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.