[Added 12-28-1978 by Ord. No. 78-24]
The terms used in this Article are hereby defined as follows:
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 services to the municipality) to the official or employee or to any person employing or retaining the services of the official or employee.
MUNICIPALITY
Mount Laurel Township.
OFFICIAL OR EMPLOYEE
Any person elected or appointed to or employed or retained by any public office or public body of the municipality, whether paid or unpaid and whether part-time or full-time.
PERSON
Any person, firm, association, group, partnership or corporation or any combination thereof.
PERSONAL INTEREST
Any interest arising from blood or marriage relationships or from close business or political association, whether or not any financial interest is involved.
PUBLIC BODY
Any agency, board, body, commission, committee, department or office of the municipality.
A. 
Impartiality. No official or employee shall request, use or permit the use of any consideration, treatment, advantage or favor beyond that which it is the general practice to grant or make available to the public at large.
B. 
Use of public property. No official or employee shall request, use or permit the use of any publicly supported property, vehicle, equipment, material, labor or service for the personal convenience or the private advantage of himself or of 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 supplied 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 policy for the use of officials and employees in the conduct of official business.
A. 
Financial or personal interest. No official or employee, either on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person, shall have any financial or personal interest in any business or transaction with any public body in the municipality unless he shall first make full public disclosure of the nature and extent of such interest.
B. 
Disclosure and disqualification. Whenever the performance of his official duties shall require any official or employee to deliberate and vote on any matter involving his financial or personal interest, he shall publicly disclose the nature and general extent of such interest and disqualify himself from participating in the deliberations as well as in the voting.
C. 
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 of the municipality unless he shall first make full public disclosure of the nature and extent of such employment or services.
D. 
Representation of private persons. No official or employee shall appear on behalf of any private person, other than himself, before any public body in the municipality.
E. 
Gifts and favors. No official or employee shall accept any gift, whether in the form of money, thing, favor, loan or promise, that would not be offered or given to him if he were not an official or employee.
F. 
Confidential information. No official or employee, without prior formal authorization of the public body having jurisdiction, shall disclose any confidential information concerning any other employee or any other person or any property or governmental affairs of the municipality. 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 or any other person.
A. 
Organization. There is hereby created and established a Board of Ethics consisting of three persons, who shall hold no other office or employment under the municipality. At least one of said members shall be an attorney at law of the State of New Jersey, and said member may but shall not be required to be a resident of the municipality. All other members shall be residents.
(1) 
The members shall be appointed by the Mayor of the municipality, subject to confirmation by a majority of the whole number of the governing body. They shall serve a term of three years; provided, however, that those first appointed hereunder shall have terms expiring one, two and three years, respectively, from the date of commencement of their terms. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms.
(2) 
The members shall elect a Chairman annually. The Board shall adopt rules for the conduct of the Board's business. The Board shall have the power to employ stenographic and clerical help.
B. 
Advisory opinions. Upon written request of the officer or employee concerned, the Board shall render written advisory opinions based upon the provisions of this Code of Ethics. The Board shall file its advisory opinions with the Municipal Clerk but may delete the name of the officer or employee involved.
C. 
Hearings and determinations. Upon sworn complaint of any person alleging facts which, if true, would constitute improper conduct under the provisions of this code, the Board shall conduct a public hearing in accordance with all of the requirements of due process of law and, in written findings of fact and conclusions based thereon, make a determination concerning the propriety of the conduct of the official or employee complained of.
In the event that the Board of Ethics shall, under the provisions of § 4-86 above, make a determination that the conduct of any official or employee was improper, the governing body, based upon the written findings, conclusions and determination of the Board of Ethics, may institute appropriate action for censure, suspension or removal from office of said official or employee.
[Added 8-1-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-15]
A. 
The provisions of the New Jersey Local Government Ethics Law found at N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq. are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth at length.
B. 
To fairly adjudicate any purported or actual violation of either the Mount Laurel Code of Ethics or the New Jersey State Local Government Ethics Law, the Township hereby determines that any such purported violation shall be referred to the Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs of the State of New Jersey pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq. and resolved in said Local Finance Board.
C. 
Dual office holding policy.
(1) 
It is hereby determined to be the policy of the Township Council of the Township of Mount Laurel that no member of the Township governing body of the Township of Mount Laurel shall serve as a Township Councilperson in the event that such Councilperson shall stand for and be elected to either the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders or a seat within the New Jersey Legislature.
(2) 
In the event that a Mount Laurel Township Councilperson stands for and wins election to a county or state elective position, it is the policy of the Township of Mount Laurel that said Councilperson shall not stand for re-election to the Township Council if the person is still serving as either a County Freeholder or a State Legislator.
(3) 
In the event of an election to the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders or to a State Legislative position, the Township Councilperson shall surrender his/her current seat on the Mount Laurel Township Council no later than the end of the calendar year in which such Councilperson has been elected to a superior office.
[Added 8-1-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-16]
A. 
Prohibition of solicitation or acceptance of gifts. No elected official, department head, or employee of the Township of Mount Laurel, member of his/her immediate family, or business organization in which such official, department head or employee has an interest, shall accept or solicit any gift, favor, loan, service, promise of future employment or any other thing of value from any person or entity which has a municipal contract or the elected official, department bead or employee has reason to believe may be awarded a contract, whether awarded through a bid process or otherwise, with the Township of Mount Laurel. Excluded from this provision are the following:
(1) 
Gifts accepted on behalf of the Township and transferred immediately to the Township for its perpetual use, possession, and/or display;
(2) 
Nonmonetary awards presented in recognition of public service; and
(3) 
Gifts conferred on account of kinship if these gifts are otherwise legally permissible and are not bartered for another benefit to influence the performance of an official duty by the elected official, department head, or employee.
B. 
Prohibition of acceptance of honoraria. No elected official, department head, or employee of the Township of Mount Laurel shall accept any compensation, honorarium, or gift from any person or entity in consideration of an appearance, speech, or article unless the appearance, speech, or article is wholly unrelated to the elected official's, department head's, or employee's service to the Township of Mount Laurel.
C. 
Prohibition on offering of honoraria. No person or entity, business entity, professional corporation, professional association or professional partnership shall offer any compensation, honorarium, or gift of tickets to any venue of entertainment or to sporting events.
D. 
These policies shall be incorporated as part of the existing Township Ethics Policy at § 4-87.2 of the Township Code.
E. 
Any person who accepts such prohibited gift or honoraria as set forth herein shall be subject to discipline, including a fine in the amount of $500 for each such violation and/or suspension or removal.
F. 
Any person who offers a prohibited gift or honoraria as set forth herein shall be subject to a fine of $500 and shall be precluded from participation in any process by which the Township of Mount Laurel awards professional contracts or contracts for enumerated unspecifiable services or other types of contracts for a period of 24 months after such finding of violation.
No elected official, department head, or employee of the Township of Mount Laurel shall use or permit the use of any Township property, equipment, or personnel for the private use of any person or entity, unless:
A. 
The use is specifically authorized by the New Jersey State Law or existing Township policy and procedure;
B. 
The use is available to the general public, and then, only to the extent and upon the terms that such use is available to the general public; and
C. 
This policy shall be incorporated as part of the existing Township Ethics Policy at § 4-87.3 of the Mount Laurel Township Code.
[Added 8-1-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-18; amended 6-25-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-14]
A. 
Elected officials, Township Manager, or department heads. Any person who is a relative of an elected official, Township Manager, or department head shall not be appointed, hired, employed or permitted to work for the Township of Mount Laurel in any position.
B. 
Existing employees. If any existing employees begin to date, they must comply with Employee Handbook section, Employee Dating Policy. No supervisor shall date an employee within their department. No supervisor shall supervise any relative. It is the responsibility of the elected official, Township Manager, or department head to immediately disclose any circumstances which may constitute a violation of this policy.
C. 
Definitions.
(1) 
For purposes of this section, the term "relative" shall mean a parent, spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first or second cousin, in-law or step-relative, domestic partner, cohabitant, or a person with whom a significant committed relationship exists.
[Added 8-1-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-19]
A. 
All contracts for professional services and for services defined in the law as extraordinary and unspecifiable services shall be entered into when necessary or appropriate by the Township of Mount Laurel, and such contracts will only be awarded after a competitive, quality-based, fair and open process. A competitive, quality-based, fair and open process shall require, at a minimum, that any necessary or appropriate professional service contract or contract for extraordinary unspecifiable services be:
(1) 
Publicly advertised in newspapers in sufficient time to give notice in advance of the contract;
(2) 
Awarded under a process that provides for public solicitation of proposals and/or qualifications;
(3) 
Awarded and disclosed under criteria established in writing by the Township of Mount Laurel prior to the solicitation of proposals or qualifications;
(4) 
Publicly opened; and
(5) 
Announced when awarded.
B. 
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the award of a professional services contract when an emergency exists requiring the immediate performance of services, with such award being made in accordance with the rules of the Township and the New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law.
C. 
The Township Manager and the Township Solicitor are directed and authorized to take all action necessary to prepare and arrange for the implementation of policies and procedures in accordance with this section.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 4-87.6, Prohibition on awarding public contracts to certain contributors, added 2-1-2022, was repealed 9-12-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-12.