This chapter is enacted pursuant to RSA 31:39-a and the Town
of Bedford Charter. It is intended to guide public servants in balancing private
interests and their obligations to the public, and to ensure consistency
in the application of conflict-of-interest standards. It is further
intended to recognize a distinction between conflicts that may arise
when a public servant is acting in a legislative or quasi-judicial
capacity. This chapter recognizes that the area of matters on which
public servants must pass is of such a wide range that almost every
public servant must inevitably have some interest that may conceivably
be affected by some legislative proposal. It is not the intention
of this chapter to prevent persons who are peculiarly suited for public
office by reason of their commercial or professional experience from
contributing their services to the community and to encourage individuals
who do not have a conflict of interest, as provided herein, to participate
in the decisionmaking process.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BOARD
Any board, committee, or commission, permanent or special,
appointed or elected.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A situation, circumstance, or financial interest where a
public officer votes on a matter in which he or she or a member of
his or her family has a direct, personal and pecuniary interest which
is immediate, definite, capable of demonstration, and not remote,
uncertain, contingent and speculative, such that a person of ordinary
capacity and intelligence would not be influenced by it.
EMPLOYEE
A person who is paid by the Town of Bedford for his or her
services, but who is not an independent contractor.
FAMILY
Any person who is related to the public servant in one of
the following ways: spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent,
child, grandchild, sibling, or similar relation to the individual's
spouse. This includes all persons who are members of the same household
as the public servant in question, regardless of whether they are
related by blood or marriage.
LEGISLATIVE CAPACITY
A circumstance where a public servant is engaged in the enactment
of legislation, including ordinances and regulations, or similar matters.
PECUNIARY INTEREST
Any advantage in the form of money, property, commercial
interest or anything else, the primary significance of which is economic
gain; it does not include economic advantage applicable to the public
generally, such as tax reduction or increased prosperity, generally.
PUBLIC SERVANT
All officials, officers and employees of the Town, whether
elected, appointed, paid or unpaid.
QUASI-JUDICIAL ACTION
Any action where the board or committee members are acting
like a judge or jury, where there is a duty to notify potential parties,
hear the parties, and decide on a matter after weighing and considering
such evidence and arguments as the parties choose to lay before the
board.
RECUSE
To disqualify or seek to disqualify from participation in
a decision on grounds such as prejudice or personal involvement.
At the end of each calendar year, the Town Manager shall submit
a list of nominal gifts (over $50 cumulatively from one vendor) received
by all Town employees and boards and commissions. The Town Council
Chairperson will add any Council gifts to that list, and the list
will be placed on file in the Town Manager's office.