City attorney outlines new ethics and fiscal training obligations for officials under state law

City Attorney Hall Barlow briefed the council on newly updated state training requirements that expand existing ethics and harassment‑prevention obligations and add a new fiscal‑and‑financial administration training requirement.

Key points: SB 827 (effective January) shortens the initial ethics training deadline for officials assuming office after Jan. 1, 2026 from one year to six months and expands coverage to include additional officials and department heads; the law also requires retention and website posting of training compliance records. In addition, a new fiscal/financial administration training (topics: budgeting, capital financing, debt management, pensions and procurement) now must be taken by elected officials and department heads; officials serving as of Jan. 1, 2026 must complete the fiscal training by Jan. 1, 2028; newly appointed or elected officials have six months to complete initial training and must retrain every two years.

The city will update retention schedules and posting procedures and offer interactive sessions for committees and commissions. Council voted to receive and file the report and asked staff to bring forward the designated list of officials who must comply.

Next steps: City staff and the clerk will implement record‑keeping and posting requirements, schedule training sessions for committees/commissions and prepare the list of designated officials for council action.