New twp. code of ethics should be on books soon Ordinance expected to be introduced at Jan. 30 meeting BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer Brick Township Councilman Anthony Matthews expects to introduce an ethics ordinance soon that spells out the right and wrong way for township officials and employees to behave. The need for an ethics panel and an ethics officer is long overdue, Matthews said early this week., "Every major industry generally has this," he said. "Every employee has to sign off on it. This is the way they will be protected." The panel will consist of three Township Council members, three members from the public, and a township ethics officer, he said. "This also puts elected officials and board appointments on the spot," Matthews said. "There are right ways and there are wrong ways. There will be no excuses for misconduct. And it gives residents a contact in town hall to file a complaint." The work on the ethics ordinance actually began several years ago but had to be changed when the state revamped its own code, he said. "We've been working on this awhile," Matthews said. "That was one of the things we campaigned on, to bring back honesty and integrity and accountability. About a year into it, the state put out a whole new set of rules. It blew away a year-and-a-half's work I was doing because the state revamped everything." New employees will be given a pamphlet or brochure when they are hired that details conduct they must follow as a public employee, he said. "The government world is different from the real world," he said. "This is a way of informing people so that they don't make honest mistakes." The same applies to new township board appointments, like the Planning Board or Board of Adjustment, Matthews said. "Even in the case of board appointments, they don't exactly know what are ethics violations, misconduct," he said. "This gives them an opportunity to have something in writing." The township clerk will be the new ethics officer, Matthews said. "An ethics officer gives them a contact person," he said. The ordinance isn't about mistrust, it's a "matter of education more than anything," Matthews said. Council members planned to hash out the details of the measure at the caucus meeting Tuesday night. The ordinance will probably be introduced at the Jan. 30 Township Council meeting. "I think this is something that has been needed for years, not only in Brick Township, but everywhere," Matthews said.