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HomeMy WebLinkAbout787 Ethics Ordinance• ORDINANCE NO. 787 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MERIDIAN ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER IN TITLE I OF THE REVISED AND COMPLIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF MERIDIAN TO BE KNOWN AS "ETHICS ORDINANCE", TITLE 1, CHAPTER 16, REVISED AND COMPILED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF MERIDIAN TO SET FORTH AND ESTABLISH FOR THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, CITY COMMISSIONERS, APPOINTEES, EMPLOYEEES, AND OTHER PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CITY OF MERIDIAN PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE FOLLOWING: NEPOTISM, POLICY, DEFINITIONS, FAIR AND EQUAL TREATMENT, CONFLICT OF INTEREST, STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, STATUTORY STANDARDS, CONTRACTS, PURCHASES, AND EMPLOYMENT, DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, GIFTS AND FAVORS, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND AGENDA ITEMS, PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS BY FORMER EMPLOYEES, CONSEQUENCES AND PENALTY, AND SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Section 50-701, Idaho Code, states that the legislative authority of each City in the State of Idaho shall be vested in a council and that such council shall have such powers and duties as are now or may hereafter be provided under the general laws of the State of Idaho. WHEREAS, Section 1-701, of the Revised and Compiled Ordinances of the City of Meridian, states that the Councilmen shall perform all duties by the nature of their office that they should reasonably perform. WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Meridian, State of Idaho, have concluded that it is in the best interest of the City to adopt a new chapter to Title 1 of the Revised and Compiled Ordinances of the City of Meridian to add a new Section thereto • to set forth and establish an ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT and NEPOTISM Ordinance. ETHICS ORDINANCE NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF • THE CITY OF MERIDIAN, ADA COUNTY, IDAHO: SECTION 1: That there is hereby adopted a new Chapter 16 to Title 1 of the Revised and compiled Ordinances of the City of Meridian, which shall read as follows: ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT AND NEPOTISM SECTION 1. Nepotism: A Mayor, City Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, Executive, Legislative, Ministerial, or other officer of this City, who appoints or votes for the appointment of any person related to him or her or any of their associates in office by affinity or consanguinity within the second degree, to any clerkship, office, position, employment, or duty, when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee is to be paid out of public funds or fees of office, or who appoints or furnishes employment to any person whose salary, wages, pay, or compensation is to be paid out of public funds or fees of office, and who is related by either • blood or marriage within the second degree to any other executive, legislative, ministerial, or other City public officer when such appointment is made on the agreement or promise of such other officer or any other public officer to appoint or furnish employment to any one so related to the person, officer, or employee making or voting for such appointment, is guilty of a misdemeanor involving official misconduct and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by fine of not more than THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($300.00) and such officer making such appointment shall forfeit his office and be ineligible for appointment to such office for one year thereafter. SECTION 2: Policy: The public judges its government by the way public officials and employees conduct themselves in the posts to which they are elected or appointed. Confidence and respect can best be promoted if every public official and employee, whether paid or unpaid, and whether elected or appointed, will uniformly: (a) treat all citizens with courtesy, impartiality, fairness and equality under the law; and (b) avoid both actual and potential conflicts between their private self-interest and the public interest. n U ETHICS ORDINANCE 2 SECTION 3: Definitions: • The terms used in this ordinance are hereby defined as follows: (a) Official or employee -- Any person elected or appointed to, or employed or retained by, any public office or public body of the City whether paid or unpaid and whether part time or full time. (b) Public body --Any agency, board, body, commission, committee, department or office of the city. (c) Financial interest -Any interest which shall yield, directly or indirectly, a monetary or other material benefit (other than the duly authorized salary or compensation for their services to the City) to the official or employee or to any person employing or retaining the services of the official or employee. (d) Personal interest -Any interest arising from blood or marriage relationships or from close business or political association whether or not any financial interest is involved. SECTION 4: Fair and Equal Treatment: No official or employee shall grant or make available to any person any consideration, treatment, advantage or favor, beyond that which it is the general • practice to grant or make available to the public at large. No official or employee shall request, use or permit the use of any publicly owned or publicly supported property, vehicle, equipment, labor or service for the personal convenience or the private advantage of the official, employee or any other person. SECTION 5: Conflict of Interest: Financial or personal interest. No official or employee shall have any financial or personal interest in any business or transaction with the City unless the official or employee shall first make full public disclosures of the nature and extent of such interest. Disclosure and disqualification. Whenever the performance of official duties shall require any official or employee to deliberate and/or vote on any matter involving financial or personal interest, the official or employee shall publicly disclose the nature and extent of such interest and be disqualified from participating in the deliberation as well as in the voting. Incompatible employment. No official or employee shall engage in private employment with, or render services for, any private person who has business transactions with any public body unless the official or employee shall first make full public disclosure of the nature and extent of such employment or services. ETHICS ORDINANCE 3 Representation of private persons. No official or employee shall appear on behalf of any private person, other than himself or herself, before any public body in the city. Confidential information. No official or employee shall, without prior formal authorization of the public body having jurisdiction, disclose any confidential information concerning any other official or employee, or any other person, or any property or governmental affairs of the City. Whether or not it shall involve disclosure, no official or employee shall use or permit the use of any such confidential information to advance the financial or personal interest of themselves or any other person. SECTION 6: Standards of Conduct: The purpose of this Ordinance is to establish ethical standards of conduct for the Mayor, all City Council Members, Board Members, Committee Members, Commission Members, and employees, by setting forth those acts or actions deemed to be in conflict or incompatible, or to create the appearance of conflict or incompatibility, with the best interests of the City of Meridian. SECTION 7: Statutory Standards: There are certain provisions in the criminal statutes of the State of Idaho which should, while not set forth herein but are attached hereto and incorporated herein, be considered an integral part of this Ordinance. Accordingly, the provisions of the following Sections of the Idaho Code, as may be amended, are hereby incorporated herein by this reference and made apart of this Ordinance, and shall apply to the Mayor, all Council Members, Board Members, Committee Members, Commission Members, or Employees of the City of Meridian, whenever applicable, to wit: 18-1307 18-1351 . 18-1352 18-1353 18-1354 18-1355 18-1356 18-1357 18-1358 18-1359 18-1360 18-1361 18-1361A 18-1362 n U ETHICS ORDINANCE 4 SECTION 8: Contracts, Purchases and Employment: • The Mayor, City Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, City Official or City Employee, shall not participate directly by means of deliberation, approval or disapproval, or recommendation, in the purchase of goods and services for the City, and the award of any contracts with the City, except as permitted under the City's Ordinances and under the laws of the State of Idaho, where to his or her knowledge there is a financial interest, or special interest other than that possessed by the public generally. SECTION 9: Disclosure of Confidential Information: No Mayor, Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, City Official, or City Employee, shall, without proper legal authorization, disclose confidential information concerning the property, government or affairs of the City; nor shall he or she use such information to advance the financial or private interest of himself or herself or others. SECTION 10: Gifts and Favors: No Mayor, Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, City Official, or employee, shall accept any valuable gift of more than FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00) in value, whether in the form of service, loan, thing or promise, from any person and/or business which to his or her knowledge is interested directly or indirectly in any manner whatsoever in business dealings with the City; nor shall any Mayor, Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, City Official, or City Employee: (1) accept any gift, favor or thing of value that tends to influence him in the discharge of his or her official duties; or (2) grant in the discharge of his or her official duties any improper favor, service or thing of value. Nothing herein shall prohibit the acceptance of gifts or favors by the Mayor, Council Member, Board Members, Committee Members, Commission Members, City Official, or City Employees from members of their immediate families. SECTION 11: Conflicts of Interest: Agenda Items. Deliberation and Vote Prohibited. No Mayor, Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member, Commission Member, Public Official or City Employee, shall, in such capacity, participate in the deliberation or vote, or otherwise take part in the decision-making process, on any agenda item before his or her collective body in which he or she or. a member of his or her immediate family or relative in the second degree of affinity or consanguinity, has a financial or special interest, other than an interest held by the public generally. Disclosure of Conflict. Any Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member who believes that he or she or a member of his or her ETHICS ORDINANCE immediate family or relative in the second degree of affinity or consanguinity has a financial or special interest, other than an interest held by the public generally, in • any agenda item before his or her collective body, shall disclose the nature and extent of such interest, and the City Clerk or his or her designee shall make a record of such disclosure. Additionally, any Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member who believes that any fellow Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member, or a member of such fellow Council Member's, Board member's, Committee Member's or Commission Member's immediate family or a relative in the second degree of affinity or consanguinity has a financial or special interest, other than an interest held by the public generally, in any agenda item before his or her collective body, shall disclose the nature and extent of such interest, and the City Clerk or his or her designee shall make a record of such disclosure. Determination of Conflict. Once the issue of conflict has been initiated relative to an individual Council Member, Board member, Committee Member or Commission Member, and disclosure has been made as provided above, such individual's fellow Council Member, Board Members, Committee Members or Commission Members shall vote on whether or not such individual shall be excused from participating in the deliberation or vote, or otherwise taking part in the decision-making process, on the relevant agenda item. Such individual shall be excused only upon a vote of the majority of his or her fellow Council Members, Board Members, Committee Members or Commission Members then present that a conflict of interest in fact exists. • Avoidance of Appearance of Conflict. To avoid the appearance of a violation of this Section, once any individual Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member is determined to have a conflict of interest in respect to any agenda item, said individual shall immediately remove himself or herself from the meeting room or to the area of the room occupied by the general public. He or she shall not return to his or her regular seat as a member of the body until deliberation and action on the item is completed. Nothing herein shall require an individual Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member to remove himself or herself for any item contained on a "Consent Agenda" on which there is no deliberation, the individual's conflict has been determined by the other members, and the right to abstain from voting on the item has been granted. Personal Interest. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit any Council Member, Board Member, Committee Member or Commission Member from representing his or her own personal interest by appearing before his or her collective body on any such agenda item. Violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance by any employee is grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal. SECTION 12: Penalty for Violation by Former Employee. • Any former employee violating any provision of this ordinance shall be fined not less ETHICS ORDINANCE 6 than five dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each Any City officer or employee violating • any provision of this Ordinance may be reprimanded, suspended or discharged. In addition, any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this Ordinance shall upon conviction be fined not less than ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00), but not more than THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($300..00) for each offense day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. SECTION 13: Consequences, Penalty: ,A Any City officer or employee violating any provision of this Ordinance may be reprimanded, suspended or discharged. In addition, any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this Ordinance shall upon conviction be fined not less than ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00), but not more than THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($300.00) for each offense. SECTION 14: Severance: The provisions of this ordinance are severable. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application. SECTION 15: EFFECTIVE DATE: WHEREAS, there is an emergency therefor, which emergency is hereby declared to exist, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication according to law. PASSED AND APPROVED this 3~n day of February, 1998. CITY~FiMERIDIAN ATT • 'WILLIAM G. BERG, JR. - C 2-3-98 -- Final ETHICS ORDINANCE D. CORRiE -MAYOR `J,~,,~~i-u inrn~r~,,i `~ U` 0 4~ '"i ~` "i?~ s ~1~t~T ~_ z ~ s, ry g~ ,,~ ..~ Q~. ,~~. ~~~~rrrn;t nti-~``~~~ 7