The provisions of this chapter apply to all City employees, to appointees to those boards and commissions identified in §
16-6, to City elected officials and, with respect to the disclosure statements required by §
16-5, to candidates for City elective office.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings indicated:
BUSINESS or BUSINESS ENTITY
A commercial endeavor, regardless of form, whether or not
operated for profit, other than a governmental entity.
COMMISSION
The City Ethics Commission established under §
16-3 of this chapter.
DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY
Having or negotiating a contract with the City that involves
the commitment, or having received from the City compensation for
goods or services, either in a single transaction or a combination
of transactions, during the five-year period immediately preceding
the filing, of $5,000 or more of City-controlled funds or having requested
or received a grant of City-controlled funds in an amount equal to
or exceeding 5% of the operating budget or, with respect to a commercial,
for-profit entity, the gross revenues of the recipient.
[Amended 12-14-2020 by Ord. No. 929]
GIFT
A monetary donation, other than a campaign contribution,
or other item of more than nominal value received by an official or
employee for his or her personal use or for the use of a family member
of the official or employee, whether or not the official or employee
disposes of the item at any time after receipt but does not include
items received or solicited by an official or employee for use by
or benefit of the City and that are delivered to the custody of the
City Manager directly by the donor or transferred to the custody of
the City Manager by the employee or official within seven days of
receipt.
INTEREST
A.
Ownership of:
(1)
Any share or portion of real property;
(2)
Ownership of securities of any kind representing more than 3%
of a publicly traded corporation;
(3)
A legal or equitable interest in a business entity other than
a publicly traded corporation as a result of which the owner has received
within the past three years, is presently receiving, or in the future
is entitled to receive, more than $1,000 per year.
B.
Interest does not include:
(1)
An interest held in the capacity of agent, custodian, fiduciary,
personal representative, or trustee, unless the holder has an equitable
interest in the subject matter;
(2)
An interest in a time or demand deposit in a financial institution;
(3)
An interest in an insurance policy, endowment policy, or annuity
contract by which an insurer promises to pay a fixed amount of money
in a lump sum or periodically for life or a specified period;
(4)
A common trust fund or a trust that forms part of a pension
or a profit-sharing plan that:
(a)
Has more than 25 participants; and
(b)
Is determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a qualified
trust or college savings plan under the Internal Revenue Code.
LOBBYIST
Any person who communicates with a City official in the presence of such official for the purpose of influencing any official action of that official or engages in activities with the express purpose of soliciting others to communicate with a City official with the intent to influence an offical action of that official, and is required to register and report expenses related thereto under §
16-7 of this chapter.
OFFICIAL or OFFICIALS
The Mayor, the members of the Common Council, the City Administrator,
City Clerk, the Director of Planning, the Director of Public Works,
the Director of Recreation and Parks, the Director of Finance, and
the Chief of Police, members of the Planning and Zoning Commission,
members of the Board of Zoning Appeals, and members of the City Ethics
Commission.
QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY
An entity that is created by state statute, that performs
a public function, and that is supported in whole or in part by the
state but is managed privately.
[Added 11-14-2022 by Ord. No. 945]
[Amended 12-14-2020 by Ord. No. 929]
A. This section only applies to the City Administrator, the City Clerk,
the City Attorney, all City department directors, and all deputy or
assistant department directors must file a statement under this section.
B. A statement filed under this section shall be filed with the City
Clerk under oath or affirmation on forms provided by the Commission.
The City Clerk shall promptly transmit statements filed under this
section to the Commission, which shall review such statements for
compliance with this chapter. Following the Commission's review and
approval, the City Clerk shall maintain all such forms.
C. On or before the close of business on February 15 of each year during
which an official or employee holds office, an official or employee
shall file a statement disclosing:
(1) Gifts received during the preceding calendar year from any person
that contracts with or is regulated by the City, including the name
of the donor of the gift and the approximate retail value at the time
or receipt; and
(2) Employment and interests that raise conflicts of interest or potential
conflicts of interest in connection with a specific proposed action
by the employee or official sufficiently in advance of the action
to provide adequate disclosure to the public.
(3) The identity of any entity doing business with the City with which
the official or employee has done business or from which he or she
has received any thing of value in the preceding five years.
(4) The identity of any person doing business with the City, or who is
employed by such an entity, who is a relative of the official or employee
or with whom the official or employee has a close personal friendship.
(5) The identity of any business entity located in the City from which
the official or employee receives or has received earned income.
(6) The identity of any person or business entity for whom the filer
has performed services during the reporting period that are substantially
similar to the services that the filer performs for the City for compensation.
D. The City Clerk shall maintain all disclosure statements filed under this section as public records available for public inspection and copying as provided in Subsections
C and
D of §
16-5 of this chapter. The City Clerk shall retain such statements for four years from the date of receipt.
E. To facilitate the filing of a statement required by this section,
the City Clerk shall, between January 1 and January 21, provide to
every filer a list of the entities that have done business with the
City during the preceding year.
F. Before disclosing a statement filed under this section, for any statement
filed after January 1, 2019, the City Clerk shall redact any portion
of the statement that includes an address that the individual has
identified as his or her home address, including the address of a
vacation home owned in whole or in part by the filer at which the
filer or a member of the filer’s immediate family resides for
any part of the period covered by the disclosure statement.
[Added 12-14-2020 by Ord. No. 929]
A. This section
only applies to members of the Planning and Zoning Commission, members
of the Board of Zoning Appeals, and members of the City Ethics Commission.
B. A statement
filed under this section shall be filed with the City Clerk under
oath or affirmation on forms provided by the Commission. The City
Clerk shall promptly transmit statements filed under this section
to the Commission, which shall review such statements for compliance
with this chapter. Following the Commission's review and approval,
the City Clerk shall maintain all such forms.
C. On or
before the close of business on February 15 following each year during
which a person covered by this section holds office, the individual
shall file a statement disclosing:
(1) Gifts
received during the preceding calendar year from any person that contracts
with or is regulated by the City, including the name of the donor
of the gift and the approximate retail value at the time or receipt;
and
(2) Employment
and interests that raise conflicts of interest or potential conflicts
of interest in connection with a specific proposed action by the employee
or official sufficiently in advance of the action to provide adequate
disclosure to the public.
D. The City Clerk shall maintain all disclosure statements filed under this section as public records available for public inspection and copying as provided in §
16-5C and
D of this chapter. The City Clerk shall retain such statements for four years from the date of receipt.
E. To facilitate
the filing of a statement required by this section, the City Clerk
shall, between January 1 and January 21, provide to every filer a
list of the entities that have done business with the City during
the preceding year.
F. Before
disclosing a statement filed under this section, for any statement
filed after January 1, 2019, the City Clerk shall redact any portion
of the statement that includes an address that the individual has
identified as his or her home address, including the address of a
vacation home owned in whole or in part by the filer at which the
filer or a member of the filer’s immediate family resides for
any part of the period covered by the disclosure statement.
The Commission may grant exemptions and modifications to the provisions of §§
16-4,
16-5, and
16-6 of this chapter when the Commission finds that an exemption or modification would not be contrary to the intent of this chapter to prevent conflicts of interest and self-dealing and to preserve the integrity of City government and that the application of this chapter would:
A. Constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy; and
B. Significantly reduce the availability of qualified persons for public
service.