High-level officials in the city of Wilmington may soon be required to disclose their debts to the public.
Monday, the City Council Finance Committee unanimously approved a measure that would mandate elected and appointed city officials to disclose any debt, including parking tickets and unpaid utility bills.
“If you’re indebted to the city, it’s only fair that we collect funds from our employees and make sure that all employees are squared away," said the bill’s sponsor Councilman Bob Williams.
Williams initially proposed that this practice be applied to all city employees, but that version of the measure was rejected by the committee last month. So, Williams made concessions.
Councilwoman Hanifa Shabazz, who supports this measure, says that there’s already a system in place to monitor debts among city employees.
“Employees, businesses, who owes the city any debts. There’s processes through the financial department to address them, but not for elected and appointed individuals, no,” said Shabazz.
If this legislation is approved by the City Council, high-ranking officials would have to fill out a form that would be tacked onto their annual declaration -- stating whether or not they owe any debts.
City Council members will vote on this measure in early April.
Williams says he may pursue applying the rule to all city employees again next year. He expects that city officials may be more receptive to that idea after the 2016 elections.
