Title
Consideration of a Citizen Petition Related to the Ethics Commission Inquiry Process - Citywide
Description
This report provides the City Council with information in response to a citizen petition submitted by Tamara Weaver at the December 3, 2025, Formal City Council meeting regarding the Ethics Commission Inquiry Process, Attachment A.
Report
Summary
The petitioner requests the City Council to:
1. Immediately suspend the notarization requirement for ethics inquiries until such times as clear public notice and reasonable alternatives are implemented.
2. Eliminate the requirement of in-person, daytime-only delivery and permit submission by an online portal.
3. Remove or substantially revise all language threatening financial penalties for complaints later determined to be without merit.
4. Direct the City Clerk and Ethics Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the ethics complaint process with meaningful public input and to propose revisions that prioritize accessibility, equity and public trust.
5. Report back to the public within fifteen days on actions taken to implement these reforms.
The City of Phoenix Ethics Commission (the “Commission”) held their first meeting in March 2024. In April 2024, they approved the Commission’s Initial Rules of Procedure and the Commission’s Bylaws. The Commission began reviewing eight outstanding complaints previously submitted between 2019 and 2023. Prior to receiving the 21 Requests for Inquiry referenced in the petition, the Commission had planned to conduct a comprehensive review of their processes, including the Rules of Procedure, after resolving the first eight inquiries.
The petition asks the City Council to address alleged deficiencies in the current ethics inquiry process administered by the Commission and the City Clerk Department. At the most recent meeting of the Commission held on November 20, 2025, 21 ethics Requests for Inquiry, submitted by members of the public only a few days prior to the meeting, were tabled because they were not notarized. Rule 4(a) of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure requires a Request for Inquiry be notarized. These Rules were drafted by the City Manager’s Office in consultation with the Law Department in January 2018 and approved by the Commission in April 2024 after individual commissioners were seated.
The petitioner noted that, prior to the meeting, neither the official ethics inquiry form available on the City’s website nor any accompanying instructions indicated that notarization was required. The 21 inquiries are the first complaints received by the Commission since they were seated in March 2024, and the absence of a notary stamp on the inquiry form and corresponding instructions was a clerical error that has since been corrected.
Additionally, the petitioner takes issue with the requirement that the notarized form must be delivered in person to City Hall during regular business hours. Per the instructions provided to the complainants by the City Clerk, in this instance they were authorized to submit the notarized forms by email and had the option to either drop-off or mail the original notarized forms to the City Clerk’s Office.
Lastly, the petitioner takes issue with language contained on the Request for Inquiry form that anyone who files a frivolous complaint may be assessed a civil penalty. This language mirrors the requirements provided in Phoenix City Code Section 2-53(O) and in Rule 4(a) of the Commission’s Initial Rules of Procedure. Any change to this language will require a change to the City Code and the Commission’s Initial Rules of Procedure.
Options for Council Action
A. Accept the petition.
B. Deny the petition.
C. Refer the petition to the Ethics Commission for further consideration and recommendation during the Commission's January meeting.
Staff recommends referring the Citizen Petition to the Ethics Commission for further consideration and recommendation at their January meeting. Prior to receiving the 21 Requests for Inquiry referenced in the petition, the Commission had planned to undertake a comprehensive review of their processes, including the Rules of Procedure. Referring the petition would allow the Commission to continue their planned review of the process improvements in coordination with the City Clerk and Law Departments and, upon approval, present those recommended changes to City Council for their review and consideration.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager David Mathews and the City Manager's Office.