Q+A with Steve Olmstead

Steve Olmstead has worked for Sarasota County for 14 years. Last March, he stepped into the interim role as the county’s ethics and compliance officer after Steve Uebelacker left the position in March 2014 after two and a half years. Olmstead officially stepped into the role in February. He continues to also serve as risk manager of the Safety & Risk Management division.

Q: Describe your role as the ethics and compliance officer.

A: I do many different functions in this role in promoting an ethical culture. I do training for new employees, helping them to understand how they fit into an ethical culture and the perceptions of internal and external situations as it relates to ethics.

I work as a liaison with the Clerk of the Court and the Inspector General’s Office as it relates to fraud and ethics issues. If it’s a clear fraud situation, or if it’s a gray area, we work closely together.  I also do inquiries brought to me by a citizen or an employee and look into the concern. 

Q: What methods have you incorporated or changed in the department?

A: We’re working on enhancing communication internally to promote a better understanding of ethics and compliance for our employees, trying to make it a proactive approach rather than reacting to an issue that’s reported to us — getting out into the departments and getting ahead of issues before they become issues. 

We’re really trying to foster that culture of ethics and how employees can help the organization succeed by their actions. A culture of ethics is just operating with a high level of integrity and providing good, quality service and being good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars in a responsible way that people can feel good about their government.

Q: If you find an ethics concern, what happens next?

A: If there’s a concern brought to the county’s attention, it’s like an investigation, called an administrative inquiry. I’ll gather facts, interview the witnesses on the subject, review the policies to determine if there was a violation. Many times it’s going to translate into an HR matter for discipline or investigation.

A citizen can contact me with a concern — that’s common. They can contact the fraud hotline, a commissioner, the contact center or contact me directly. There are a number of ways citizens or employees can report concerns. 

Q: There are some community members who have expressed dissatisfaction with the county’s level of integrity. Can you speak to that?

A: We’ve done a lot to continue the momentum of the program, like putting ethics policies into the procurement code ordinance, internal ethics policies and a new ethics resolution in February as a kind of reaffirmation of our commitment to continue to operate as an ethical organization. It is a very important aspect of any business, but in particular for a local government.

I think there’s always going to be disagreements in a political organization. I think all we can do is operate within the boundaries of our policies and the law and do the best we can to follow the direction of the board and be good stewards of the citizens of Sarasota County. 

If there’s a complaint against a commissioner, it is really not in the scope of my position. That goes to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Basically, I just pass that complaint onto that agency; there’s nothing I would do locally. 

If I had a concern, I would have to direct my own concern to the state commission.

 — Jessica Salmond

“A culture of ethics is just operating with a high level of integrity and providing good, quality service … in a responsible way that people can feel good about their government.”