Four months into their tenure the new team in charge of the City of Hamilton has yet to sign onto documents intended to ensure good governance.The City says the documents are being reviewed in order to “strengthen” the language. But former Mayor Charles Gosling suggested that the lapse may also indicate that the new team is not as committed to greater transparency as it has claimed.The Code of Conduct, which is based on the Bermuda Public Services Union Code, can be accessed on the city hall website (www.cityhall.bm).It provides ethical guidelines for the members including a requirement to register their interests by filling in a simple form.Mayor Graeme Outerbridge did not respond to an August 31 e-mail seeking information on the policy.But City councillor Carlton Simmons said the Code of Conduct and other documents were being reviewed.“The Corporation has had its policies that are in place, some of which are easy to adapt and some of which we will put under review,” he said.Common Councillor Troy Symonds said that it was noticed that the Code of Conduct contains some “inappropriate” wording such as referring to councillors as employees.“It was decided that that document needed to be changed,” Mr Symonds said.This newspaper reviewed the Code and could find no such wording.“There are a slew of documents that need to be revised so we can sign off on them,” Mr Symonds added, saying that the matter was passed onto a committee.City bosses also inherited a drug policy which was intended to put them on a par with the employees who have to submit to random drug testing.“The City of Hamilton Governance Committee is currently reviewing policy documents with a view to strengthening the language,” said the City in an official statement.It was not clear whether the statement also referred to the drug policy.Nor is it known whether the Register of Interests will be available for public scrutiny, as is the parliamentary Register of Interests. City Hall ignored the question when asked.Former Mayor Charles Gosling said that he welcomed the idea of reviewing the Code, and hoped that the new administration would introduce a higher level of transparency.“We are seeing in other countries a growing transparency of governance, both in the private as well as the public sector,” Mr Gosling said in an e-mailed response to a request for comment.“I would hope that this review would be considering how to advance the document along those lines, consideration being given to publishing the member's interests (something you could say I failed at as my pursuit was elsewhere, trying to increase public participation at all levels, Committee, Board & Town Hall Meetings and was "picking" my battles), rather than retrograding back to a closed door municipality once again.“These policies are currently not in place but are being breached since I believe few, besides the Mayor, have actually signed their agreement to adhere to the Code of Conduct.“The same can be said for the declaration of member's interests or support of the current drug policy. It is ironic that for one who has made a career campaigning for transparency and fighting against even the simple potential for a conflict of interest should now, having reached the level of leading the fight, undertake nothing.”Mr Gosling added: “If the current members disagree with open and transparent government, disagree in the separation between policymakers and policy implementers, and their lack of action to date confirms this statement, then they should at least step forward and declare their intent; why they believe this new course is a step forward in terms of true democracy and serving the interests of the city.”During Mr Gosling’s tenure the Register of Interests was held by the City Secretary and made available to a specially appointed Committee should any complaint about a conflict of interest be filed.Ed Ball, secretary general of the Bermuda Public Services Union, said: “A code of conduct is seen in any progressive municipality or institution. It is a document that clearly articulates the behaviour or decision making of persons who may have a conflict of interest such that when the decision is made it’s made purely from an objective point of view rather than a subjective point of view.”(Useful website: http://www.cityhall.bm/about/running-office)