HomeMy WebLinkAbout05292018 City Council Laydown - Earnhart /8052
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1.15.060 Conflicts of Interest.
A. Minor or Substantial Conflict of Interest: The assembly recognizes that in a
representative democracy, the representatives are drawn from society and,
o therefore, cannot and should not be without personal and financial interests
in the decisions and policies of government. Standards of ethical conduct
need to distinguish between those minor and inconsequential conflicts that
.. k4 are unavoidable in a free society, and those conflicts of interest that are
substantial and material.
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B. Public Interest: A public servant shall place the public interest above any
financial or private interest when taking official action. If a public servant's
private relationships or interests prevent the servant from placing the public
interest above a financial or private interest, or will diminish the public trust,
the public servant shall disclose this fact on the record and shall be excused
from participation.
C. Definition of Official Action: For purposes of this code, official action means
participation in a process, including deliberation, in which a decision or
recommendation is reached. Official action does not include:
1 . Clerical or ministerial action on a matter. For purposes of this chapter,
ministerial describes an act or duty that conforms to an instruction of
prescribed procedure with limited or no use of judgment by the person
performing the act or duty.
2. Action on a matter that does not substantially evaluate or impact the
merits of the recommendation or decision.
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D. General Rule — Conflict of Interest and Official Action: A public servant shall
of participate in an official action in which the public servant or a member of
Q.�\� the public servant's immediate family has a substantial financial or private
interest. Prior to participation in official action, the public servant shall disclose
financial or private interests for determination of whether they are substantial.
E. Substantial Financial or Private Interest: Whether the financial or private
interest disclosed is substantial shall be determined on a case-by-case basis,
with evaluation and balancing of these factors:
1. Whether the financial or private interest is a substantial part of the
matter under consideration.
2. Whether the financial or private interest directly and substantially varies
with the outcome of the official action.
3. Whether the financial or private interest is immediate and known or
conjectural and dependent on factors beyond the official action.
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4. Whether the financial or private interest is significant monetarily.
5. Whether the financial or private interest is of a type which is generally
possessed by the public or a large class of persons to which the
member belongs.
6. Other factors deemed appropriate by the presiding official under the
specifics of the disclosure and the nature of the action.
F. Procedure for Disclosure:
1 . Employee: A municipal employee shall disclose to the designated
ethics officer the nature of the interest and how the employee's duties
could influence the official action. The ethics officer shall determine if
the interest is substantial, or refer the matter to the board of ethics.
2. Board Members and Elected Officials:
a. Prior to comment, deliberation, or decision on a matter coming
before the body, the member or official shall disclose the nature
of the interest in sufficient detail to permit the other members of
the body to determine if the interest is substantial.
b. If the presiding officer exercises parliamentary authority by
making an initial ruling on a disclosure of financial or private
interest, the decision of the presiding officer may be overridden
by the majority vote of the body.
c. The member of the body making the disclosure shall not rule or
vote on whether the financial or private interest is substantial.
d. A member or official shall not be sanctioned for acting in
compliance with the determination of the body if the financial or
private interest is fully and fairly disclosed.
e. The jurisdiction of the board to determine a violation under this
chapter by an elected official for participation in a matter after
disclosure of a financial or private interest is expressly limited to
the sufficiency of the disclosure.
3. Mayor: The potential for conflict of interest presented by a financial or
private interest held by the mayor shall be disclosed prior to action to
either the municipal ethics officer, or to the board of ethics for
determination and management of the potential for conflict of interest.
Advice rendered by the ethics officer is subject to review by the board.
4. Rule of Necessity: The board may apply the rule of necessity when the
assembly is legally required to act and it lacks enough members to take
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valid official action solely due to assembly members being disqualified
by shared or substantially similar conflict of interest from participating
in the matter.
5. Certification of Election: An assembly member's candidacy in a
municipal election does not preclude the assembly member's
participation in certification of the municipal election.
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