Across Virginia, all elected officials are mandated to annually submit disclosure statements detailing their economic interests, from debt, to stocks and bonds, to employment and more.
The forms are designed to show the public where elected officials’ money is going and coming from — and also highlight where there may be conflicts of interest under the Conflict of Interest Act.
When a mistake is made, who is there to catch it?
In the City of Williamsburg, James City County and York County, elected officials are responsible for preparing their own Statement of Financial Interests forms — and making sure they’re correct.
The Conflict of Interests Act does not say who — if anyone — on the state level checks the disclosure statements of local officials.
The question of who checks the disclosures for correctness came about after WYDaily inquired about a particular section of one council member’s disclosure statement. Councilman Benming Zhang’s disclosure statement listed three banquets and conferences under a section disclosing payments for talks, meetings and conferences.
According to the disclosure document, the section concerns payments received by the elected official while they’re in the capacity as an officer or employee of their agency.
One of the items listed by Zhang, the ACT-SO banquet with the local NAACP, was also listed by other council members. In the other disclosures, the banquet was listed under “Gifts.”
Zhang said he did not receive payment for attending any of the events listed in the talks, meetings and conferences section. He said he filed one event in the wrong section.
Zhang amended the document Jan. 25 to move the ACT-SO banquet to the “Gifts” section.
“I appreciate WYDaily’s zealous efforts in holding public officials accountable, but their reporting has only yielded a minor oversight,” Zhang said in a statement. “Substantially, my disclosures remain the same. I continue to follow the spirit and intent of the law, which ultimately is to disclose.”
In the Historic Triangle localities, there are no staff positions responsible for checking accuracy of the disclosures. Ultimately, the responsibility for ensuring no errors falls on the individual council members themselves, not on city staff, city spokeswoman Lee Ann Hartmann said.
“The Virginia Conflict of Interest Act requirements are imposed on council members individually,“ Hartmann said.
In Williamsburg, the city clerk makes sure the required disclosures are submitted and completed each year, Hartmann said. The city attorney, commonwealth’s attorney and Virginia Conflict of Interest Advisory Council can also give advice to council members for filing the disclosures.
City Attorney Christina Shelton did not respond to multiple requests from WYDaily for comment.
James City County and York County are similar to Williamsburg: Neither locality has a dedicated staff person to check the disclosure statements for accuracy.
James City County Freedom of Information Act officer Ania Eckhardt said interfering with how the disclosure statement is filed is “not in our purview.”
Like Williamsburg, the James City County attorney is available to give advice to elected supervisors.
Hartmann said the City of Williamsburg has “no knowledge of any previous errors on disclosure forms.”
“We do not feel that actions are needed to prevent future errors since the forms can be amended or corrected as necessary,” Hartmann said.
David Poole, executive director for the Virginia Public Access Project, said in an email there “essentially” are no restrictions in Virginia on free travel or meals that local elected people can accept.
Elected officials can be reimbursed for expenses related to talks or presentations, but the Virginia Code puts restrictions on elected officials receiving honorariums.
In Virginia, no legislator can accept any payment of money or anything of value for a speech or article in which the legislator provides expertise or opinions related to the performance of their officials duties, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
