HomeMy WebLinkAbout05292018 City Council Laydown- Council & Code Rules on Conflict of Interest Seward, AK Code of Ordinances Page 1 of 1
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2.01.020. - Conflict of interest.[21 ,"j c
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(a) Municipal officers of the city shall comply with the provisions of AS 39.50. As used
herein, "municipal officers" shall include the mayor, councilmembers, the city
manager, Seward planning and zoning commissioners, and community hospital
board members.
(b) Applicants for the appointive positions listed above and applicants for vacant
council seats to be filled by the city council shall file a current conflict of interest
statement with their completed application forms or letters of interest.
(Ord. 617, 1989; Ord. 93-16)
Text amended to delete the word "advisory" from reference to "Seward planning and zoning
commissioners" pursuant to Ord. 626, § 1, 1989 amendments to § 2.30.210 et seq.
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CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE I e 0 5 2' WS
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RULE 20. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 1--cif Z.
(a) Conflict of Interest Defined. A conflict of interest exists whenever a Council Member has
a direct or indirect substantial financial interest in the outcome of a vote or decision of the
Council. No member of the Council may discuss or vote on any question in which the
member has such a direct or indirect substantial financial interest. (SCC§2.10.035 C.)
(b) Obligations of Council Members Procedure:
(1) A Council Member should disclose any potential conflict of interest, no matter
how remote, and ask the Presiding Officer to rule on whether a conflict does exist.
This disclosure should be made prior to discussion or vote on the issue. The
Presiding Officer will then rule whether a conflict of interest sufficient to
disqualify the Council Member from participating in the matter then before
Council does exist.
(2) Once the Presiding Officer rules on the question of conflict, any member of the
Council disagreeing with the ruling so given may appeal the ruling of the
Presiding Officer. The Council Member would say: "I appeal the ruling of the
Chair." This motion requires a second and is debatable. The motion to be voted on
would read: "Shall the decision of the Chair stand?" A majority of YES votes or a
TIE vote would uphold the chair. Only a majority of NO votes could overturn the
ruling of the Chair. The Council Member affected may not vote on such
determination. (Charter 3.5L)
(3) Anyone seeking to disqualify a Council Member from participating in a decision
on the basis of a perceived conflict of interest which has not been declared must
raise the challenge as soon as the basis for disqualification reasonably should have
been made known prior to the onset of debate and vote. The party seeking to
disqualify the Council Member shall state with specificity the basis for
disqualification. The Presiding Officer would then rule on the potential conflict of
interest as outlined in subsection (1) above. This ruling by the Presiding Officer
may be challenged as outlined in subsection(2)above.
(c) Public Disclosure File. The Clerk maintains a public disclosure file containing Council
statements of intent to do business with the City. This file is available for inspection by
the public.
(d) Conflict of Interest, Generally. It should be remembered that the purpose of the conflict
of interest law is to provide for the full public disclosure of any financial interest in a
decision before the Council. Therefore, once the public disclosure is made and the
Presiding Officer has ruled, and provided that this finding has not been overturned by the
Council, any action taken by the Council in accordance with this ruling will probably be
upheld by the Courts even if it is later proven that the ruling was in error.