SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – After former Mayor James E. West was recalled from office for a City Hall sex scandal, the Spokane City Council adopted a new ethics policy covering top officials.

By a unanimous 6-0 vote, with one member absent, the council adopted the 18-page policy that creates an ethics commission covering the mayor and council, as well as about three dozen top city employees and members of city boards and commissions.

“It’s a good document. It’s not a perfect document,” Council President Joe Shogan said when the ordinance passed after weeks of debate.

The ordinance is similar to ones already in effect in Seattle, King County and several other Washington cities and counties.

It bars using a city position for personal benefit, the conduct that snared West after The Spokesman-Review reported he had offered City Hall jobs and other perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room.

West was recalled in a special election Dec. 6 for misusing his office.

The new ordinance also bans improper use of city property or personnel.

The ordinance also prohibits having a personal interest in a contract involving the city, or seeking to influence a contract selection while having a personal involvement in a company or with a person seeking the contract. It requires disclosure of relationships that would benefit from legislation or a contract.

Also barred are representing a private person at a city proceeding; holding a private job that is incompatible with public service; disclosing confidential information; and accepting or giving gifts of more than nominal value.

The ethics law prohibits officials or employees who leave their jobs from working in the private sector for one year on matters for which they were directly involved while working for the city.

Until now, council members, appointed officials and top employees have been governed by state law, city personnel policies and the council’s own rules of conduct.

Most city employees, who are represented by labor unions, are not covered by the city ordinance. The city’s union employees would have to agree through collective bargaining to be bound by the law, Councilmember Mary Verner said.

The seven-member commission has the authority to issue subpoenas and levy fines of $5,000.

The committee will not require additional city money, Councilmember Nancy McLaughlin said.

The ethics ordinance was sponsored by Council President pro-tem Al French, who said he wants voters to approve a related charter amendment.

The charter change would give the council authority to place a recall measure directly on the ballot, circumventing a state law requiring a large signature drive to put a recall before voters.

Councilmember Brad Stark did not attend the meeting where the ethics policy was passed because of illness, but issued a statement that said he would not have voted to approve the ordinance.

“The creation of an Ethics Commission wastes valuable city resources, makes no guarantees of an ethical government or elected representation, and promotes a false sense of accomplishment to the public,” Stark said.