Board Authority
The Tallahassee Independent Ethics Board is authorized to act on ethics violations enumerated in the Tallahassee City Charter. The Board may investigate and level penalties for the following violations:

Misuse of public position: The City Charter prohibits City of Tallahassee employees and officials from using an official position or any City resource to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for oneself or someone else. A deciding factor is whether the person knew or should have known there would be a special benefit.

Solicitation or acceptance of gifts: Covered individuals may not solicit or accept any gift of any value from a lobbyist, vendor or lessee if the gift is for their personal benefit or the benefit of a relative.

Covered individuals are:

• Elected City officials and their assistants and aides;
• Appointed City officials;
• Individuals appointed by the City Commission to any advisory, quasi-judicial, or any other board, commission, or committee of the City of Tallahassee;
• Employees and board members required by statute to file financial disclosure (Form 1), including individuals with purchasing approval authority of $35,000 or more; and
• Procurement employees, defined to include any City employee who has participated in the previous 12 months in a procurement, the cost of which exceeds $10,000

This particular ordinance excludes covered individuals' relatives, even when the relative is a lobbyist, lessee, or vendor. This exception allows exchanging gifts between family members (i.e., Christmas gifts or birthday presents).

Disclosure or use of non-public information: A public official or employee of the City shall not disclose or use information that is not available to members of the public, and that was gained because of their official position for personal gain or to benefit others.

To Report Other Issues:

Ethics Issues Not Related to the City of Tallahassee: Call the State of Florida Commission on Ethics at 850-488-7864

Fraud Hotline: Call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at 850-413-7283
The OIG maintains a confidential Fraud Hotline to report fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, or mismanagement involving City appointed officials, City employees, contractors, sub-contractors, or other parties doing business with/or receiving City funds. All complaints received are reviewed by the OIG for further determination.

Discrimination Issues: Call Diversity and Inclusion at 850-891-8295

Employee Relation Issues: Call Human Resources at 850-891-8214

Worker's Compensation Fraud Issues: Call Risk Management at 850-891-2117

Unsure of Who to Contact?
If you are unsure about where to report an incident, you should contact the Ethics Office at 850-891-6551 for assistance.

Make A Report

If you are aware of an ethics violation, it is your responsibility to report it. The Independent Ethics Office maintains the Ethics hotline, where you may report a violation. The hotline is available 24 hours a day to receive calls.

To report a violation anonymously, you should contact the Ethics Hotline at 850-891-6550. Be sure to leave enough information for the Ethics Office to follow through with the complaint, to include the following:

1. A brief description of the alleged offense;
2. Details of when the offense occurred;
3. Where the offense happened;
4. Who was involved; and
5. The identification of any witnesses

Although you are not obligated to share your identity, the Board cannot act on a complaint unless a sworn complaint is filed. When an anonymous complaint is submitted, the Board has the authority to file a sworn complaint on its behalf. Note, though, that the preliminary investigation is more effective when the complainant assists with the investigation. To submit a sworn complaint, you must complete the sworn complaint form. You may submit it electronically or mail it to:

Should you have additional information to submit with the sworn complaint, you should email it to ethics@talgov.com, or mail it to the address above. An alleged violation is not proof of guilt. Allegations must remain confidential in the event there is an investigation and to protect the innocent.

To learn more, download the Tallahassee Ethics Guide.