| Panel to debate ethics issue Member says he hasn't made money by running Web site 01/18/2001 By Reese Dunklin / The Dallas Morning News HIGHLAND VILLAGE – The Highland Village ethics commission could decide next week whether City Council member John Baird violated ethics and conflict-of-interest policies by operating a Web site publishing local news.
The ethics commission's recommendation could come as early as its next meeting at 7 a.m. Monday at City Hall, chairman Bill Davidson said. The five-member panel of residents would then forward its findings to the City Council, which can accept or reject them.
"We will deliberate" Monday, Mr. Davidson said. "It's my hope we as a commission can come together with some resolution."
The commission has met twice this month to review formal complaints from council members Barb Ross and Sharyn Opbroek. The two have alleged that Mr. Baird's Web site, Highland Village Information Center, www.hv-ic.com, poses a conflict of interest and ethics violations because of his public position and because it appears to be for profit.
Mr. Baird has said he wanted to publish a site with community news and hasn't made money on the venture. He has said he does not plan to shut down the site or resign, as some of his colleagues have suggested.
"I feel very comfortable with what I'm doing with this venture and the approach I'm taking," he told the commission Monday.
During Monday's two-hour hearing, Ms. Ross and Ms. Opbroek reiterated their concerns that Mr. Baird is acting in two roles, as a public official and as a reporter. They said his work on the Web site has strained relations among council members because they worry that confidential discussions and information could be posted or could be mischaracterized in stories.
Ms. Ross cited a story about that described some council members as being upset over how a city survey was sent to residents. But, she said, the article by Mr. Baird didn't include enough details and was written in a way "to make himself look like a hero and other members of the council [appear] as bad guys."
"If you look at what actually happened versus what is reported in the Highland Village Information Center, you're almost looking at two different things," she said.
Ms. Opbroek said she had written Mr. Baird with her concerns about the council's "ability to work together with a reporter sitting at the table." She also contended that information in one story about a drug bust in Highland Village was obtained via an e-mail that city administrators sent to council members, not through procedures the public must follow.
Mr. Baird said he has not used confidential information for stories. He said that details of the drug bust were publicly available, and his article didn't run until days after it happened. Even so, he hasn't based any more stories on e-mails he has received as a council member.
Mr. Baird said the Web site is a work in progress, and he has made corrections to stories and his publishing policies.
"My intent was not just a government tell-all, inside scoop of what's going on," he said. "It was to be a city information center."
Mr. Baird said he has not solicited or accepted advertising from the site, but would consult the ethics panel if he decided to do so in the future.
Commissioner Mark DeSerrano said the issue of profit would be "one of our major concerns, whether or not you're going to make money on this. It makes a big difference to me."
Staff writer Reese Dunklin can be reached at 940-243-0702 and at .
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