[Adopted 6-19-1991 by Ord. No. 1991-15 (Sec. 1.64 of the 1995 Code)]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Cinnaminson Township Code of Ethics."
The Township Committee of the Township of Cinnaminson
finds and declares that:
A. Public office and employment are a public trust.
B. The vitality and stability of representative democracy
depend upon the public's confidence in the integrity of its elected
and appointed representatives.
C. Whenever the public perceives a conflict between the
private interests and the public duties of a government officer or
employee, that confidence is imperiled.
D. Governments have the duty both to provide their citizens
with standards by which they may determine whether public duties are
being faithfully performed, and to apprise their officers and employees
of the behavior which is expected of them while conducting their public
duties.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
AGENCY
Any agency, board, governing body, including the chief executive
officer, office, commission or other instrumentality within the Township
of Cinnaminson, and any independent local authority created by or
appointed under the authority of the Township of Cinnaminson, which
performs functions other than of a purely advisory nature.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Any corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, franchise,
association, trust, sole proprietorship, union or other legal entity.
EMPLOYEE
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time, employed by or serving on an agency who is not a local
government officer.
INTEREST
The ownership or control of more than 10% of the profits,
assets or stock of a business organization but shall not include the
control of assets in a nonunion profit entity or labor union.
OFFICER
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time, who is one of the following:
A.
Member of the Township Committee.
D.
Secretary, Planning Board.
F.
Any other person who is a managerial executive
or confidential employee, as defined in Section 3 of the New Jersey
Employer-Employee Relations Act, N.J.S.A. 34:13A-3, of the Township
of Cinnaminson or of an agency created under the authority of or appointed
by the Township of Cinnaminson.
G.
Any other person determined to be an officer
of the Township pursuant to the Local Government Ethics Law or by
the Local Finance Board of the Department of Community Affairs.
OFFICER or EMPLOYEE
An officer or employee of the Township of Cinnaminson or
of an agency under the authority of or appointed by the Township of
Cinnaminson.
Officers and employees of the Township of Cinnaminson
shall comply with the following provisions:
A. No officer or employee of the Township of Cinnaminson
or member of his or her immediate family shall have an interest in
a business organization or engage in any business, transaction, or
professional activity, which is in substantial conflict with the proper
discharge of his or her duties in the public interest.
B. No officer or employee shall use or attempt to use
his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages
for himself or others.
C. No officer or employee shall act in his or her official
capacity in any matter where he, a member of his or her immediate
family, or any business organization in which he or she has an interest,
has a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might
reasonably be expected to impair his or her objectivity or independence
or judgment.
D. No officer or employee shall undertake any employment
or service, whether compensated or not, which might reasonably be
expected to prejudice his or her independence of judgment in the exercise
of his or her official duties.
E. No officer or employee, member of his or her immediate
family, or any business organization in which he or she has an interest,
shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, political contribution, service,
promise of future employment, or other thing of value, based upon
an understanding that the gift, favor, loan, contribution, service,
promise, or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose
of influencing him, directly or indirectly, in the discharge of his
or her official duties. This provision shall not apply to the solicitation
or acceptance of contributions to the campaign of an announced candidate
for elective public office, if the officer has no knowledge or reason
to believe that the campaign contribution, if accepted, was given
with the intent to influence the officer in the discharge of his or
her official duties.
F. No officer or employee shall use, or allow to be used,
his or her public office or employment, or any information not generally
available to the members of the public, which he or she receives or
acquires in the course of and by reason of his or her office of employment,
for the purpose of securing financial gain for himself, any member
of his or her immediate family, or any business organization with
which he or she is associated.
G. No officer or employee or any business organization
in which he or she has an interest shall represent any person or party
other than the Township in connection with any cause, proceeding,
application or other matter pending before any agency of the Township
of Cinnaminson. This provision shall not be deemed to prohibit an
employee from representing another employee where the representation
is within the context of official labor union or similar representational
responsibilities; nor shall this provision be applicable to the Township
Public Defender with respect to representation of defendants in the
Municipal Court.
H. No officer shall be deemed in conflict with these
provisions if, by reason of his or her participation in the enactment
of any ordinance, resolution or other matter required to be voted
upon or which is subject to executive approval or veto, no material
or monetary gain accrues to him or her as a member of any business,
profession, occupation or group, to any greater extent than any gain
could reasonably be expected to accrue to any other member of such
business, profession, occupation or group.
I. No elected officer shall be prohibited from making
an inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent, if no fee,
reward or other thing of value is promised to, given to or accepted
by the officer or a member of his or her immediate family, whether
directly or indirectly, in return therefor.
J. Nothing shall prohibit any officer or employee of
the Township of Cinnaminson, or members of his or her immediate family,
from representing himself, herself or themselves, in negotiations
or proceedings concerning his, her or their own interests.
K. No officer or employee elected or appointed in the
Township shall, without receiving formal written authorization from
the appropriate person or body, disclose any confidential information
concerning any other officer or employee or any other person or any
property or governmental affairs of the Township.
L. No officer or employee shall approve or disapprove
or in any way recommend the payment of any bill, voucher or indebtedness
owed or allegedly owed by the Township in which he has a direct or
indirect personal, pecuniary or private interest.
M. No officer or employee elected or appointed in the
Township shall request, use or permit the use of any public property,
vehicle, equipment, labor or service for personal convenience or the
private advantage of himself or any other person. This prohibition
shall not be deemed to prohibit an official or employee from requesting,
using or permitting the use of such public property, vehicle, equipment,
material, labor or service which it is the general practice to make
available to the public at large or which are provided as a matter
of stated public policy for the use of officials and employees in
the conduct of official business.
The Cinnaminson Township Ethical Standards Board
shall have the following powers:
A. To initiate, receive, hear and review complaints and
hold hearings with regard to possible violations of the municipal
Code of Ethics or financial disclosure requirements by local government
officers or employees serving the Township.
B. To issue subpoenas for the production of documents
and the attendance of witnesses with respect to its investigation
of any complaint or to the holding of a hearing.
C. To forward to the County Prosecutor or the Attorney
General or other governmental body any information concerning violations
of the Code of Ethics or financial disclosure requirements by officers
or employees serving the Township which may warrant the institution
of other legal proceedings by the Attorney General.
D. To render advisory opinions to local officers or employees
serving the Township as to whether a given set of facts and circumstances
would constitute a violation of any provision of the Code of Ethics
or financial disclosure requirements.
E. To enforce the provisions of the Code of Ethics and
financial disclosure requirements with regard to officers or employees
serving the Township and to impose penalties for the violation thereof
as are authorized by this article.
F. To adopt rules and regulations and to other things
as are necessary to implement the purposes of this article.
All statements, complaints, requests or other
written materials filed pursuant to this article and any rulings,
opinions, judgments, transcripts or other official papers prepared
pursuant to this article shall be preserved for a period of five years
from the date of filing or preparation, as the case may be.
[Adopted 5-18-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-16]
It is the purpose of this article that, notwithstanding
that professional services contracts are exempt from the competitive
bidding requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1
et seq., the Township Committee deems it appropriate, in order to
avoid any public perception that professional services contracts are
awarded in consideration for, e.g., political contribution or other
considerations, said contracts, consistent with the provisions of
recently enacted New Jersey legislation, shall henceforth be awarded
through a competitive, quality-based, fair and open process.
No professional services contracts, in excess
of $17,500, as that term is used in the Local Public Contracts Law,
shall be awarded after the date of the adoption of this article, unless
the following competitive, quality-based, fair and open process is
followed:
A. Professional services may be awarded by virtue of
a combined publicly advertised request for qualifications (RFQ) and
request for proposals (RFP) which will be issued as one document for
those appointments which are made on an annual basis, such as, but
not limited to, the positions of Township Attorney, Township Engineer,
Township Planner, Planning Board Attorney, Planning Board Engineer,
and such similar statutory and/or ordinance public positions.
B. The following requirements shall also apply to any
RFQ and/or RFP processed under the contracting procedures established
by this article:
(1) Publicly advertised in newspapers in sufficient time
to give notice in advance of the solicitation for the contracts;
(2) Awarded under a process that provides for public solicitation
of proposals and qualifications;
(3) Awarded and disclosed under criteria established in
writing by the Township of Cinnaminson prior to the solicitation of
proposals or qualifications; and
(4) Publicly announced when awarded; and as to those RFQ's
and RFP's which prove to be unsuccessful, the Municipal Clerk shall
retain a copy of same on file for a period of not less than 60 days.
C. A review of RFP's/RFQ's by departmental review committees.
A Departmental Review Committee shall be established consisting of
not less than two persons to prepare, process and evaluate any RFQ
and/or RFP issued pursuant to the professional services contracting
procedures set forth above. Each Departmental Review Committee must
prepare, prior to a request for proposals, a written cost estimate
in order to allow for proper evaluation of the fee aspect of proposals.
Moreover, said Committee shall evaluate the respective qualifications
and/or proposals, taking into consideration the designated qualifications
and/or performance criteria, experience, quoted fee and other relevant
factors in making a recommendation of award to the Mayor and Township
Committee; and the Departmental Review Committee may, in its sole
discretion, conduct negotiations with qualified vendors after receipt
of proposals, in order to achieve the best possible contract terms
and conditions for the Township and its taxpayers.
D. Emergency exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the Township Committee recognizes that the New Jersey Legislature
has provided for the occurrence of certain emergencies, and further
recognizes that, therefore, the procedure outlined above, might not
be capable of being achieved in the event of an emergency or similar
time constraints. Thus, should such a situation arise, and time does
not permit resort to this procedure, and the immediate performance
of services is necessary, then an award for same may be made in accordance
with the provisions of the Local Public Contracts Law relating to
emergency contracts, and such rules and regulations as made be promulgated,
from time to time, by the Township Committee with regard to same.
No such emergency contracts, however, may be awarded without submission
to the Township Clerk of a certification establishing the basis for
the deviation from the procedures outlined herein.
No candidate for office, appointment or employment
and no officer, appointee, or employee in any municipality shall directly
or indirectly give or promise any person any office, position, employment
benefit or anything of value for the purpose of influencing or obtaining
the political support, aid, or vote of any person, under the penalty
of being disqualified to hold the office or employment to which he
or she may be or may have been elected or appointed.