In a 6-1 vote, city council members approved mandatory state ethics training at their May 2 meeting, with council member Olga Negron voting nay.

Negron said ethics training should be part of a larger comprehensive ethics ordinance. She said Bethlehem can choose to make its ethics standards more stringent than those imposed by the state and the state training would be confusing because the standards would be different if council members adopt a city ethics ordinance.

Negron and council member Michael Colon have proposed an ethics ordinance for city officials, but the proposal is still in committee and not yet ready for consideration by council.

The measure first approved by council at the May 2 meeting only mandates state ethics training. Council member Shawn Martell, who proposed the measure, said it could later be amended if council members approve a more comprehensive ethics ordinance.

Martell’s ordinance, which will be up for a second reading at the May 18 meeting, mandates training on the state ethics legislation for council members within six months of their inauguration, as well as for current members. Proof of completion of the ethics training would be posted on the city website and a fine would be imposed for anyone not taking the training. Also, the training would be open to the public.

Several residents spoke in favor of the Negron-Colon proposal, saying training is just one component of ethics. Resident Barbara Diamond, who worked on a team with Negron and Colon to draft their proposal, said, “Our ordinance is comprehensive and represents best practices.”

One resident, Frank Barron, said Martell’s proposal is “a good first step.” He said a comprehensive ethics ordinance can take time. In the meantime, he urged, “Do it little by little. There are measures that can be taken.”

Martell said his proposal was not meant to compete but rather simply to mandate that council members take the ethics training provided by the state. It was not an attempt to undermine Negron and Colon’s proposal, he said but just one part of the larger picture. “I look forward to further conversation,” he said.

Colon thanked Martell and said “there is a lot of merit to this.” Council member Eric Evans said, “It’s better than anything we ever had before.” He agreed that the measure does not compete with Negron and Colon’s proposal. “They both move us in the right direction.”

Negron said she would rather table the measure to be discussed at a Committee of the Whole meeting and said the state legislation is not as stringent as what she and Colon proposed. “We made our proposal much tighter,” she said.

Council member Bryan Callahan said mandating the state ethics training is “a great first step.”

Council President J. William Reynolds said, “progress has been made in transparency” with the council now reviewing city contracts, which was not done previously, and Mayor Bob Donchez has placed a ban on gifts to city officials. “I no way see how this state ethics training would get in the way of that,” he said.