To the editor:

The City of Langley’s Ethics Commission is comprised of fellow citizen volunteers who meet to draft a revised code of ethical conduct under which elected and appointed city officers, employees and contractors will function.

The commission has been researching the many variations of governmental codes of ethics. This initial activity has helped them gain a greater understanding of what has been done in other venues and provided insight for the formulation of a meaningful document for Langley.

Aside from Mayor Fred McCarthy’s initial direction to create such a document, commission members function as a separate body from city governance. To this end, the ethics commission is seeking resident input to ensure that the document represents residents’ opinions and reflects the spirit of our community.

What are your hopes for an ethical code that will guide City Hall in the future?

When completed and approved by the city council, this will be a citizen generated document to guide Langley’s elected officials, paid staff, and volunteer committee members to function in the best interests of the citizens of Langley, present and future.

As was previously reported in the Record, ethics commission members will be conducting a special public meeting on Tuesday May 21, at 7 p.m. at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall to gain resident guidance and recommendations solely to support the formulation of this document. Your attendance and recommendations are important.

The focus of the meeting will be on gaining input for the very best future governance. Aside from the fact that we acknowledge past lessons as motivation for future improvement, the focus of the meeting will be on the future.

If you are unable to attend and would like to share your thoughts, you have two options, either email your thoughts to langley

ethics@whidbey.com or personally contact one of the following ethics commission members: Mary Boyd, chairperson; Ann Medlock, Christina Dahlstroem, Dan Prewitt, John Plakos, Robin Adams, Ron Roesler or Ursula Roosen-Runge.

Ron Roesler

Langle