The reason: A Board of Ethics ruling prohibited board and commission members from engaging in even the slightest bit of political activity - even wearing a campaign button.

Tomorrow, those critics, and anyone else, can express their thoughts at a public hearing held by the mayor's nine-member task force on ethics and campaign-finance reform, which Nutter established in September.

The hearing will focus on campaign finance, political activity, ethics and conflicts of interest, outside employment of city employees, and lobbying.

"There are a lot of fabulous, innovative ideas that have been put in place over the last several years," said task force chairman Michael Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor.

The purpose of the hearing, he said, is to get input on "where rules need to be tightened, where rules are too restrictive in light of experiences, and to decide whether or not rules make sense in areas like lobbying disclosure."

Among those expected to testify are Nutter; Chief Integrity Officer Joan Markman; Inspector General Amy Kurland; Board of Ethics executive director Shane Creamer; and Zack Stalberg, president of the watchdog group Committee of Seventy.

"Our plea to them will be to try to give the mayor and City Council the political will to tackle some of these issues," Stalberg said.

He added that the Committee of Seventy was compiling a 60-page report with recommendations for the task force. Suggestions include reassessing the reach of political-activity restrictions, increasing penalties for violating the campaign-finance ordinance, and enacting a registration and disclosure law for lobbyists and a policy barring city employees from hiring, promoting, or recommending the hiring or promotion of designated relatives.

The task force has met twice a month, Schwartz said. It is expected to report on its findings and recommended improvements by Feb. 1.

However, Schwartz said, "we'll determine after the public hearing whether or not we will seek from the mayor additional time to make meaningful recommendations."

If You Go

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Convention Center, 1101 Arch St.