This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Local Government Ethics Law".
The governing body of the Borough of Highland
Park finds and declares that:
A. Public office and employment are a public trust;
B. The vitality and stability of representative democracy
depends 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; and
E. It is the purpose of this article to provide a method
of assuring that standards of ethical conduct and financial disclosure
requirements for local government officers and employees shall be
clear, consistent, uniform in their application, and enforceable on
a statewide basis, and to provide local officers or employees with
advice and information concerning possible conflicts of interest which
might arise in the conduct of their public duties.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
BOARD
The Local Finance Board in the Division of Local Government
Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
Any corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, franchise,
association, trust, sole proprietorship, union or other legal entity.
GOVERNING BODY
In the case of municipality, the commission, council, board
or body, by whatever name it may be known, having charge of the finances
of the municipality, and, in the case of a county, the board of chosen
freeholders, or in the case of a county having adopted the provisions
of the Optional County Charter Law, as defined in the form of governing
adopted by the County under that Act.
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 nonprofit entity or labor union.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY
Any agency, board, governing body, including the chief executive
officer, bureau, division, office, commission or other instrumentality
within a county or municipality, and any independent local authority,
including any entity created by more than one county or municipality,
which performs functions other than a purely advisory nature, but
shall not include a school board.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time, employed by or serving on a local government agency
who is not a local government officer, but shall not mean any employee
of a school district.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICER
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time: elected to any office of a local government agency;
serving on a local government agency which has the authority to enact
ordinances, approve development applications or grant zoning variances;
who is a member of an independent municipal, county or regional authority;
or who is a managerial, executive or confidential employee of a local
government agency as defined in Section 3 of the New Jersey Employer-Employee
Relations Act, but shall not mean any employee of a school district or
member of a school board.
MEMBER OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY
The spouse or dependent child of a local government officer
or employee residing in the same household.
The Local Finance Board in the Division of Local
Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall have
jurisdiction to govern and guide the conduct of local government officers
or employees regarding violations of the provisions of this article
who are not otherwise regulated by a county or municipal code of ethics
promulgated by a county or municipal ethics board in accordance with
the provisions of this article. Local government officers or employees
serving a local government agency created by more than one county
or municipality shall be under the jurisdiction of the board. The
board in interpreting and applying the provisions of this article
shall recognize that under the principles of democracy, public officers
and employees cannot and should not be expected to be without any
personal interest in the decisions and policies of government; that
citizens who are government officers and employees have a right to
private interests of a personal, financial and economic nature; and
that standards of conduct shall distinguish between those conflicts
of interest which are legitimate and unavoidable in a free society
and those conflicts of interest which are prejudicial and material
and are, therefore, corruptive of democracy and free society.
Local government officers or employees under
the jurisdiction of the Local Finance Board shall comply with the
following provisions:
A. No local government officer or employee or member
of his 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 duties
in the public interest;
B. Restrictions.
(1) No independent local authority shall, for a period
of one year next subsequent to the termination of office of a member
of that authority:
(a)
Award any contract which is not publicly bid
to a former member of that authority;
(b)
Allow a former member of that authority to represent,
appear for or negotiate on behalf of any other party before that authority;
or
(c)
Employ for compensation, except pursuant to
open competitive examination in accordance with Title 11A of the New
Jersey Statutes and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant
thereto, any former member of that authority.
(2) The restrictions contained in this subsection shall
also apply to any business organization in which the former authority
member holds an interest.
C. No local government officer or employee shall use
or attempt to use his official position to secure unwarranted privileges
or advantages for himself or others;
D. No local government officer or employee shall act
in his official capacity in any matter where he, a member of his immediate
family, or a business organization in which he has an interest, has
a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might
reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of
judgment;
E. No local government officer or employee shall undertake
any employment or service, whether compensated or not, which might
reasonably be expected to prejudice his independence of judgment in
the exercise of his official duties;
F. No local government officer or employee, member of
his immediate family, or business organization in which he has an
interest, shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, loan, 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 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 local government officer has no
knowledge or reason to believe that the campaign contribution, if
accepted, was given with the intent to influence the local government
officer in the discharge of his official duties;
G. No local government officer or employee shall use,
or allow to be used, his public office or employment, or any information,
not generally available to the members of the public, which he receives
or acquires in the course of and by reason of his office or employment,
for the purpose of securing financial gain for himself, any member
of his immediate family, or any business organization with which he
is associated;
H. No local government officer or employee or business
organization in which he has an interest shall represent any person
or party other than the local government in connection with any cause,
proceeding, application or other matter pending before any agency
in the local government in which he serves. This provision shall not
be deemed to prohibit one local government employee from representing
another local government employee where the local government agency
is the employer and the representation is within the context of official
labor union or similar representational responsibilities;
I. No local government officer shall be deemed in conflict
with these provisions if, by reason of his 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 as a member of any business, profession,
occupation or group, to any great extent than any gain could reasonably
be expected to accrue to any other member of such business, profession,
occupation or group;
J. No elected government 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 immediate family, whether
directly or indirectly, in return therefor; and
K. Nothing shall prohibit any local government officer
or employee, or members of his immediate family, from representing
himself, or themselves, in negotiations or proceedings concerning
his, or their, own interests.
With respect to its responsibilities for the
implementation of the provisions of this article, the Local Finance
Board shall have the following powers:
A. To initiate, receive, hear and review complaints and
hold hearings with regard to possible violations of this article;
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 hear and determine any appeal of a decision made
by a county or municipal ethics board;
D. To forward to the County Prosecutor or the Attorney
General or other governmental body any information concerning violations
of this article which may become the subject of criminal prosecution
or which may warrant the institution of other legal proceedings by
the Attorney General;
E. To render advisory opinions as to whether a given
set of facts and circumstances would constitute a violation of this
article;
F. To enforce the provisions of this article and to impose
penalties for the violation thereof as are authorized by this article;
and
G. To adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act, P.L. 1968, c. 410 (N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.) and to
do other things as are necessary to implement the purposes of this
article.
A local government officer or employee not regulated
by a county or municipal code of ethics may request and obtain from
the Local Finance Board an advisory opinion as to whether any proposed
activity or conduct would in its opinion constitute a violation of
the provisions of this article. Advisory opinions of the Board shall
not be made public, except when the Board by the vote of 2/3 of all
of its members directs that the opinion be made public. Public advisory
opinions shall not disclose the name of the local government officer
or employee unless the Board in directing that the opinion be made
public so determines.
The Local Finance Board, upon receipt of a signed written complaint by any person alleging that the conduct of any local government officer or employee, not regulated by a county or municipal code of ethics, is in conflict with the provisions of this article, shall acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 30 days of receipt and initiate an investigation concerning the facts and circumstances set forth in the complaint. The Board shall make a determination as to whether the complaint is within its jurisdiction or frivolous or without factual basis. If the Board shall conclude that the complaint is outside its jurisdiction, frivolous or without any factual basis, it shall reduce that conclusion to writing and shall transmit copy thereof to the complainant and to the local government officer or employee against whom the complaint was filed. Otherwise the Board shall notify the local government officer or employee against whom the complaint was filed of the nature of the complaint and the facts and circumstances set forth therein. The officer or employee shall have the opportunity to present the Board with any statement or information concerning the complaint which he wishes. Thereafter, if the Board determines that a reasonable doubt exists as to whether the local government officer or employee is in conflict with the provisions of this article, the Board shall conduct a hearing in the manner prescribed by §
33-12 of this article, concerning the possible violation and any other facts and circumstances which may have come to the attention of the Board with respect to the conduct of the local government officer or employee. The Board shall render a decision as to whether the conduct of the officer or employee is in conflict with the provisions of this article. This decision shall be made by no less than 2/3 of all members of the Board. If the Board determines that the officer or employee is in conflict with the provisions of this article, it may impose any penalties which it believes appropriate within the limitations of this article. A final decision of the Board may be appealed in the same manner as any other final state agency decision.
The finding by the Local Finance Board that
an appointed local government officer or employee is guilty of the
violation of the provisions of this article, or of any code of ethics
in effect pursuant to this article, shall be sufficient cause of his
removal, suspension, demotion or other disciplinary action by the
officer or agency having the power of removal or discipline. When
a person who is in the career service is charged with violating the
provisions of this article, the procedure leading to removal, suspension,
demotion or other disciplinary action shall be governed by any applicable
procedures of Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and rules promulgated
pursuant thereto.
All hearings required pursuant to this article
shall be conducted in conformity with the rules and procedures, insofar
as they may be applicable, provided for hearings by a state agency
in contested cases under the Administrative Procedure Act.