As a former Village of Brockport Trustee, I am writing to clarify any misunderstanding in last week’s Opinion and Comments, titled, Brockport Seeks to Repeal its Code of Ethics.
I agree that having an ethics code and a review process are vital to any community. However, I want to clarify that at the Village Board meeting on April 6, 2026, the Village Board did not imply that ethics or ethical counsel were not needed. In fact, I believe the message that evening was that ethics concerns would be held to an even higher standard by utilizing the Monroe County Board of Ethics.
Monroe County has an established Ethics Board, which is responsible for breach of ethics claims against officers and employees, including conflicts of interest. It has jurisdiction over ethics claims of all municipalities within Monroe County that do not have their own ethics board, or any municipality that chooses to have Monroe County handle its claims. Brockport is one of the few municipalities with an Ethics Board.
At the April 6 meeting, Elizabeth Harden, Chairperson of the Brockport Ethics Board, said the following about herself and others on their board: “None of us has a legal background or a lot of familiarity with hiring legal counsel.”
Harden, and all members of the Brockport Board of Ethics, are local volunteers appointed by the former Mayor of Brockport, Margaret B. Blackman.
During the April 6 meeting, Harden asked the Village Board to approve her request for $3,500 (of village taxpayer funds) to cover fees to obtain legal counsel. If the Monroe County Board of Ethics were used, no taxpayer funds would be necessary.
Harden explained that since January of 2026, their Ethics Board has met weekly, with meetings lasting 90 to 120 minutes. Harden stated that recent ethical complaints have been “numerous and complex.”
Given the vast number and complexity of these concerns, wouldn’t it make sense to refer these claims to the Monroe County level of government, which has greater experience and resources? In doing so, no taxpayer funds would be needed, and our current Board of Ethics volunteers would not be burdened with lengthy, weekly meetings.
It is my opinion that transferring responsibility to the county level would also ensure increased fairness and confidentiality, both of which are often difficult to obtain in a small community like Brockport.
For more information on the Monroe County Board of Ethics, please visit: https://ecode360.com/11765477.
Wendy Dunham
Brockport
Note: At the Village Board meeting on April 20, Mayor Ben Reed said that he had misspoken at the April 6 meeting. The Village is not seeking to eliminate its Code of Ethics but to rewrite the chapter, transferring responsibility for handling ethics complaints to the Monroe County Board of Ethics.
