyone to our October 8, 2024 council work session. I believe we only have one item to consider. And we do, just for council members uh knowledge, we need to conclude this uh by 5 30 so we can go into a closed session if at all possible. Uh Mr. Icke, you have brought this uh idea of a code of ethics before the council. So I want to let you uh present what you have. Sure. Thank you. Uh I asked for this work session because I felt a deep sense of responsibility to address a matter that strikes at the very heart of public service, and that's ethics. When we let council members uh or any public official, we trust them to represent us with honesty, integrity, accountability, fairness, and transparency. We trust them to make decisions that reflect the interest of the community and not their own self-interest. Unfortunately, when leaders violate the code of ethics, they betray that trust. Reach recent actions by certain council members. I'm gonna call a point of order. Mr. Mayor, I it if we're gonna get into a personal attack that's inappropriate, if we're gonna get to wanting to have a discussion on what our code of ethics should be, I think that is appropriate, but to sit here and point fingers would be inappropriate and in violation of our rules and procedures. Yeah, that could start a little uh exchange of Ukraine Council members. Can you stick to the code of ethics? Sure. Uh whether it's conflicts of interests, financial mismanagement, or using office for personal gain, these violations damage not just the individuals involved, but the integrity of the entire system. The code of ethics exists for a reason to ensure that public servants act in the best interest of the people they serve. These violations don't just break a rule, they break the covenant between elected officials and the community. When that bond is broken, we all suffer. We have the power to demand accountability. We have the power to insist that our leaders uphold the ethical standards we expect. And if they can't do that, they have no place in leadership. We deserve better. Our children deserve better, our community deserves better. We are not powerless in the face of this. We must be vigilant, and we must speak out, and we must hold officials accountable, whether that means calling for their resignation, pushing for investigations, or voting them out. Public service is a privilege, not a right, and we should never allow those who treat it as their own playground remain in power. I urge you all to join me tonight in this fight for transparency, for fairness, for ethical leadership. And it's time that we as a council stand together and create a coat of code of ethics binding on ourselves. I'm gonna hand this out. This is the uh the one that was on the City of Chesapeake website uh until recently. Uh I think it speaks to probably uh every concern that I have, and uh I think this in and of itself should be uh added into our council rules of order and procedure as our code of ethics. Thank you. So that's your your proposing this uh code of ethics is used for this employees for us to adopt, is that what I'm hearing you say? Yes. It's good enough for our employees, it should be good enough for us. Uh Ms. Newwise. May I ask the manager a question? Do our employees follow this code of ethics that Mr. Ike's proposing? No, ma'am. That hasn't been our code of ethics in over a decade. We we uh adhere to what we call the care standards. Okay, so if it's good enough for our employees, it's good enough for us. We should probably go by we're currently using the care standards, is what we're currently using.