EDITOR :

The Delta County Employee Handbook (which pertains to all those hired and elected) has an attachment titled “Code of Ethics Delta County Government”. This attachment contains roughly 3,306 words. A meta-analysis from 2019 found that English-speaking adults, on average, read 238 words per minute when reading silently (Brysbaert, 2019). Based on that study, it should take almost 14 minutes to read through the county’s code of ethics.

I highly suggest members of the board of commissioners and any other persons elected or hired by and within the county to find 14 minutes in their day to re-read (I am kindly being presumptive in trusting that they have already read) the county’s code of ethics. This suggestion is meant to highlight an incredibly important aspect of public office which is “to refrain from any course of conduct which might…create the appearance of a violation of…ethical standards” (Delta County Employee Handbook, page 27).

Speaking from my point of view as a member of the general public without partisan blinders on, the conduct of the board of commissioners both in and outside of board meetings has been shocking and incredibly disappointing. This conduct makes this current board of commissioners appear substandard in ethics, integrity, and professionalism. I expect better of my elected officials (both in and out of official business), and I’m confident that there are others within the county who feel the same as I do.

Perhaps our commissioners (and other elected officials) should spend less time speaking to official business outside of meetings through personal social media accounts and within online echo chambers and spend more time conducting themselves in manners befitting the nature and status of their public office. They might even find the time, at least 14 minutes, at the end of the day to re-read the county’s code of ethics.

Jamie Prater

Escanaba