Questions about jobs, gifts keep ethics panel busy

In 2004, county employees and politicians were vexed by a number of ethical issues: whether police officers can moonlight as bingo hall security guards, whether workers can accept trinkets for joining an exercise program and whether an inspector can have a second job as a real estate appraiser.

Those were just a few of the situations the county Ethics Commission dealt with last year.

In its annual report released this month, the seven-member commission compiled summaries of all 24 opinions it issued last year, generated from more than 100 inquiries from county employees and elected officials.

Betsy K. Dawson, executive...