[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake 12-4-1974 by Ord. No. 74-11 (Ch.
19 of the 1985 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Woodcliff Lake Code of Ethics."
A.
The public judges its government by the way public
officials conduct themselves in the posts to which they are elected
or appointed.
B.
The people have a right to expect that every public
official will conduct himself in a manner that will tend to preserve
public confidence in and respect for the government he represents.
C.
Such confidence and respect can best be promoted if
every public official, whether paid or unpaid and whether elected
or appointed, will uniformly:
D.
To help public officials achieve these goals is one
of the objectives of the code.
The terms used in this chapter are hereby defined
as follows:
Any person employed by the municipality or its municipal
utilities and listed on the municipal or utility payroll either on
a full-time or temporary basis.
Any interest which shall yield, directly or indirectly, a
monetary or other material benefit (other than the duly authorized
salary or compensation for services to the municipality) to the official
or to any person employing or retaining the services of the official.
The local government unit under which the official is functioning.
Any person, other than a Borough employee, elected, appointed
to or retained as a professional advisor by any public office or public
body of the municipality, whether paid or unpaid and whether part-time
or full-time.
Any person, entity, firm, association, group, partnership
or corporation, or any combination thereof.
Any interest arising from blood or marriage relationships
or from close business or political association, whether or not any
financial interest is involved.
Any agency, board, body, commission, committee, department
or office of the municipality.
A.
Impartiality. No official or employee shall grant
or make available to any person 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 owned or publicly supported
property, vehicle, equipment, labor or service for the personal convenience
or the private advantage of himself or 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 are provided as a matter of stated public policy for the use
of officials and employees in the conduct of official business.
A.
Financial or personal interest of legal advisor. None
of the municipality's legal advisors shall represent any other person
in any business or transaction with any public body in the municipality
while in office or retained as such, and for a period of one year
after leaving office. Prior to taking office, the Borough legal advisors
hereafter appointed shall receive a copy of this chapter and shall
sign and file the same signifying their consent to comply with the
provisions hereof. "Legal advisors," as used in this section, shall
be deemed to mean the Borough Attorney, Borough Prosecutor, Planning
Board Attorney and Board of Adjustment Attorney.
B.
Financial or personal interest of Borough Engineer.
The Borough Engineer shall not represent any other person in any business
or transaction with any public body in the municipality while in office
or retained as such, and for a period of one year after leaving office.
Prior to taking office, the Borough Engineer hereafter appointed shall
receive a copy of this chapter and shall sign and file the same signifying
his consent to comply with the provisions hereof.
C.
Disclosure and disqualification. Whenever the performance
of his official duties shall require any official, advisor or employee
to deliberate, act or vote on any matter involving his own financial
or personal interest, he shall publicly disclose the nature and extent
of such interest and disqualify himself from participating in and
shall physically remove himself from public or private deliberations
or voting and shall not take any action in his capacity as a municipal
official, advisor or employee relating to such matter.
D.
Representation of private persons. No official or
employee shall appear on behalf of or represent any private person
other than himself or a corporation or entity by whom he is employed
and from whom he receives more than 50% of his annual income, before
any public body in the municipality.
E.
Gifts and favors. No official advisor or employee
shall accept any gift, whether in the form of money, thing, favor,
loan or promise, intended to influence any official action.
F.
Confidential information.
(1)
No official, advisor or employee shall, without prior
formal authorization of the public body having jurisdiction, disclose
any confidential information concerning any other official or employee
or any other person or property in the municipality or the governmental
affairs of the municipality.
(2)
Whether or not it shall involve disclosure, no official
shall use or permit the use of any such confidential information to
advance the financial or personal interest of himself or any other
person or entity.
On or before January 31 of the year of initial
appointment, election or hiring, all Borough officials, employees
and Borough advisors shall file with the Borough Clerk, on a form
provided by the Clerk, a written statement setting forth the addresses
of any real property in the Borough in which such official, employee
or advisor has a direct or indirect interest and whether such interest
is by way of ownership, leasehold or otherwise. The Borough Clerk
shall also be notified within 30 days after the occurrence of any
substantial change in the official's interests in any property in
the Borough of Woodcliff Lake subsequent to the submission of the
statement to the Borough Clerk. Such statements shall be updated on
or before January 31 in each subsequent year.
Upon the sworn complaint of any person alleging
facts which, if true, would constitute improper conduct under the
provisions of this chapter, the Mayor and Council, or its duly designated
agent, shall conduct a full investigation to determine whether there
are sufficient facts supportive of the complaint to warrant a public
or private hearing. In the event the Mayor and Council finds that
probable cause exists, it shall at once notify and serve a copy of
the complaint upon the accused person. Such accused person shall have
the option of having either a public or private hearing before the
Mayor and Council. In the event a private hearing is conducted and
the accused person is found guilty, such person may request a public
hearing to be held before the Mayor and Council in accord with all
the requirements of due process of law, at the end of which the Mayor
and Council shall make written findings of fact and conclusions based
thereon concerning the propriety of the conduct of the official, advisor
or employee complained of.
In the event the Mayor and Council shall make a determination that the conduct of any official, advisor or employee was improper under the provisions of § 24-7 of this chapter, it shall take such action for censure, suspension or removal from office or employment as it deems appropriate.
None of the provisions of this chapter shall operate or be construed to violate any state statutes or valid collective bargaining agreements. Such statutes and agreements containing provisions which are contrary to §§ 24-7 and 24-8 of this chapter shall not be affected thereby, but the provisions of the said §§ 24-7 and 24-8 shall remain effective and be applicable to all officials, advisors and employees not governed by such contrary provisions of state statutes or collective bargaining agreements.
This chapter shall take effect on January 1,
1975, after final passage and publication as required by law.
