The Post’s Andrew Abramson spotted this message along Dixie Highway in Lake Worth.

A new Palm Beach County Ethics Commission, created by county commissioners last year in response to the corruption convictions of five local elected officials between 2006 and 2009, holds its first meeting Tuesday in West Palm Beach.

Among the first orders of business for the five-member commission will be choosing a chairman and vice-chairman.

The ethics panel, plus representatives from the State Attorney and Public Defender offices, will sit as the selection committee for a new inspector general position. The inspector general post, modeled after one in Miami-Dade County, is the centerpiece of reforms approved Dec. 1. Applications for the inspector general’s job and for a new executive director for the ethics commission are due Friday.

The ethics panelists were chosen by a variety of groups outside county government. Read about them after the jump…..

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The Palm Beach County League of Cities today picked retired Circuit Judge and former Riviera Beach councilman Edward Rodgers to fill the seat set aside for a former elected official on the new county Ethics Commission.

Rodgers was one of eight former elected officials vying for the spot.

The five-member ethics panel was created by county commissioners last year in response to scandals that sent five local elected official to federal prison between 2006 and 2009. Each of the seats is to be filled by a different organization. In addition to the League of Cities’ choice of Rodgers, county police chiefs picked former federal prosecutor Bruce Reinhart for one seat and the president of Florida Atlantic University picked FAU ethics professor Robin Fiore for another.

The two remaining seats will be filled by the county chapter of the Florida Institute of CPAs and by a coalition of minority lawyer groups.

Six former elected officials have applied so far for one of the seats on the new five-member county ethics commission approved by Palm Beach County commissioners last month as part of a sweeping package of reforms.

The ethics legislation calls for the Palm Beach County League of Cities to fill one of the seats by appointing a former elected official. The league plans to make its choice Wednesday, Jan. 27, so Executive Director Jamie Titcomb has set a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday to submit applications.

Applicants so far: former county commissioner Ken Adams, former county commissioner Dennis Koehler, former Jupiter councilman Tom McCarthy, former Delray Beach commissioner Alberta McCarthy, former Delray Beach mayor David Schmidt and former Haverhill Mayor Chuck Stoddard.

Other seats on the ethics panel are to be filled by county police chiefs, the local chapter of the Florida Institute of CPAs, the president of Florida Atlantic University and a coalition of minority lawyer groups.

The scandal-rocked Palm Beach County commission gave preliminary approval today to sweeping ethics reforms, including creation of an independent inspector general’s office to investigate wrongdoing in local government.

After today’s unanimous votes, a final vote on the reforms is slated for Dec. 15.

The actions come after three county commissioners went to federal prison on corruption charges and a grand jury this year noted the county’s reputation as “Corruption County”

In a reflection of the commission’s tarnished reputation, commissioners agreed to have no role in selecting the inspector general and to essentially give an unelected ethics commission final say over any decision to remove the inspector general.

Proposals called for county commissioners to be able to remove the inspector general if five of seven commissioners found specific cause. But after several members of the public criticized the proposal as giving the commission too much power, commissioners agreed that a removal vote will only be valid if a new five-member commission on ethics agrees.

The commission on ethics is to include five members appointed by local police chiefs, minority law groups, the president of Florida Atlantic University, the Florida Institute of CPAs and the Palm Beach County League of Cities.

Palm Beach County Commissioners, who have seen three of their colleagues go to federal prison on corruption charges since 2006, will give preliminary consideration to a package of ethics reforms this morning at 10 a.m. at the county Governmental Center in West Palm Beach.

The reforms include a new ethics code, a five-member ethics commission and creation of a new inspector general’s office to investigate public officials and contracts. Much of the debate over the last few months has focused on how much of a role the corruption-besmirched commission should play in choosing and approving the inspector general.

After today’s preliminary vote, a final vote on the ethics reforms is scheduled for Dec. 15.

So far the Palm Beach County elected officials going to the federal hoosegow have been white Baby Boomers. But as the county prepares to enact sweeping ethics reforms, County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor says she expects to see a more diverse group coming under scrutiny.

Read in this week’s Politics column about Taylor’s proposal for the county’s planned ethics commission.

Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Tony Masilotti, who still has more than two years to go on his federal honest services fraud sentence, wants out early, citing Judge Kenneth Ryskamp’s belief that the honest services statute is unconstitutionally vague.

Masilotti used his position to make $10 million on secret land deals. He pleaded guilty to honest services fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Read about it here.

Palm Beach County Commissioner Aaronson will ask his colleagues today to approve new language on the standard form that people fill out when applying for appointment to any of the approximately 80 county government advisory boards and commissions:

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony for violation of any state or federal law or regulation: If so, give details.”

Read about it here.

State Attorney Michael McAuliffe and Palm Beach County commissioners today urged the school board and local governments to put themselves under the scrutiny of a proposed corruption-fighting inspector general.

School board Chairman Bill Graham said the school board is “conceptually on board” but wants to examine details.

The discussion came as county commissioners, school board members, state lawmakers and municipal officials held a joint meeting.

With five elected officials jailed on federal charges since 2006, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said local politicians will feel the wrath of voters if they don’t approve reforms.

“If anybody says ‘No, we don’t want to do it,’ your constituents are going to tell you you’d better do it because there’s another election coming up. And anybody that doesn’t want to join in possibly won’t be an elected official the next time around.”

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Chances are he or she is at the Clayton Hutcheson Agricultural Center outside West Palm Beach, where about 40 elected officials from Palm Beach County — county commissioners, school board members, state legislators and municipal officials — are engaged in a joint meeting that just got underway.

Among the topics the group will discuss: a countywide ethics watchdog. County commissioners are considering a package of ethics reforms for county government. The school board and city governments could also come under the proposed inspector general’s scrutiny if elected officials agree. No binding votes are expected today.

UPDATE: School board Chairman Bill Graham just reminded everyone that the 0.5 percent county sales tax to pay for school construction is set to expire at the end of 2010. The tax, originally approved in a 2004 referendum, can only be extended if voters approve in another referendum

“We’d like to have a discussion with everybody here about what we might do in the future,” Graham said.

The group put off discussion of the matter until the next multi-board meeting in January.

Palm Beach County officials and leaders of a consortium of groups pushing for ethics reform say they’re near agreement on a package of reforms that include creating an independent inspector general’s office and an ethics commission.

One key element is a sort of ethical pay-to-play system for hiring the inspector general.

The original county proposal called for an independent panel to select the watchdog and the county commission to cast a final up-or-down vote on the nominee. Critics said the commission’s role would discourage the school board and other public entities from agreeing to come under the inspector’s scrutiny. The latest plan would allow any other entity to have a vote on the inspector if it contributes at least 25 percent of the inspector’s budget.

Read the complete story here.

To be truly independent, a proposed ethics watchdog for Palm Beach County must be assured of an adequate budget through a dedicated money source such as a surcharge on government contracts, State Attorney Michael McAuliffe said today

McAuliffe, who convened a grand jury that recommended an inspector general to combat public corruption after five local elected officials went to federal prison for ethical misdeeds, spoke to the nonpartisan Voters Coalition this afternoon.

McAuliffe did not take a position on competing views of who should hire and fire the inspector general. The Voters Coalition is part of a consortium of business and civic groups that says the watchdog should answer to an independent ethics commission. County administrators have proposed having the inspector chosen by an independent selection committee but subject to final approval by the county commission.

The grand jury recommended modeling the office on the inspector general in Miami-Dade, where a selection committee chooses the inspector but commissioners have a final vote. Miami-Dade also imposes a 0.25 percent charge on government contracts to help finance the inspector’s office.

McAuliffe said he’s optimistic the consortium and commissioners will reach an agreement on inspector-general language to put before voters in November 2010.

A majority of Palm Beach County school board members likes the idea of bringing the $2.7 billion school district under the eye of a proposed county ethics watchdog — but not if county commissioners have the final say on filling the position.

After watching five local elected officials go to prison on federal corruption charges since 2006, county commissioners this summer endorsed the concept of an independent inspector general’s office with subpoena power to monitor public officials and government contracts.

But who would hire and fire and approve the budget of the inspector general remains an open question.

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How independent should Palm Beach County’s independent ethics watchdog be?

That question is complicating efforts to win 2010 voter approval for an inspector general’s office to monitor local government after a three-year shame spiral in which County Commissioners Tony Masilotti, Warren Newell and Mary McCarty and West Palm Beach Commishes Ray Liberti and Jim Exline went to prison for corruption.

There’s broad support for an inspector general’s office with subpoena powers to keep an eye on local public officials, lobbyists and contractors.

But then the consensus breaks down.

A consortium of business and civic leaders says the inspector should be hired and fired and have its budget set by an independent ethics commission.

County officials propose the inspector be chosen by an outside panel but approved by a commission vote, financed through the county budget process and fired if five of seven commissioners agree.

Commissioners haven’t endorsed anything yet. They can wait until June to agree on a plan and put it on the November 2010 ballot.

The ethics consortium has less time. If it can’t persuade commissioners to endorse its view of the inspector general, the group has vowed to gather 58,200 signatures to put its version on the 2010 ballot. To succeed, such a petition drive should launch in November, said Marty Rogol of Leadership Palm Beach County and Mike Jones of the Economic Council.

Keeping the inspector general independent of the county commission is a key to ethics reform, Rogol and Jones argue.

Commission Chairman Jeff Koons disagrees. He says commissioners are more visible and accountable than an appointed ethics panel.

“We’re public elected officials…Everything we do is in the public,” Koons said. “We’re held responsible and we meet every couple weeks and people can come yell at us.”

If the sides can’t agree, it’s possible voters could see rival inspector-general ballot questions.

“Do we want dueling proposals before voters? Absolutely not,” said Jones. “It’s too early to say there’s no room for compromise.”

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Palm Beach Kennel Club Prez Pat Rooney Jr. says he needs more time to decide whether to launch a GOP campaign for the open state House District 83 seat. Rooney’s brother is U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta.

A third Rooney brother could also run in 2010: attorney and Iraq war vet Brian Rooney, who lives in Michigan and is eyeing a challenge of Democratic Rep. Mark Schauer.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Boca Raton resident Dion DiMucci performed three numbers to big applause Wednesday at a powwow of about 300 Republicans featuring congressional hopeful Allen West.

When Dion covered Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues, however, the lyric expressing multilateralist sentiment (“Gonna take my problem to the United Nations”) drew audible boos and groans.

In a county where residents have grown accustomed to seeing their elected officials striding in and out of the federal courthouse to answer to corruption charges (see above gallery), Palm Beach County administrators have rolled out an ethics plan that calls for creating an Office of Inspector General and an independent ethics commission.

Click here to read a breakdown of the new proposal by our Jennifer Sorentrue.

Federal investigations have led three Palm Beach County commissioners to resign and two West Palm Beach city commissioners to resign and go to jail since 2006. The feds have recently turned their attention to Broward County, where three politicians were arrested Wednesday on corruption charges.

Three politicians were hit with federal corruption charges in Broward County today — County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, school board member Beverly Gallagher and former Miramar commissioner Fitzroy Salesman.

Read about it here….and here.

Remember, the Broward Three have only been charged and not adjudicated guilty. Palm Beach County, where three former county commissioners and two former West Palm Beach city commissioners have pleaded guilty and done jail time, does not have to surrender its “Corruption County” sash and tiara.