A. 
The public judges its government by the way public officials and employees conduct themselves in the posts to which they are elected or appointed. The people have a right to expect that every public official and employee will conduct himself in a manner that will preserve public confidence in and respect for the government he represents. Such confidence and respect can best be promoted if every public official and employee, whether paid or unpaid and whether elected or appointed, will uniformly:
(1) 
Treat all citizens with impartiality, fairness and equality under the law.
(2) 
Avoid both actual and potential conflicts between his private self-interest and the public interest.
B. 
All officials and employees of the Municipality, before commencing their official duties, shall affirm to this Code of Ethics. The signed affirmation shall be filed with the Municipal Secretary.
The following terms, when used in this article, shall mean or indicate as follows:
FINANCIAL INTEREST
Any interest which shall yield, directly or indirectly, a monetary or other material benefit to the official or employee or to any person employing or retaining the services of the official or employee. This shall not include cases where the official or employee is associated with a transaction with the Municipality in a manner where such official or employee has no possible influence in the transaction.
MUNICIPALITY
Includes any agency, board, commission, council, committee, department or other unit of the Municipality.
PARTY
An individual, firm, corporation, association or other entity participating in or intending to participate in any transaction with the Municipality in any manner which would give the person, firm, corporation, association or other entity a personal or financial interest in the transaction.
PERSONAL INTEREST
Any interest arising from blood or marriage relationships or from close business association, whether or not any financial interest is involved.
TRANSACTION
Includes but is not limited to any proceeding, application, submission, request for ruling or other determination, contract, lease, claim, case, award, decision, judgment or legislation, including ordinances and resolutions.
No official or employee shall grant or make available to any party any consideration, treatment, advantage or favor beyond that which it is the general practice to grant or make available to the public at large.
A. 
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 interest or personal interest, he shall publicly disclose the nature of such interest and disqualify himself from participating in the deliberation as well as the voting.
B. 
Incompatible employment. No official or employee shall engage in private employment with or render services for any party. Except where authorized by law or this code, no official or employee shall hold any other position as an official or employee during the term for which he was elected or appointed to his present office. No former elected official, including any individual appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective office, shall hold any appointive, compensated position as an official or employee until one year after the expiration of the term for which he was elected or appointed. No official or employee shall be prohibited, under this subsection, from serving simultaneously the Municipality and any intergovernmental agency or council of government which would be in furtherance of his duties and responsibilities as an official or employee, but no additional pay shall be received for any such services.
C. 
Representation of any party. No official or employee shall represent or appear on behalf of any party, other than himself, before the Municipality.
D. 
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; provided, however, that an official or employee shall be permitted to accept and retain unsolicited advertising or promotional material, such as pens, pencils, notepads, calendars and other items of nominal intrinsic value, and perishables, such as fruit baskets and boxes of candy, which remain in the municipal building and accessible to all employees and officials. Meals offered to an official or employee while attending a meeting of a nonprofit organization or governmental unit in his official capacity shall not be excluded hereunder.
E. 
Confidential information. No official or employee shall use or permit the use of any confidential information acquired by him through his position as an official or employee to advance the financial interest or personal interest of himself or any other person, corporation, association or entity.
F. 
Nepotism. No official shall appoint or vote for the appointment of any individual related to him by blood or marriage as an official or employee. Said relationship extends to a parent, spouse, child, brother, sister or like relative-in-law.
G. 
Service as attorney. No official or employee shall serve as attorney for the Municipality during the period that he serves as an official or employee. This shall not prohibit the Municipal Solicitor from serving any constituent unit of the Municipality with the consent of Council.
H. 
Municipal Solicitor. The Municipal Solicitor or his firm shall not be permitted to represent a party in any transaction in which the Municipality is an adverse party or has an adverse interest during his tenure as Municipal Solicitor. Following his retirement, resignation or removal as Municipal Solicitor, neither the Municipal Solicitor nor his firm shall be permitted to represent any party in any transaction involving the Municipality if, during his tenure, the Municipal Solicitor gave substantive attention to any part of such transaction in the form of legal consultation with the Municipality.
I. 
Purchase or sales by official or employee. No official or employee shall be a purchaser, directly or indirectly, in any sale involving the Municipality, nor shall an official or employee be a vendor, directly or indirectly, of any item purchased by him in his official capacity. As used herein, "directly or indirectly" shall include a purchase or sale by a parent, spouse, child, brother, sister, or like relative-in-law or by association, trustee or straw party for or on behalf of such official or employee.
J. 
Independence of judgment. No official or employee shall accept other employment or receive any compensation or make or retain any investments that would impair his independence of judgment in the performance of his duties as an official or employee.
K. 
Compulsory contributions. No official or employee shall solicit from another official or employee any contributions, assessments or services for any political party or candidate.
L. 
No discrimination. No individual shall be appointed to or removed from or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to any municipal employment or appointive office because of race, sex, political or religious opinions or affiliations.
M. 
False documents. No official or employee shall destroy, alter or falsify official records or documents.
N. 
Political activity.
(1) 
No employee shall engage in partisan political activity during working hours at any place or location nor shall any official or employee engage in any partisan political activity in municipal offices and facilities at any time.
(2) 
No official or employee shall be an officer of a political party or an elected or appointed committee person.
(3) 
No appointed official or employee shall hold elected office except as provided by law.
Subject to due process of law, any official or employee who violates any provision of this article may be disqualified from being an appointed official or an employee of the Municipality for a period of four years commencing with the date on which a determination is made by a court of competent jurisdiction, Council or the Chief Administrator, as the case may be, that a violation has occurred. If the violation occurs while he is serving as an appointed official, he may be removed from his position as an appointed official by an affirmative vote of four Council members. If the violation occurs while he is serving as an employee, he may be removed from his position as an employee by the Chief Administrator.