By Mike McNees, City Manager
Marco Island, Florida
This past week I had the opportunity to travel to Pittsburgh, PA to attend the annual conference of the International City/County Management Association, more commonly known as “ICMA.” One of the elements of this year’s conference was recognition of the 100th anniversary of the “ICMA Code of Ethics.” Borrowing directly from the ICMA website, the Code of Ethics when adopted in 1924 “defined the principles that today serve as the foundation for the local government management profession and set the standard for excellence. Leadership in a management structure committed to equity, transparency, integrity, stewardship of public resources, political neutrality, and respect for the rights and responsibility of elected officials and residents strengthens democratic local governance.”
The Code of Ethics sets the standard for professional management in local government and guides my peers and I, City and County Managers all over the United States and even parts of the rest of the world, as we respond to the challenges facing our communities. It isn’t just something we take seriously, it is a defining part of our identity. You might say it’s in the DNA.
With cynicism about government at an all-time high, I know many will scoff it this notion. What I wish for the cynics is to have had the opportunity to spend a day or two with the 5,000 or so of my colleagues who were in Pittsburgh last week. They could have mingled with literally thousands of people who had no other motivation than to serve their communities in the most effective way possible, and who spent their days looking for means and methods to do that better – even if it meant a trip to Pittsburgh. (Which, by the way, is a fine city). They could have chosen from hundreds of panels, discussions, or presentations - from the dry and mundane to the highly interesting, to pick up something to take back to their cities or counties and make them better.
As elections draw nearer and shouting about “Government” reaches a crescendo, the occasion of the centennial year of the adoption of the ICMA Code of Ethics seems a fair opportunity to put out a reminder that on Marco Island alone, 250 of your friends and neighbors are professionals who come to work every day to find ways to make the city better. If we’re missing the mark, I trust you’ll let me know.
For anyone interested in learning more about the ICMA Code of Ethics, you can find information here: ICMA Code of Ethics | icma.org
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