At the Naperville Park District’s Park Board meeting on Thursday, October 14, Board Ethics Officer Derke Price filed his report, thereby concluding an ethics inquiry stemming from concerns raised by other commissioners at the September 9 meeting regarding posts on a private social media website by fellow Commissioner Josh McBroom.
Price reviewed the applicable policies, the facts concerning the social media site and the posts, and more generally the First Amendment rights enjoyed by Commissioners. He concluded that the posts implicated Park District Board policies concerning the administration of policy decisions, but he recommended no further action by the Board.
Instead, Price found that the inquiry was useful to bring clarity to the consequences that statements by Commissioners — even those protected by the First Amendment — can have upon day to day operations. He encouraged all commissioners to use the situation as a learning experience to help determine how to work together more effectively going forward to best serve the needs of the Naperville community.
