CODE OF ETHICS
Sec. 4-1 Code of Ethics for City Officials
CHAPTER 4 - CODE OF ETHICS
Section 4-1 Code of Ethics for City Officials
A. Preamble
The public judges its government by the way public officials and employees conduct themselves in the posts to which they are elected or appointed.
The people have a right to expect that every public official and employee will conduct himself/herself in a manner that will tend to preserve public confidence in and respect for the government he/she represents.
Such 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.
B. Definition
The terms used in this ordinance are hereby defined as follows:
1) 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.2) Public Body
Any Agency, Board, Body, Commission, Committee,
Department, or office of the City.
3) 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 his/her services to the
City) to the official or employee or to any person employing
or retaining the services of the official or employee.
4) Personal InterestAny interest arising from blood or marriage
relationships (wife, husband, mother, father, child,
brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law) or from
business relationships (partners or corporate officers),
whether or not any financial interest is involved.
C. 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 himself/herself or any other person. This rule shall not be deemed to prohibit an official or employee from requesting, using or permitting the use of such publicly owned or publicly supported property, vehicle, equipment, material, labor or service which it is the general practice to make available to the public at large or which is provided as a matter of stated public policy for the use of officials and employees in the conduct of official business.
D. Conflict of Interest - Financial or Personal Interest
No official or employee, either on his/her own behalf or any family member shall have any financial or personal interest in any business or transaction with any public body unless he/she shall first make full public disclosure of the nature and extent of such interest.
E. Disclosure and Disqualifications
Whenever the performance of his/her official duties shall require any official or employee to deliberate and vote on any matter involving his/her financial or personal interest, he/she shall publicly disclose the nature and extent of such interest and disqualify himself/herself from participating in the deliberation as well as in the voting.
F. 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 he/she shall first make full public disclosure of the nature and extent of such employment or services. Provided further, that such employment shall not be in violation of Chapter 268A of the General Laws, and provided further, that this section shall not apply to persons holding a special employee status pursuant to Chapter 268A of the General Laws.
G. Representation of Private Persons
No official or employee shall, for compensation, appear on behalf of any private person, other than himself/herself, before any public body in the City.
H. Gifts
No official or employee shall accept any gift, whether in the form of money, thing, loan or promise, that would not be offered or given to him/her if he/she were not an official or employee.
I. 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 himself/herself or any other person.
J. Nepotism
No appointed or elected official shall appoint or vote for appointment of any person related to him/her by blood or marriage to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty, when the salary, wages, pay or compensation is to be paid out of public funds.
CHAPTER 4A
ADDITIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Sec. 4A-1. Declaration of Policy
Sec. 4A-2. Definitions
Sec. 4A-3. Prohibition
Sec. 4A-4. Further Prohibitions
Sec. 4A-4A. Family Disclosure
Sec. 4A-5. Violation
Sec. 4A-6. Request for Opinion
Sec. 4A-7. Statement of Compliance
Sec. 4A-8. Delivery of Ordinances
Sec. 4A-9. Effective Date
CHAPTER 4A - ADDITIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Section 4A-1. Declaration of Policy
WHEREAS, the proper operation of the City of Methuen requires that its public officials be independent, impartial and responsible; that governmental policies and decisions, especially in areas of issuing licenses, permits, variances, and the like, be based upon the best interests of the City; that public office and employment not be used for personal gain; and that the public have confidence in the integrity of its government; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this ordinance is to set forth standards of ethical conduct; to assist public officials in establishing guidelines for their conduct; and to foster the development and maintenance of a tradition of responsible and effective public service;
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council hereby enacts the following conflict of interest code.
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following terms shall have the meanings as mentioned herein:
Official - Any person serving on a public body.
Public Body - Any appointed multi-member board, commission, committee or the like discharging duties of an official nature under applicable statutory, regulatory, or ordinance authority and additionally, as to Section 4, any elected official.
Permit - A grant of authority issued by a public body under applicable statutory, regulatory, or ordinance authority, including but not limited to, licenses, permits, special permits, variances, subdivision approvals, approvals not required, orders of conditions, determinations of applicability, grants, gifts, loans and the like.
Person - A person, firm, trust, company, corporation, partnership, or other like business entity.
Immediate Family - The officer and his/her spouse, their parents, children, brothers and sisters, where such individuals reside with the officer or obtain twenty-five percent (25%) or more of their financial assistance.
No officer shall be appointed to or continue to hold any office in a public body of the City where such officer or his/her immediate family, partner, a business organization in which he/she is serving as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or the like, has or may have the occasion to apply before such particular public body for a permit or other like privilege, given or granted by such public body, excepting matters related to the person's own residence.
Section 4A-4. Further Prohibitions
No officer shall, curing the period on which he/she serves in any office in a public body, contract or sub-contract with or act as agent, broker, counselor, architect, engineer, or other like professional capacity for any person which has, during the period on which such person has served on the public body, applied for and received a permit from said public body, irrespective of whether or not the officer participated in the issuance of such permit.
Further, no officer shall obtain or seek to obtain any financial advantage, direct or indirect, from the issuance of such permit.
Additionally, no officer shall, for a period of one year subsequent to leaving the public body, contract of sub-contract with or act as agent, broker, counselor, architect, engineer, or other like professional capacity for any person who, during the officer's tenure, received a permit, irrespective of whether or not they participated or voted in the matter.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any officer shall be exempted from Section 4 if he/she shall file a disclosure statement on a form as prepared by the City Clerk, listing any potential violation of Section 4. Said disclosure shall function as an exemption from the provisions of Section 4 as to the particular transaction or matter disclosed therein, but not as to any other matters or transactions which are not included in said disclosure. Said disclosure shall be filed and time-stamped with the City Clerk and a copy thereof shall be delivered by the City Clerk in a timely fashion to the Mayor and the City Council.
Section 4A-4A. Family Disclosure
All elected officials shall disclose, in a writing to the City Clerk, all family members, together with their annual wages, who hold a compensated position with the City during the elected official's tenure of office. Family members shall have the same meaning as immediate family member as defined in Chapter 268A, Section 1, Massachusetts General Laws, and shall also mean all nieces, nephews and cousins of the first and second degree of said elected officials or elected official's spouse.
This section shall apply retroactively to all present Councillors as well as prospectively to all future Councillors.
A. Violations by Elected Officials
All elected officials shall file disclosure statements relating to matters described
in Sections 4 and 4A of this ordinance whether or not such disclosure is required
by Sections 4 and 4A. Said disclosure shall be filed with the City Clerk's office
as a public record on or before April 1st of each year and a copy of each disclosure
shall be provided to each City Councillor and to the Chairman of the School
Committee.
In addition to the above requirements, should any condition or event arise during
a calendar year that would necessitate the filing of a disclosure statement
amendment, the same shall be filed by the individual elected official within
sixty days of such condition or event.
Any elected official failing to comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 2-20 of the Methuen Municipal Code (as to the City Council) or any resolutions enacted pursuant to Chapter 71, Section 52, Massachusetts General Laws (as amended by Chapter 296 of the Acts and Resolves of 1982) (as to the School Committee), not be entitled to be compensated for such position during the time said official fails to comply and make disclosure as required herein.
The provisions relating to filing shall be implemented and enforced as follows:
1. Not later than March 1st of each year, the City Clerk shall mail a reminder to each and every elected official that he/she shall be required to file, on or before April 1st, a disclosure statement under Chapter 4A of the Methuen Municipal Code.
2. On or after April 1st of each year, the City Clerk shall assemble a list comprising those elected officials who have complied with the disclosure and those elected officials who have not complied as of that date.
3. The City Clerk shall send a notice to any elected official who is delinquent in filing the disclosure statement on or before April 15th of each year.4. The City Clerk shall, on or before May 1st of each year, submit a list of those individuals not complying with this ordinance to City Accountant who shall forthwith withhold any further compensation as is provided for in this section.
The City Accountant shall, annually and immediately upon certification of free cash, report to the City Council the total amounts forfeited hereunder. The City Council shall, with authorization of the Mayor, appropriate an equivalent amount from free cash to be used for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a Methuen Youth Center.
B. Violations by Appointed Officials
A violation of this ordinance or Chapter 4 shall constitute good cause for removal under the provisions of Article 9, Section 9-10 of the Methuen Home Rule Charter. The Mayor shall, upon being notified of the potential of a violation of said Chapter 4 or this Chapter, immediately investigate such matter and take such action as may be appropriate and consistent with the above provisions.
Section 4A-6. Request for Opinion
The City Council, by vote of its membership, or the Mayor may request the City Solicitor to investigate and issue an opinion as to whether or not a person is violating any provisions of Chapter 4 or Chapter 4A of this Code. Such request shall name the specific officer and state the facts upon which a violation is believed to exist. The City Solicitor shall, within a period of thirty days from such request, respond in writing and he shall further, and contemporaneous with this, deliver a copy of such opinion to the person affected and to the City Clerk. In addition to the above, any individual who believes that he/she may be in violation of Chapter 4 or Chapter 4A may, if he/she so chooses, request a written opinion from the City Solicitor on the possibility of a violation of said Chapters; and, the provisions relative to the nature of the request made and the time period for response, as stated above, shall apply.
Section 4A-7. Statement of Compliance
Hereafter, any individual appointed or re-appointed to a public body shall sign a statement acknowledging that he or she understands the provisions of Chapter 4 and Chapter 4A and further intends to comply with said requirements. Failure to sign this statement shall constitute just reason for not being appointed or re-appointed.
Section 4A-8. Delivery of Ordinances
A copy of this ordinance and Chapter 4 shall be delivered to any person appointed hereafter and to all persons presently serving on public bodies by the City Clerk.
In accordance with Article 2, Section 2-9(a), this ordinance shall become effective as to all future appointees and, as to all present appointees or re-appointees, thirty and ninety days respectively from the date of approval hereof.
(Ord. #358, Eff. Nov. 22nd, 1989, as amended by Ord. #361, Eff.
Jan. 3rd, 1990;
as further amended by Ord. #426, Eff. Dec. 16th, 1991)