Today Chris Beutler signed an executive order banning city employees from recieving gifts. Chris Beutler and I held a press conference this morning to discuss the policy. Here are my remarks from the Press Conference.

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February 1st, 2011
One of the great pieces of advice I ever got during my time as the postmaster of Lincoln, Nebraska was to never ask anything of my employees that I wouldn’t ask of myself. I always tried to manage with that philosophy in mind because it sent the message that we are all in this together. I wanted to create a working environment where management and employees were united in our mission.

I want to set the same tone for our city employees as a member of the Council. I just don’t think we should initiate a gift policy for employees without doing something similar for our city elected officials. The people who implement policy should not be held to a stricter standard than the people who initiate the policy.


That’s why I intend to ask my Council colleagues to consider adopting the same gift ban that Mayor Beutler is proposing for city staff.

I believe that Council leadership on this issue sends the right message to our employees and the community. We cannot ask the community to follow our lead if they are suspicious of our motives. A ban on gifts demonstrates that we are in this together and that we are united in our mission of creating a better Lincoln.

Thank you.