Small-town officials are resigning in Oregon rather than disclose financial info under new ethics rules

In 2007, Oregon passed new ethics rules that required all public officials — from local to the state level — to disclose financial and other information. The new forms, called statements of economic interest, have some small-town officials asking whether their positions are worth the hassle, reports Karen Hutchinson-Talaski of The Hermiston Herald. As a result, officials have resigned in towns such as in Irrigon (pop. 1,800), which lost two planning commissioners and a city councilor because of the new rules. Since the planning commission had already been short two commissioners, the additional resignations mean there is no quorum and thus no business being done.

Officials have resigned because they say the rules are "an unwarranted invasion of privacy," Hutchinson-Talaski writes. "The rules require information on such things as sources of income, directorships or business offices a person might hold, real property (other than a primary residence), names of any relative over the age of 18, office-related expenses not reimbursed by the public entity, any business conducted with a lobbyist, debts, and business investments, or service fees over $1,000 not related to a financial institution."

In nearby Umatilla (pop. 5,000), Ramona Anderson resigned from the Umatilla City Planning Commission after the new rules went into effect and said she did not like that the information would be available online in 2010. "Big Brother has taken over the farm," she told Hutchinson-Talaski. (Read more) (Hat tip to Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute.)