Those exceptions include campaign contributions, attendance at conventions and seminars and food given at a reception where the employee is representing Salt Lake County.

"There's so many opportunities to abuse that, we should set the bar at a higher level," Wilson said. "We shouldn't have people lined up wining and dining us. This kind of closes the door."

Wilson added, however, that she didn't want to take the gift ban too far and restrict the everyday work lunches and token gifts given by businesses and community groups. A complete ban on accepting gifts would essentially "paralyze operations," Wilson said.

Councilman Randy Horiuchi is quick to point out that he and other council members seldom receive large gifts from lobbyists, saying the biggest gift he ever received was a set of paperweights.

In the end, Horiuchi said, the ethics of accepting gifts comes down to common sense and integrity.

"Any public office holder who lets a pair of Jazz tickets or a meal affect their decision-making ought not to be in public office in the first place," he said. "Just by having all these policies doesn't necessarily make it a cleaner and better government. It's the people who serve; it's their moral fabric."

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com