Coulter Unveils Sweeping Ethics Reform for Oakland County

Pontiac, Mich. - Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announced a sweeping new ethics and conflict of interest reform package for Oakland County elected officials and senior appointed employees. The proposal goes further than the state law by closing loopholes, eliminating spousal exemptions and establishing an Ethics Ombudsperson.

"We are living through extraordinary challenges in our nation and our state. Washington is shut down, Lansing barely avoided one, and the American people overwhelmingly believe government is too divided to solve problems," Coulter said.

"Oakland County is better than this. I will not allow recent political discord and lack of transparency to undermine the trust our residents place in us and the progress we are making. We have too much important work to do. Just last month we approved a historic budget unanimously - proof that we can rise above partisanship. Now I am calling for that same unity so that we may cast questions aside and put in place commonsense transparency and ethics reforms."

Coulter's proposal uses Michigan's "Public Officers Financial Disclosure Act" (P.A. 281 of 2023) as its base. He proposes the following requirements that go beyond what is required under P.A. 281 for Oakland County to include:

• Spouse/domestic partner reporting
• Household adult dependent reporting
• Assets/interests held by certain trusts related to a person required to report
• Requirement to amend financial disclosure midyear with any new outside income source greater than $10,000

Under Coulter's proposal, disclosure forms would be maintained online by the Oakland County Clerk and accessible for all residents.

Coulter is also calling for the appointment of an independent ombudsperson to receive ethics-related referrals from the public and internal government sources.

"Ethics and transparency are not about playing 'gotcha'-they are about building trust with the public," Coulter said. "An independent ombudsperson will guarantee ethical concerns are handled fairly, above politics and beyond personalities."

Coulter directed his staff to immediately finalize language with the Board of Commissioners so that they may introduce a resolution at their next board meeting and vote on it by the end of the year.

"Let me be very clear: this reform must happen," Coulter said. "Oakland County leads by example, and we will continue to lead by showing that government can be open, accountable, and beyond question."