County establishes an ethics board

The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has created a county ethics board as a means of assuring standards of ethical conduct for county employees and officers are clear, consistent, uniform in their application and enforceable.

A resolution adopted by the freeholders on Nov. 10 alters the county's Administrative Code to include the newly created ethics board. The same resolution also eliminates references to the Office of Inspector General, a position that was included in the code earlier this year but was never acted upon.

Members of the ethics board, when appointed, will be responsible for drafting and enforcing an ethics code for all county employees. The new board will be comprised of six volunteers, no more than three Republicans and three Democrats, and they would not take a salary or require benefits, according to a press release from the county.

Furthermore, all county employees will be required to receive ethics training to outline possible conflicts of interest that might arise in the conduct of their public duties.

Persons wishing to serve on the Monmouth County Ethics Board are invited to fill out the required application online. The application as well as information about other volunteer boards and committees can be found at www.visitmonmouth.com under the heading of "Government."