Ethics, a frequent topic of conversation for Fayette County commissioners during 1998, will be on the agenda for the governing body's first meeting of 1999.

Commissioners will discuss a proposed ethics ordinance during their monthly work session, set for 3:30 p.m. today at the County Adminstrative Complex, 140 Stonewall Ave.

Newly elected commissioners Greg Dunn and Linda Wells promised to make a new ethics ordinance a priority during their campaigns for office this past fall. Following their election, Dunn set to work writing a proposed ordinance pieced together from similar laws in other counties and cities.

The issue occupied frequent commission discussion last year, with board members disagreeing on the need for a new ordinance. Commissioner Scott Burrell, who came under fire during 1997 after voting on the rezoning application of a former business partner, argued that the county's current ordinance is adequate. Commissioner Harold Bost repeatedly called for a new ordinance that would have prohibited Burrell's vote on his former partner's rezoning.