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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05292018 City Council Laydown- Council & Code Rules on Conflict of Interest Seward, AK Code of Ordinances Page 1 of 1 )So 5 2ci lS 2.01.020. - Conflict of interest.[21 ,"j c 0 (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. about:blank 5/29/2018 CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE I e 0 5 2' WS Layd rUNI 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.