A.
Provisions applicable to all Village officers or employees.
(1)
General prohibition. A Village officer or employee
shall not use his or her official position or office, or take or fail
to take any action, in a manner which he or she knows or has reason
to know may result in a personal financial benefit for any of the
following persons:
(a)
The Village officer or employee;
(b)
His or her outside employer or business;
(c)
His or her business associate(s);
(d)
A member of his or her household;
(e)
A customer or client;
(f)
A relative;
(g)
A person from whom the officer or employee has
received election campaign contributions of more than $500 in the
aggregate during the past 12 months; or
(h)
A person from whom the officer or employee has
received a gift valued at $75 or more within the previous 12 months.
(2)
Recusal. A Village officer or employee shall promptly recuse himself or herself from acting on a matter before the Village when acting on the matter, or failing to act on the matter, may financially benefit any of the persons listed in Subsection A of this section.
(3)
Gifts. A Village officer or employee shall not solicit
anything of value from any person who has received or sought a financial
benefit from the Village, nor accept anything of value from any person
who the Village officer or employee knows or has reason to know has
received or sought a financial benefit from the Village within the
previous 24 months.
(4)
Appearances. A Village officer or employee shall not
appear before the board, committee, agency, council or commission
of which (s)he is a member, except on his or her own behalf or on
behalf of the Village.
(5)
Representation. A Village officer or employee shall
not represent or provide legal assistance to any other person in any
matter that person has before the board, committee, agency, council
or commission of which the Village officer or employee is a member,
nor shall (s)he represent or provide legal assistance to any other
person in any matter against the interests of the Village.
(6)
Confidential information. A Village officer or employee
and former Village officers and employees shall not disclose any confidential
information or use it to further anyone's personal, business or political
interest.
(7)
Political solicitation. A Village officer or employee
shall not knowingly request or knowingly authorize anyone else to
request any subordinate of the officer or employee to participate
in an election campaign or contribute to a political committee.
(8)
Avoidance of conflicts. A Village officer or employee
shall not knowingly acquire, solicit, negotiate for or accept any
interest, employment or other thing of value that would put him or
her in violation of this Code of Ethics.
(9)
Inducement of others. A Village officer or employee
shall not induce or aid another officer or employee of the Village
to violate any of the provisions of this Code of Ethics.
B.
Provisions applicable to members of the Board of Trustees, Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board and to paid Village employees. In addition to the provisions of Subsection A:
(1)
Representation. A member of the Board of Trustees,
Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board, or a paid Village employee,
shall not represent or provide legal assistance to any other person
in any matter that person has before the Village or represent or provide
legal assistance to any other person in any matter against the interests
of the Village.
(2)
Appearances. A member of the Board of Trustees, Zoning
Board of Appeals or Planning Board, or a paid Village employee, shall
not appear before any agency of the Village, except on his or her
own behalf or on behalf of the Village.
(3)
Political office. A member of the Board of Trustees,
Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board, or a paid Village employee,
shall not serve as a chairperson, district leader or officer for any
partisan political party that engages in political campaigning or
electioneering in the Village.
(4)
Revolving door. A member of the Board of Trustees,
Zoning Board of Appeals or Planning Board, or a paid Village employee,
shall not appear or practice before the Village, except on his or
her own behalf, or receive compensation for working on any matter
before the Village, for a period of one year after the termination
of his or her Village service or employment; however, the bar shall
be permanent as to particular matters on which the Village officer
or employee personally worked while in Village service.
A.
Whenever a Village officer or employee is required to recuse himself or herself under the Code of Ethics set forth in § 18-3 of this chapter, he or she shall:
(1)
Immediately refrain from participating further in
the matter;
(2)
Promptly inform his or her superior, if any; and
(3)
Promptly file with the Village Clerk a signed statement
disclosing the nature and extent of the prohibited action or, if a
member of a board, shall state that information upon the public record
of the board.
The provisions of §§ 18-3 and 18-4 of this chapter shall not prohibit, or require recusal or transactional disclosure as a result of:
A.
A ministerial act.
C.
Gifts or benefits having a value of $50 or less that
are received by a Village officer or employee listed in § 11
of the Domestic Relations Law of the State of New York for the solemnization
of a marriage by that officer or employee at a place other than his
or her normal public place of business or at a time other than his
or her normal hours of business.
D.
Awards from charitable organizations.
E.
Receipt of Village services or benefits, or use of
Village facilities, that are generally available on the same terms
and conditions to residents or a class of residents in the Village.
F.
Representation of constituents by elected officials
without compensation in the proper discharge of their official duties.
G.
Village officers or employees appearing or practicing
before the Village or receiving compensation for working on a matter
before the Village after termination of their Village service or employment
where they performed only ministerial acts while working for the Village.
A.
Prohibited interests. No Village officer or employee
shall have an interest in a contract with the Village, or an interest
in a bank or trust company, that is prohibited by § 801
of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York. Any contract
willfully entered into by or with the Village in which there is an
interest prohibited by that section shall be null, void and wholly
unenforceable, to the extent provided by § 804 of that law.
B.
Disclosable interests. Any Village officer or employee
who has, will have or later acquires an interest in any actual or
proposed contract with the Village shall publicly disclose the nature
and extent of that interest in accordance with § 803 of
the General Municipal Law. The Village Clerk shall cause a copy of
that disclosure to be filed promptly with the Ethics Board.
C.
Violations. Any Village officer or employee who willfully
and knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, to the extent provided by § 805 of the
General Municipal Law.
A.
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the outside employer or business of a Village officer or employee shall not appear before the particular agency in which the Village officer or employee serves or by which he or she is employed.
B.
Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the outside employer or business of a Village officer or employee shall not appear before any other Village agency if the Village officer or employee has the authority to appoint any officer, employee or member of the agency or to review, approve, audit or authorize any budget, bill, payment or claim of the agency.
C.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the outside employer or business of a Village officer or employee
from:
A.
Officers and employees required to file. Officers and employees holding
the following job titles or positions shall be required to file a
signed annual disclosure statement:
[Amended 3-3-2020 by L.L.
No. 2-2020]
(1)
Officers and employees who are elected.
(2)
The heads of any department or division of Village government and
persons authorized to act on their behalf.
(3)
Officers and employees who hold policymaking positions, including
members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Planning Board, and the
Architectural Review Board.
(4)
Officers and employees whose job descriptions or actual duties involve
the negotiation, authorization or approval of:
(a)
Contracts, leases, franchises, revocable consents, concessions,
variances, special permits or licenses;
(b)
The purchase, sale, rental or lease of real property or services,
or a contract therefor;
(c)
The obtaining of grants of money or loans; or
(d)
The adoption or repeal of any rule or regulation having the
force and effect of law.
B.
Time and place for filing. Annual disclosure statements
shall be filed with the Village Manager:
C.
Changes in disclosed information. Within 30 days after
a change in the information contained in his or her most recently
filed annual disclosure statement, an officer or employee shall file
a signed amendment to the statement indicating the change.
D.
Contents of annual disclosure statement. The annual
disclosure statement shall disclose:
(1)
The location of any real property within the Village,
or within one mile of the boundary of the Village, in which the officer
or employee, or his or her relative or member of his or her household,
has a financial interest.
(2)
With respect to each outside employer or business
of the Village officer or employee:
(a)
Its name (if any).
(b)
The nature of its business.
(c)
Whether it is self employment, a sole proprietorship
or an entity and, if an entity, what type of entity.
(d)
The Village officer's or employee's relationship
to it, such as owner, partner, officer, director, member, employee
or shareholder.
E.
Good faith efforts. Failure to disclose the information required by Subsection D of this section with respect to a Village officer's or employee's spouse or other relative shall not constitute a violation of that subdivision if the officer or employee has made a good faith effort to obtain the information and if he or she also sets forth those efforts in his or her disclosure statement.
A.
Where a person requests the Village or a Village officer or employee to take or refrain from taking any action (other than a ministerial act) that may result in a financial benefit both to the requestor and to either any officer or employee of the Village or one of the other persons listed in Subsection A(1) of § 18-3 of this chapter, the requestor shall disclose the names of any such persons, to the extent known to the requestor at the time of the request.
B.
If the request is made in writing, the disclosure
shall accompany the request. If the request is oral and made at a
meeting of a public body, the disclosure shall be set forth in the
public record of the body. If the request is oral and not made at
a meeting of a public body, the disclosure shall be set forth in a
writing filed with the Village Clerk.
A.
Disclosure. Every application, petition or request
submitted for a variance, amendment, change of zoning, approval of
a plat, exemption from a plat or Official Map, license or permit pursuant
to the provisions of any ordinance, local law, rule or regulation
constituting the zoning and planning regulations of the Village shall
state the information required, to the extent required, by § 809
of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York.
B.
Violations. Any person who willfully and knowingly
violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
to the extent provided by § 809 of the General Municipal
Law.
Any contract or agreement entered into by or with the Village that results in or from a violation of any provision of § 18-3, 18-4 or 18-9 of this chapter shall be void unless ratified by the Village Board of Trustees. Such ratification shall not affect the imposition of any criminal or civil penalties pursuant to this chapter or any other provision of law.
A.
Disciplinary action. Any Village officer or employee
or independent contractor who engages in any action that violates
any provision of this chapter may be warned or reprimanded or suspended
or removed from office or employment, or be subject to any other sanction
authorized by law or collective bargaining agreement, by the appointing
authority or person or body authorized by law to impose such sanctions.
A warning, reprimand, suspension, removal or other authorized sanction
may be imposed in addition to any other penalty contained in this
chapter or in any other provision of law.
B.
Civil fine. Any Village officer or employee who violates any provision of this chapter may be subject to a civil fine of up to $1,500 for each violation. A civil fine may be imposed in addition to any other penalty contained in any other provision of law or in this chapter. A civil fine may not be imposed for a violation of § 18-8 of this chapter.
