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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-03-08 160 AD ORDINANCE160 AD Introduced by Councilor Henderson, March 8, 1976 _ CITY OF BANGOR (TITLE,) Orb-MZtjjCQo Amending,CM1ap i f the„0 d[ of_tF City. of Bangor - Conflict of Interest Be ft ordained by the City Council of the City ofBampsm a thUmme: THAT Chapter 1 of the Laws and Ordinances of the City of Bangor is hereby amended by the addition of a saw Article ), as follows: CHAPTER I ARTICLE ] - CONFLICT OF INTEREST Sec. 1 purpose.; The Bangor City Council hereby declares that public office is a public treat add that any effort to realize personal, financial gain through .public office other thaocompen- sation provided by law Is a vlolatlon of that trust. In order to trengthen the faith and confidence of the people of .the City in their government, the Council further declares that the people have a right to beassured that the financial interests of holders of ox Candidates for public office present neither a conflict nor theappearance of a conflict with the public Cruet. Because public Confidence in government can best be sustained by assuming the. people of the impartiality and honesty of public officials, this ordinance shall be liberally construed to promote complete disclosure. . Sec. 2 Definitions. As wed In this ordLaamce, unless the context requires otherwise: 2.1 "Business” menw any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, aa Lation, n organizatio se Lf -employed Ludividwl,bo Ldingcompany, Joint stock company, receivership, truer, or any legal entity ongamzed for profit: 2.2 'rewires with which he associated" any business in which the pe[ ®heof s the pe[ Immediate family 1s a director, officer, owner, employee, r holder of stock worth $1,000 or more at fair market value, or any business that 1s --a client of the person; 2.3 "Candidate for public office" me any person who has filed a petition to appear ov the ballot for election as s public official, or who has raised o expended money in pursuit of publi2 office, and any person who has been nominated by a public official or governmental body for appointment to serve as a public official. 2.4 'Cominissiono mans the BangorEthicsCommission established in See. 8 of this ordinance. 2.5 "Gift" means a payment, subscription, advance, fore- bearance, rendering or deposit of money, services o anything of value, unless consideration of equal o greater .value is received. "Gifto shall not include a political contribution otherwise reported as required by lawacommercially reasonable Loa made n the ordinary course of business, e a gift received from a member of the person's immediate family orfrom a relative within the third degree of consanguinity of the per x of the person's spouse or from the spouse of any such relative; 2.6 "Goveinmentat body" meaty any department, commission, ommiLee, council, board, bureau, divisionservice, office', officer, administration, legislative body, o other gstablishment in the executive or Legislative braneH�of the municipality of Bangor; 2.7 vies diate family" means a spouseg. residinin the perm s ho eh id and dependent 2.0 "Incomeo',meaw any money or bhi„g. of value received, o to be received e a claim on future a whether in the form of a fee, salary, expense, allowance, foxebearance, forgiveineea, interest, dividend, royalty, rent, capital gain, o any other form of recompense or any combination thereof; 2.9 'Ministerial action"action that a parson performs in a give state of fa¢nu ctsins a prescribed manner obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to, or the exercise of, the person's ova judgment upon the propriety of the action being taken; SAO 'Ter a business, individual, corporation, union, ociation, firm, partnership, committee, club, or other organisation or group of persons; 2.11 'political contribution"any advance, conveyance, deposit, distribution, transfer of fund&, Loan, payment, pledge, purchase of a ticket to a testimonial or similar fundraising affair, or subscription of money or anything of value, except volunteer services, La connection with a political campaign, and any contract, agreement, promise, or other obligation, whether a not legallyenforceable, to make a political contribution: 2.12 'public employee" means any fndfvid,allwho receives compensation from the City of parent or'whosresponsible for taking o recommending official action ofa non ministerial nature with regard to: (1) contracting or procurement (2) admin Inteting or monitoring grants or subsidies; (3) planning or zoning; (4) inspecting, licensing or regulating any person; or (5) any other activity where the official action hasan urImpact of greater than a de minimus natureonthe interests of any. person. "Public employee" shall not include individuals who are employed by the City of Bangor in teaching as distinguished from administrative duties; 2.13 "Pub Llc official" mans any elected or appointed official in the centuries or Legialative branch of the City of Ranges, provided that it shall net include members of advisory boards that gave no authority to expend public funds other than reimbursement forpersonal expense, or to otherwise exercise the power of the City of ganger. Sec. 3 Restricted activities, 3.1 No public official or public employee shall use his public office or any confidential information received through his holding public office to obtain financial gain other than compensation provided by law for himself, a member of his Immediate family, or a business with which he Is associated. 3.2 No person shall offer or give to a public official o public employee or candidate for public Office ormember of his immediate family o a business with which he is associated, and no public official or public employee or candidate for. public office shall solicit or accept, any- thing of value, including a gift, loan, political contribution, maid, orpromise of future employment based on any .understanding that the vote, official action, or judg- ment of the public official or public employee or candidate for public office would be influenced thereby. 3.3 No person shall offer or give to a public official o public employee or amember of his immediate family of a bus with which he is associated, and no public official r public employee shall solicit or accept from any one person, gifts thateeed $100 in value in the aggregate in any twelve month reporting period. - 3.4 No public official or public employee o member of his immediate family o a business with which he is associated shall enter int r any c valued at $50 o with a governmental body unless t the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and contracts awarded. Any contract made in violation of this subsection shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction if the suit is connected within 90 days of making of the contract. 3.5 No public official or public employee shall represent a person or act as an expert witness for compensation before a governmental body where the action o -action of the governmental body is of a -ministerial nature, except in matter of public record i court of lav; provided that this shall not apply to a public official or public employee acting in an official capacity: 3.6 No former official or public employee shall represent a person, with or without compensation, on any matter before the governmental body wiehruhich he has been associated for M year after he leaves that body, or at any time on any mawith which he was involved while a public official matter public employee. 3.7 No person shall use for any c mal purpose information copied from statements of financial interests required by this ordinance or from lists compllLd from such statements. Sec. 4 Membership of governmental bodies. The majority of the members of a -elective govemental r body, of a committee or subcommittee of a governmental body, whether that body is elective or not, shall not have a financial interest, either personal or through a member of their immediate family or a business with which they am associated, other than n interest of a de minimus nature or an interest that is distinct from that of the general public, i matters subject to the jurisdiction of the body or committee or Subcommittee. Sec. 5 Procedures relating to conflict situations. Any public official or public employee who. in the discharge of his official duties, would be required to take anr action that would affect directly o indirectly a financial interest of himself, a member of his immediate family, or 8 business with which he is associated, other than an interest of a d¢ miaLanx nature or an interest thatis not distinct from that of the general public, shall take the followingactions: (1) prepare a written statement signed under penalty of perjury describing the matter requiring action and the nature of the potential conflict; if he is a member of a legislative or quasi -legislative body and he will not request that he be excused from voting, deliberating, r taking action on the matter,the statement aMLl state why, despite the potential conflict, he is able to vote and otherwise participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest; and (2) Deliver a copy of the statement to the commission and (a) if he is a member of a Legislative or quasi - legislative body, he shall deliver a copy of the the statement to the chairperson of the body, who shall cause the statement to be recorded n the minutes of the body and, upon request of the member, shall excuse the member from votes, deliberations, at any other action on the matter on which a potential conflict exists: or (b) if he is not a member of a legislative or quasi - legislative body, he shell deliver a copy of _ the statement to the city hamper, who shall assign the matter to another employee. Set. 6 Statement of financial interests required to be filed. 6.1 Each public official and public employee shall elle a statement of financial Interests for the preceding calendar year with the commission on r before May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such -a position. 6.2 Each candidate for elective public office shall file a statement of fineial interests for the preceding calendar year with the commission and with the a official and at the same time as he files his petition to appear on the ballot for election as a public official; provided, that thin subsection shall not apply to a person who has already filed a statement n that calendar "at pursuant to subsection6.1 above. A petition to appear or the ballot shall not be accepted by the City Clerk unless a statement of financial interests a filed with him or her in proper form. 6.3 Each candidate for public office nominated by a public official or governmental body and subject to confirmation by a public official or governmental body shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the commission and with the official or body that 1s vested with the power of confirmation at least ten days before the official or body shall approve or rejectthe nomination. - 6.4 No public official Shall be allowed to take the oath of office or enter or continue upon his duties, not shall he receive compensation from public funds, unless he hoe filed a statement of financial interests with the commission as required by this ordinance. 6.5 Any public official or candidate for public office fili� statement with the commission ssion pursuant to this ordinance shall file a copy of that statement with the City Clerk. Any public employee filing a statement with the commission pursuant to thin ordinance shall file a copy of that state- [ with the City Clerk, The Clerk shall make such state- ments available for public inspection and copying during regular office hours and make copying facilities available at a cont not to exceed actual coat. Sec. T Statement of financial interests. ].L The statement of financial interests filed pursuant t thin ordinance shall be ona form prescribed by the commission and shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the person required to file the statement. 7.2 The statement shall include the following information for the preceding calendar year with regard to the person required to file the statement, the members of his immediate family, and any business entity in which he or members of his immediate family, individually or together, held a 10% or greater equity interest at'any time during the calendar year for which the statement in required; (1) the roma address, nature of association, and amount of interest in any business with which hewas ociated and in any entity in-which'a position as trustee was held; and, if the business or entity has done business with or been regulated by the City, the date and nature of Such business or regulation; (2) the mature of business of any person from whom income in the value of $10000. or sreceived, the nature of services rendered, thee aunt, and, if the person has done business with or been regulated by the City, the date and nature of such business or regulation; (3) the legal description of all real property in the City, the fair market value of which exceeds $2,500, in which a direct or indirect financial interest was held, and, if the property was transferred during the preceding calendar year, a statement of the amount and nature of the consideration received or paid in exchange f for such interest, and the mcoand address of the person furnlehing o receiving such consideration; (4) the name and address of each creditor to whom the value of $1,000 o wed and the original Dunt, theamount outstanding, the terms of repayment, and the security given for each such debt' provided that debts arising out of retail installment transaction need not be included; (5) the nature and amount of any interest of $1,000 or more in a time or demand deposit in a financial Institution or in an insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract; (6) the wome and address of any person from whom a gift r gifts valued in the aggregate at $25 or more were received, and the value and the circumstances of each gift; and (7) such other information as the person. required to file the statement or the commission deems necessary to carry Out the purposes of this ordlasnce. 7.3 Monte an amount is required to be reported pursuant to subsections 7.2 (1) through (5) of this section, it Shall be sufficient report whether theamount ls: Less than $2,500; 12,500-5,000; $5-10,000; $10-25,00; $25-50,000; or more than $50,600. Sec. 8 Tabery Ethics Commission._ 8.1 There is established a hemmer Ethics Commission composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Chairperson of the Council. 8.2 'Members of the commission shall serve for terms of five years, except that, of the members first appointed: 8.2.1 two individuals appointed shall serve for four. years; 8.2.2 two individuals appointed shelf serve for two years, ane 8.2.3 of the other three members, one serve aball e e for aim year, a shall serve for three years, add nate shall serve for five years. 8.3 No individual shall he appointed [oomore then one full five year term an the co®rssron. 8.4 No indfvidual,ahile a member or employee of the commission, shell: 8.4.1 hold or campaign for any other public office; or 8.4.2 directly or indirectly attempto influence any decision by a governmental body[ other than seen representative of the commission o a matter within the jurisdiction of the commission• 8.5 The, Chairperson of the Council shall declare vacant the position on the remission of any memberwhotakes part in activities prohablted by subsection 8.4 of this section. An invidml appointed to fill ancy occurring other than by the expiration of a term of officu e shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the mother he succeeds, and is eligible for appoiatment to ane full five year term thereafter. Any vacancy occurring on the commission shall be filled within thty Says in the better in which that position was originally filled. 8.6 Theshell elect a chairpersonon and a vice -chairperson. The v mhairperson stall act asCchaiapafeotaingeM1eeabtiemcec of the chairperson orin the event of a vacancy in that position. 8.7 Pourember of the commission shall constitute a quorum and the votes of a majority of the members present is required for any action orrn omn ation of the commission. The chair- person or any four members of the commission may call a meeting provided that advance written notice is mailed to each member and to any person who requests notice of such vaetings. - Sec. 9 Duties of the commmUsLon. In addition to other duties prescribed by law, the co®rssion .shall: 9.L prescribed: and publish, after notice and opportunity for .public comment, rules and vegulatfom to car" out the provisions of this ordinance; 9.2 prescribe forme for statements and reports required to be filed by this ordinance and furnish such forma to persons required to file such statenenta and reports; 9.3 prepare and publish recoammendediuniform cathode of accounting and reporting for we by persons required to file statements and reports by this ordinance; 9.4 accept and file anyinformation voluntarily supplied that exceeds the requi menta of this ordinance; 9.5 wke statements and] reports filed with the remission available for public inspection and copying during regular office hours and make copying facilities available at a charge not to exceed actual cost; 9.6 camellia and maintain an index of all reports and state- ments filed with the commission to facilitate public access to such reports and etatenmnta; 9.7 prepare and publish annual 6umearies of statements and reports filed with the co®isafanp 9.8 review all statements and reports filed with the comaission in order to ascertain whether any person bas failed to file a requited statement or gas filed a deficient statement; 9.9 preserve statements and reports filed with the commat resion for a period of five years free date of receiptt 9.10 issue, upon request, and publish advisory opinions on the requirements of this ordinance; any opinion rendered by the until annealed or revoked, shall be bindingon the conmaission in any subsequent chargesening the person who requested the opinion and who acted in reliance on it in good faith, unless material facts were =fired or misstated by the person in the request for the opinion; Sec. 10 Investigations by the commission. 10.1 Upon a complaint signed under penalty of perjury by any person or upon its own motion, the commission SM11 in- vestigate any alleged violation of this ordimnce. All commission proceedings and records relatito an investi- gation shall be confidential until a final determination is bear by the c mmias Lon. The Chairperson of the Commission shall notify any person under investigation by the c Lesion of the investigation and of the nature of thealleged violation within five days of the commencement of the investigation. Within fifteen days of the filing of a seems complaint by a person alleging a violation, and at least eery thirty days thereafter until the natter is terminated, the Chairperson shall notify the complainant of the actloamken to date by the commission together with the reasons for such action or non action. L0.2 If a preliminary investigation fails to Indicate probable cause for belief that this ordinance has been violated, the commission SMIL terminate the investigation and so notify the complainant and the person who bad been under investigation. 10.3 if a preliminary investigation indicates probable cause for belief that this ordinance has been violated, the commission shall initiate appropriate proceedings to determine whether there has been a violation of this ordinance. ALL proceedings of Che cum,Lssfon pursuant to this subsection shall be by closed session attended only by those persons necessary to the investigation of the alleged violation, unless the person alleged to be in violation of this ordinance requests anopen session. All testimony shall be under oath which shall be administered by a member of the nominator. Any person who appears before the comnission shall have all of the dm process rights, privileges, and responsibilities of a witness appearing before the contra of this state. Any person whose mm " mentioad during a proceeding of the commission and who may be adversely affected thereby, may appear personally before the commission on his own behalf of file a written statement for incorporation into the record of the proceeding. The commission shall abuse a record to be made of all proceedings pursuant t this subsections. At the conclusion of proceedings c ning an alleged violation, the commission shall immediately begin n, deliberations on the evidence and than proceed to determine by majority vote of the members present whether there has been a violation of this ordinance. The findings of the commission concerning a violation and the record of the proceedings shall be made public by the commission as soon as practicable after the determination has been woe. Sec, 11 Enforcement. The commission by order may suspend or modify any of the reporting requirements of this ordinance in a particular case if it finds that Literal application of this ordinanceworks a manifestly unreasonable hardship and if it also finds thasuch suspensionomodifications will not frustrate the purposesof the ordinance. Any such suspension or modification shall be only to the extent necessary to substantially relieve the hardship. The commission Shall act to suspend or modify any to - porting statements only if it determines that facts exist that are clear and convincing proof of the findings required hereunder. Sec. 12 Judicial review. Any action by the commission made pursuant to this ordinance shall be subject to review in a court of competent jurisdiction upon the petition of any interested person filed within thirty days after the action for which review Is sought. The court shall enter a judgment enforcing, modifying, or setting aide the order of the w r it may remand the pro eedings commission the corssion for such further action as It may direct• Sec. 13 penalties. 13.1 Any person who violates the provisions of subsections 3.1 and 3.2 of section 3 of this ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $500. 13.2 Any person who violates the provisions of subsections 3.3 through 3.7 of section 3 or sections 5, 6 or p of this ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $250. 13.3 Any person who obtains financial gain from violating any provision of this ordinance, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, shall pay into the treasurer of the City of Bangor a am of money equal to three time the financial gain resulting from such violation. 13.4 The penalties prescribed in thin ordinance do not limit the power of the City Council to discipline its own members, and do not limit the power of agencies or commissions to discipline officials or employeea. 13.5 Any person who violates the confidentiality of a commission proceeding pur uent to Section 10 of this ordinance, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $500. Sec. 14 Conflict of law. If the provisions of this ordinance conflict with any other ordinance, regulation, or rule, the provisions of this ordinance Shall control. Sec., 16 Severability. If .any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is field invalid, the validity of the remainder of this ordinance and the application of such provisions to other persona and cir- cumstances shall not be affected thereby. /Ylof�en ma6 e...d ie....6..1.160 le IN CITY COUNCIL l ce{b y° Cd= ;O.d�:.c,...p, March 8, 1976 6ti Received lst xead"g.A voted GROINANC[ to consider next meeting by the following yes and no vote: ( I,I,i, i Amending Chapter I of the Ordinanoea"r Councilors voting yes: Fallen: aigney, 9zountas, Mooney,oting Soucy, and Series. councilors- of the City o5.8enooz -Conflict of Interest.f" oFinnigan, Gass and Henderson. RECEIVED CITY OF GOR � ".e- i . _ 0 } 'S OFFICE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE cxax c ms m am rtlm dy 976 MAR 4 Pn 2 16 IN CITY COUNT IL j March 33 1976 Motion to referto Code Nadi t1taD!' Ordinance Neview Cuestittee withdrawn. Mot on to refer to Coamun.ty Rel t ons Comsittee CAIS mivwie is Correctly e4rosdei failed by the fallowing yes and vote. Councilors voting yes: Henderson and Finnigan Councilors voting no: Haller: Higney, Brountas, Gass, Soucy and scales. Councilor .. ' absent Mooney. - Indefin/iittIely Postponed. .. /A�....� Comxitte0 Go CITY CLEFS ffivressei OxIiRZMeB N