The Hempstead Town Council announced a bipartisan agreement today that would enhance ethics legislation in the town.

The new ethics code will be a comprehensive statement of the municipal ethics principles and standards of conduct applicable to municipal officers and employees. The Town Board plans, at its Feb. 5 meeting, to call a hearing on the proposed ethics legislation for Feb. 26. The proposal was developed with the assistance of Steve Leventhal, an expert in the field of government ethics. "I couldn't be happier to be proposing this ethics legislation today," said Councilwoman and Majority Leader Erin King Sweeney. "I have fought long and hard to get to this point, nearly two years in fact, because I believe that our residents deserve to know that their township is looking out for them and spending their tax dollars appropriately."

Among the issues addressed in the ethics legislation are new rules against conflicts of interest and use of a town position for personal or private gain. The code also clarifies the rules regarding nepotism and political contributions. "I'm pleased to be working with the Town Council on ethics reform that began in September," said Town Supervisor Laura Gillen. "The prior code was disjointed, disorganized and not comprehensive. We can all agree that we need to have one comprehensive piece of legislation that goes farther than the prior code to address conflicts of interest in Town Hall."

Other issues that are addressed in the ethics code are new regulations if elected officials, appointed officers or independent contractors are criminally convicted for a crime related to their town service or convicted of a felony, as well as revised and updated annual financial disclosure statements. In order to ensure that the new code is fully enforced, the board is also increasing the number of members on the board of ethics from three to five, with no more than two members being from the same political party.

"I have worked for nearly two years to bring ethics legislation that will provide an extra measure of comfort to Hempstead Town taxpayers and am extremely proud to present the results to our residents," King Sweeney said. "Voters elected us to ensure that government services are provided with honesty and integrity and they deserve nothing less."