Frank Straub Woes

Several Indianapolis City-County Councilors have already expressed skepticism about whether embattled Public Safety Director Frank Straub's reappointment by Mayor Greg Ballard should be confirmed. There are now rumblings that some councilors would like to investigate whether Straub broke city ethics rules by failing to disclose his past relationship with outside firms with which he has spent substantial funds from his budget for outside consulting work, including International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Straub was a paid consultant for ICMA while he worked in his prior job in White Plains, New York. Straub has also contracted with Altegrity, a company run by former New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who recommended Straub for his job as Indianapolis' public safety director. Assuming Straub has not received compensation from any of the firms with which he has contracted while employed in his job in Indianapolis, it is doubtful Straub's disclosure of his prior relationships with a firm would have been required under Indianapolis' ethics ordinance.