Council member Jean Godden has acknowledged that she violated the Ethics Code when authorizing her staff to put campaign events on her calendar as part of her bid for reelection last fall. Council members’ city staff are allowed to communicate with campaign staff and reflect campaign events on their public schedule for planning purposes, but Ethics Commission Executive Director Wayne Barnett found that Godden’s city staff entered campaign events on her calendar beyond what was necessary to ensure she wasn’t double booked. Godden has agreed to pay the city $150 (she could’ve been levied as much as $5,000 for the transgression). The Ethics and Elections Commission will vote on the settlement during it’s next meeting May 7.Update: Spoke with Barnett. He says the issue wasn’t simply that these campaign events were on Godden’s city calendar– it was that the level of detail included, such as the format, contact names, etc., went far beyond what would be necessary to ensure city staff knew where to find her. The practices of other council offices have not been tested as there were no other complaints filed. (The complaint against Godden came from her opponent Joe Szwaja.) But one thing’s for certain, city staff will be thinking twice about their scheduling practices in 2009.