The Board of Ethics unanimously approved a redesigned ethics training curriculum for city employees on Friday, October 23rd, moving forward with substantial changes to a program that has remained largely static for six years.
Assistant City Attorney Jen Guitare presented the revamped approach, which emphasizes small-group discussion, interactive case scenarios, and broader ethical conversations rather than technical code reviews. The new curriculum will launch the week of November 9th with 30 to 40 sessions scheduled at various times to accommodate shift workers and non-traditional schedules across all city departments.
Key Changes to the Training Format
The revised program centers on two core discussion questions that participants will explore in small groups before reporting back to the full training session. Rather than presenting five or six separate scenarios as in past years, trainers will facilitate a single "choose-your-own-adventure" style case scenario where participants' decisions determine how the situation unfolds. A quiz—designed more for engagement than evaluation, with candy as incentive—will conclude each session. The city also plans to collect single-word summaries from each group's discussion to build an electronic word cloud showing patterns across all training cohorts.
City Attorney Greg Sullivan emphasized the deliberate approach behind the changes, noting the city solicited feedback from trainers, directors, and middle management after last year's training. He highlighted intentional efforts to mix employees from different departments rather than allowing work groups to sit together, ensuring diverse perspectives. Sullivan also announced that the city will significantly increase his involvement in trainer preparation, including a two-hour train-the-trainer session to help volunteers feel comfortable facilitating rather than answering technical ethics questions.
Board members praised the initiative. Chair Sara Rushing noted the value of beginning with broader ethical discussions before drilling into specific code provisions, particularly for experienced employees. Mark Bond commended the focus on helping new public-sector employees understand how working for government differs fundamentally from private-sector roles. Jim Drummond reflected on 18 years of ethics training, noting how past formats sometimes devolved into discussions irrelevant to participants' roles, and expressed appreciation for the more structured approach.
Board Training Delayed; New Onboarding Process in Development
City Clerk Mike Maas noted that board member training will shift to January 2027 to align with new board appointments and avoid disrupting board meetings in fall months. The city is developing an online ethics onboarding curriculum in partnership with the Local Government Center, which new board appointees will access before their in-person orientation meetings. This represents a change from past practice, when boards received only an ethics handbook.
Motion and Vote
Board member Jim Drummond moved to approve the staff ethics training plan. Mark Bond seconded the motion. The proposal passed unanimously.
Code of Ethics Review Update
During the FYI discussion portion, Chair Sara Rushing outlined plans to complete a long-pending review of the city's ethics code. The board has been tasked with this review for two years but has repeatedly postponed it for other priorities. Rushing proposed establishing a deadline for board members to email preliminary findings by November 30th, based on work assigned in March. Jim Drummond reported he found little requiring substantial revision after reviewing comparable policies at other organizations and Montana State University. The board agreed to focus on identifying any updates needed to address technological changes and emerging issues, with technology and artificial intelligence identified as potential areas warranting examination. City Attorney Sullivan indicated that Assistant City Manager John Henderson is leading a separate city initiative on AI policy that may inform any ethics code updates needed in that area.
Financial Disclosure Process Improvements
Maas announced improvements to the financial disclosure process for required city employees and board members. The city is converting paper and DocuSign disclosure forms into a web-based form that generates a permanent link. This will streamline initial disclosures when new employees are onboarded and simplify annual compliance. The city has also established a retention schedule for financial disclosures under the state's Schedule 8, clarifying that the documents are kept for a defined period rather than permanently as was the past practice.
Civic Academy Initiative
Sullivan described a new citywide Civic Academy, a seven-week educational program introducing community members to city operations and government. The first cohort focused on public safety; the second will examine the criminal justice and municipal court systems, with Sullivan presenting on civil work the city performs. Sullivan reported strong community interest, with far more applications than the 30 available positions. He indicated plans to offer the academy at least annually and potentially twice yearly, with different departments rotating participation.