Madison County Ethics Board

County Code of Ethics

Madison County Fiscal Court has adopted a County Code of Ethics governing the conduct of county officers and employees. The Code of Ethics applies to all county officials and employees, whether elected or appointed, paid or unpaid.

The Code of Ethics is adopted by ordinance of the Madison County Fiscal Court and is reviewed annually.

Current Ordinance

The current Code of Ethics was adopted by Madison County Fiscal Court under Ordinance 2024-06 approving the Madison County Code of Ethics.

Enforcement and Oversight

The Ethics Board is responsible for administering and enforcing the County Code of Ethics in accordance with applicable state law and county ordinances.

Complaint Procedure

The Madison County Ethics Board hereby adopts the following procedure for handling of complaints received pursuant to the Madison County Code of Ethics Ordinance.

1. Upon receipt of a duly executed complaint, the Board, through its Chair, shall assign the complaint a case number using the following system: 26-E-00001. Year-EComplaint number. First complaint of the year will be number 1.
2. No later than 10 working days after receipt of the complaint, the Ethics Board, through its Chair, shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into the alleged violation of the Ethics Ordinance.
3. The Board, through its Chair, shall forward a copy of the complaint and the applicable code provisions to the party alleged to be in violation within 14 working days of its initiation of an inquiry.
4. If the Board determines during the preliminary investigation that the complaint fails to allege sufficient facts to constitute an Ethics Code violation, the Board shall vote to terminate the inquiry and notify, in writing, both the complaining party and the person alleged to have committed the violation of the Commission’s decision to dismiss the complaint. The Board shall vote during a meeting to decide the result of the preliminary investigation.
5. If the Board determines during the preliminary investigation that there is probable cause to believe an ethics violation has occurred, the Chairperson or their designee, shall notify the party alleged to be in violation of the finding and set a hearing. The person shall have the right to be represented by counsel, to appear and be heard under oath, and to offer evidence in response to the allegations.