Palm Beach County Commissioin on ethics makes a ruling

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Last October Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson accepted $400 worth of tickets to the Business Development Board gala event held in September.

The gift came from George Elmore-- who owns a company that employs registered lobbyists in the county.

The county code of ethics strictly forbids public leaders from accepting gifts over $100 from a registered lobbyist or a company that hires one.

After review of the complaint by the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics it has been determined that Aaronson's actions in accepting this gift was inadvertent and unintentional.

Aaronson returned the gift and the complaint has since been dismissed.

Commissioner Aaronson has been instructed to be more diligent in the future about investigating the source of any gift.