Pursuant to the provisions of § 806 of the General
Municipal Law, the State of New York recognizes that there are rules
of ethical conduct for public officers and employees which must be
observed if a high degree of moral conduct is to be obtained and if
public confidence is to be maintained in our unit of local government.
It is the purpose of this chapter to promulgate these rules of ethical
conduct for the officers and employees of the Town of Rhinebeck (hereafter,
the "Town"). These rules shall serve as a guide for official conduct
of the officers and employees of the Town. The rules of ethical conduct
of this chapter, as adopted, shall not conflict with but shall be
in addition to any prohibition of Article 18 of the General Municipal
Law or any other general or special law relating to the ethical conduct
and interest in contracts of municipal officers and employees.
To the extent this chapter is inconsistent with the provisions
of § 808 of the General Municipal Law, this chapter shall
supersede those provisions. This chapter shall replace and repeal
the existing Code of Ethics for Town of Rhinebeck officers and employees
in its entirety.
The provisions of §§
17-3 and
17-4 of this chapter shall not prohibit or require recusal or transactional disclosure as a result of:
A. An action specifically authorized by statute, rule, or regulation
of the State of New York or of the United States.
C. Gifts:
(1) Received by the officer or employee from an immediate family member;
or
(2) Having an aggregate value of $75 or less during any twelve-month
period from all sources or individuals; or
(3) Accepted on behalf of the Town of Rhinebeck and transferred to the
Town of Rhinebeck.
D. Awards from charitable organizations.
E. Receipt of Town of Rhinebeck services or benefits, or use of Town
of Rhinebeck facilities, that are generally available on the same
terms and conditions to residents or a class of residents in the Town
of Rhinebeck.
F. Representation of constituents by elected officials without compensation
in the proper discharge of official duties.
G. Officers or employees appearing or practicing before the Town or
receiving compensation for working on a matter before the Town after
termination of their Town service or employment where they performed
only ministerial acts while working for the Town.
No Town officer or employee shall induce or attempt to induce any other Town officer or employee to violate any of the provisions of §§
17-3 or
17-4 of this chapter.
Unless otherwise stated or unless the context otherwise requires,
when used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
APPEAR
Communicating in any form, whether personally or through
another person.
CUSTOMER OR CLIENT
A.
Any person to whom an officer or employee has supplied goods
or services during the previous 24 months having, in the aggregate,
a value greater than $1,000; or
B.
Any person to whom an officer's or employee's outside
business has supplied goods or services during the previous 24 months
having, in the aggregate, a value greater than $1,000, but only if
the officer or employee knows or has reason to know the outside business
supplied the goods or services.
ETHICS BOARD
The Ethics Board of the Town of Rhinebeck established pursuant to §
17-18 of this chapter.
GIFT and FINANCIAL BENEFIT
Any pecuniary or material benefit derived by oneself or an
immediate family member, including, without limitation, any money,
service, license, permit, contract, authorization, loan, travel, entertainment,
hospitality, or any promise thereof, or any other gratuity or promise
thereof or anything of value in excess of $75. A financial transaction
may be a financial benefit but shall not be a gift unless it is on
terms not available to the general public.
MINISTERIAL ACT
An action performed in a prescribed manner without exercise
of judgment or discretion as to the propriety of the act.
OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE
Any officer or employee of the Town of Rhinebeck, whether
paid or unpaid, and includes, without limitation, all members of any
office, board, body, advisory board, council, commission, agency,
department, district, administration, division, bureau, or committee
of the Town. "officer or employee" shall not include:
A.
A judge, justice, officer or employee of the unified court system;
B.
A volunteer firefighter or civil defense volunteer;
C.
A member of an advisory board of the Town of Rhinebeck, but
only if the advisory board has no authority to act on behalf of its
recommendations; or
D.
An outside paid consultant providing professional services to
the Town on an annual or contract basis, such as an engineer, attorney,
planner, or accountant.
OUTSIDE BUSINESS
A.
Any activity, other than service to the Town of Rhinebeck, from
which the officer or employee receives compensation for services rendered
or goods sold or produced;
B.
Any entity, other than the Town of Rhinebeck, of which the officer
or employee is a member, officer, director, or employee and from which
he or she receives compensation for services rendered or goods sold
or produced; or
C.
Any entity in which the officer or employee has an ownership
interest, except a corporation of which the officer or employee owns
less than 5% of the outstanding stock.
To the extent known, any officer or employee who participates
in a discussion or gives an official opinion to the Town Board on
any legislation before it shall publicly disclose, on the official
record, the nature and extent of any direct or indirect financial
or other private interest he or she may have in such legislation.
Any contract or agreement entered into by or with the Town which results in or from a violation of any provisions of §§
17-3,
17-4 or
17-9 of this chapter shall be void unless ratified by the Town Board. Such ratification shall not affect the imposition of any criminal or civil penalties pursuant to this chapter or any other provision of law.
No officer or employee shall invest or hold any investment,
directly or indirectly, in any financial, business, commercial or
other private transaction which creates a conflict with his or her
official duties.
When a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Ethics Board, the vacancy shall, within 60 days, be filled for the unexpired portion of the term in the same manner as the original appointment. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy on the Ethics Board shall meet the qualifications set forth in §
17-18 of this chapter.
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 808, members of the Ethics Board shall serve at the pleasure of the Town Board. An Ethics Board member may be removed from office in the same manner in which he or she was appointed after written notice and opportunity for reply. Grounds for removal shall be failure to meet the qualifications set forth in §
17-18 of this chapter, substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers or duties of office, or violation of this chapter.
At its first meeting each year, the Ethics Board shall elect
a Chair, and may elect a Deputy Chair, from among its members. A majority
of the Board shall be required for the Board to take any action. The
Chair or a majority of the Board may call a meeting of the Board.
The Ethics Board shall review all transactional disclosure statements.
If the Board determines that a disclosure statement is deficient or
reveals a possible or potential violation of this chapter, the Board
shall notify the person in writing of the deficiency and possible
or potential violation and of the penalties for failure to comply
with this chapter.
The Ethics Board shall make information concerning this chapter
and Article 18 of the General Municipal Law available to the officers
and employees of the Town, to the public, and to persons interested
in doing business with the Town.
If any part of this chapter is declared to be invalid by any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect or
impair the validity of said chapter as a whole or any other part of
said chapter. The Town Board hereby declares that it would have adopted
this chapter and each part thereof irrespective of the fact that any
one or more of the parts may be declared invalid.
This chapter is intended to supersede, repeal and annul the provisions of Chapter
17 of the Town of Rhinebeck Code, adopted 12-9-1970 and amended thereafter.