[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Bethlehem 6-13-2012 by L.L. No.
2-2012.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Ch.
16, Ethics, Code of, adopted 9-23-1970, as amended.
A.
Article 18 of the General Municipal Law prohibits the officers and
employees of a municipality from having certain conflicts of interest.
Section 806 of the General Municipal Law requires the governing body
of each county, city (other than the City of New York), town, village,
school district and fire district to adopt a Code of Ethics that sets
forth for the guidance of its officers and employees standards of
conduct reasonably expected of them. Section 806 of the General Municipal
Law also authorizes the governing body of any other municipality to
adopt such a Code of Ethics.
B.
The citizens of the Town of Bethlehem should expect that the Town's
officers and employees behave honestly and ethically and that such
officers and employees do not use their positions for personal gain.
C.
This Code of Ethics is intended to provide all Town officers and
employees, as well as the public, with the standards of ethical conduct
that are intended to ensure that Town government functions in an ethical
manner, and that the needs and interests of the public come before
any private or political interests. It is intended to provide guidance
and support to the Town's officers and employees, as well as
to those who do business with the town or who wish to do so.
D.
In furtherance of these fundamental principles, the Bethlehem Town
Board establishes the following Code of Ethics.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Town Board and any other Town administrative board (e.g.
Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals), commission or agency, but
shall not include any ad hoc or temporary board, committee or body
which is established to provide advisory services to the Town but
with no power to commit the Town to any particular course of action.
This Code of Ethics.
Knowledge or information imparted or made available to a
Town officer or employee while in the conduct of Town duties, which
knowledge or information is not generally public.
Refers to those actions or decisions performed in a manner
that allows for the exercise of judgment, as opposed to ministerial
acts, which must be performed in a manner prescribed by law without
the ability to exercise any independent judgment as to the propriety
of the action.
Any person that receives a salary or wage from the Town of
Bethlehem.
A direct or indirect financial or material benefit, but does
not include any benefit arising from the provision or receipt of any
services generally available to the residents or taxpayers of the
municipality, or an area of the municipality, or a lawful class of
such residents or taxpayers. A municipal officer or employee is deemed
to have an interest in any private organization when he or she, his
or her spouse, or a member of his or her household is an owner, partner,
member, director, officer or employee, or directly or indirectly owns
or controls more than 5% of the organization's outstanding stock.
The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer, or any
other elected or appointed officeholder of a political party, but
shall not include committee members.
Any paid or unpaid official of the Town of Bethlehem, including
but not limited to, all elected officers, anyone required to file
an oath of office pursuant to § 25 of the Town Law, and
any member of a Town administrative board, commission, committee or
agency, as well as any department head or other person serving in
a similar or like capacity.
A party as defined in Election Law § 1-104(3).
A spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, stepsibling, sibling's
spouse, child, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin,
or household member of a municipal officer or employee, and individuals
having any of these relationships to the spouse of the officer or
employee.
This Code of Ethics applies to the officers and employees of
the Town of Bethlehem and shall supersede any prior municipal Code
of Ethics. The provisions of this Code of Ethics shall apply in addition
to all applicable state and local laws relating to conflicts of interest
and ethics, including, but not limited to, Article 18 of the General
Municipal Law and all rules, regulations, policies and procedures
of the Town of Bethlehem.
Every officer or employee of the Town of Bethlehem shall be
subject to and abide by the following standards of conduct:
A.
Prohibition on use of municipal position for personal or private
gain. No municipal officer or employee shall use his or her municipal
position or official powers and duties to knowingly secure a financial
or material benefit for himself or herself, a relative, or any private
organization in which he or she is deemed to have an interest.
B.
Disclosure of interest in legislation and other matters.
(1)
Whenever a matter requiring the exercise of discretion comes before
a municipal officer or employee, either individually or as a member
of a board, and disposition of the matter could result in a direct
or indirect financial or material benefit to himself or herself, a
relative, or any private organization in which he or she is deemed
to have an interest, the municipal officer or employee shall disclose,
in writing, the nature of the interest.
(2)
The disclosure shall be made when the matter requiring disclosure
first comes before the municipal officer or employee or when the municipal
officer or employee first acquires knowledge of the interest requiring
disclosure, whichever is earlier.
(3)
In the case of a person serving in an elective office, the disclosure
shall be filed with the governing board of the municipality. In all
other cases, the disclosure shall be filed with the person's
supervisor, or, if the person does not have a supervisor, the disclosure
shall be filed with the municipal officer, employee or board having
the power to appoint to the person's position. In addition, in
the case of a person serving on a municipal board, a copy of the disclosure
shall be filed with the board. In addition, all disclosures shall
be made to the Ethics Board, the Town Board and the Town Clerk.
C.
Recusal and abstention.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee may participate in any decision
or take any official action with respect to any matter requiring the
exercise of discretion, including discussing the matter and voting
on it, when he or she knows or has reason to know that the action
could confer a direct or indirect financial or material benefit on
himself or herself, a relative, or any private organization in which
he or she is deemed to have an interest.
(2)
In the event that this section prohibits a municipal officer or employee
from exercising or performing a power or duty:
(a)
If the power or duty is vested in a municipal officer as a member
of a board, then the power or duty shall be exercised or performed
by the other members of the board; or
(b)
If the power or duty is vested in a municipal officer individually,
then the power or duty shall be exercised or performed by his or her
deputy or, if the officer does not have a deputy, the power or duty
shall be performed by another person to whom the officer may lawfully
delegate the function; or
(c)
If the power or duty is vested in a municipal employee, he or
she must refer the matter to his or her immediate supervisor, and
the immediate supervisor shall designate another person to exercise
or perform the power or duty.
D.
Prohibition inapplicable; disclosure, recusal and abstention not
required.
(1)
This code's prohibition on use of a municipal position (§ 16-4A), disclosure requirements (§ 16-4B), and requirements relating to recusal and abstention (§ 16-4C), shall not apply with respect to the following matters:
E.
Investments in conflict with official duties.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee may acquire the following investments:
(2)
This section does not prohibit a municipal officer or employee from
acquiring any other investments or the following assets:
(a)
Real property located within the municipality and used as his
or her personal residence;
(b)
Less than 5% of the stock of a publicly traded corporation;
or
(c)
Bonds or notes issued by the municipality and acquired more
than one year after the date on which the bonds or notes were originally
issued.
F.
Outside employment in conflict with official duties. No municipal
officer or employee, during his or her tenure as a municipal officer
or employee, may engage in any outside employment, including the rendition
of any business, commercial, professional, government or other types
of services, when the employment:
(1)
Can be reasonably expected to require more than sporadic recusal and abstention pursuant to § 16-4C of this code;
(2)
Can be reasonably expected to require disclosure or use of confidential
information gained by reason of serving as a municipal officer or
employee;
(3)
Violates § 805-a(1)(c) or (d) of the General Municipal
Law;
(4)
Requires representation of a person or organization other than the
municipality in connection with litigation negotiations or any other
matter to which the municipality is a party.
G.
Future employment.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee may ask for, pursue or accept a
private post-government employment opportunity with any person or
organization that has a matter requiring the exercise of discretion
pending before the municipal officer or employee, either individually
or as a member of a board, while the matter is pending or within the
30 days following final disposition of the matter.
(2)
No municipal officer or employee, for the one-year period after serving
as a municipal officer or employee, may represent or render services
to a private person or organization in connection with any matter
involving the exercise of discretion before the municipal office,
board, department or comparable organizational unit for which he or
she serves.
(3)
No municipal officer or employee, at any time after serving as a
municipal officer or employee, may represent or render services to
a private person or organization in connection with any particular
transaction in which he or she personally and substantially participated
while serving as a municipal officer or employee.
H.
Personal representations and claims permitted. This code shall not
be construed as prohibiting a municipal officer or employee from:
I.
Use of municipal resources.
(1)
Municipal resources shall be used for lawful municipal purposes.
Municipal resources include, but are not limited to, municipal personnel
and the municipality's money, vehicles, equipment, materials,
supplies or other property.
(2)
No municipal officer or employee may use or permit the use of municipal
resources for personal or private purposes, but this provision shall
not be construed as prohibiting:
(a)
Any use of municipal resources authorized by law or municipal
policy;
(b)
The use of municipal resources for personal or private purposes
when provided to a municipal officer or employee as part of his or
her compensation; or
(c)
The occasional and incidental use during the business day of
municipal telephones and computers for necessary personal matters
such as family care and changes in work schedule or other such occasional
and incidental uses of resources as permitted by written Town policy
approved by the Town Board.
(3)
No municipal officer or employee shall cause the municipality to
spend more than is reasonably necessary for transportation, meals
or lodging in connection with official travel.
J.
Interests in contracts.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee may have an interest in a contract
that is prohibited by § 801 of the General Municipal Law.
(2)
Every municipal officer and employee shall disclose interests in
contracts with the municipality at the time and in the manner required
by § 803 of the General Municipal Law.
K.
Nepotism. Except as otherwise required by law:
(1)
No municipal officer or employee, either individually or as a member
of a board, may participate in any decision whether to appoint, hire,
promote, discipline or discharge a relative for any position for or
within the Town of Bethlehem.
(2)
No municipal officer or employee may directly supervise a relative
in the performance of the relative's official powers or duties.
(3)
Nothing contained herein shall prevent those Town officers and Town
employees who, as of the effective date of this Code of Ethics, currently
serve the Town from continuing to do so. Those persons shall be grandfathered
in. Additionally, for such grandfathered individuals, the performance
review, job duties or assignments and awards of overtime are subject
to annual review by the Director of Human Resources, and in the event
that problems are identified, they may be referred to the Town Board.
(4)
Whenever a known relative of a Town officer or employee would be
approved for seasonal or other employment with the Town, the appointment
will be forwarded to the Human Resources Department for final review
to assure compliance with the Town's current hiring guidelines.
L.
Political solicitations.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee shall directly or indirectly use
his or her official authority to compel or induce another municipal
officer or employee to make or promise to make any political contribution,
whether by gift of money, service or other thing of value.
(2)
No municipal officer or employee may act or decline to act in relation
to appointing, hiring or promoting, discharging, disciplining or in
any manner changing the official rank, status or compensation of any
current municipal officer or employee, or an applicant for a position
as a municipal officer or employee, on the basis of the giving or
withholding of, or neglecting to make, any contribution of money or
service or any other valuable thing for any political purpose.
(3)
No employee shall engage in political campaign activities during
his or her assigned working hours.
(4)
No Town officer or employee shall use Town resources for any political
campaign or political activities.
M.
Confidential information. No municipal officer or employee who acquires
confidential information in the course of exercising or performing
his or her official powers or duties may disclose or use such information
unless the disclosure or use is required by law or in the course of
exercising or performing his or her official powers and duties.
N.
Gifts.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee shall solicit, accept or receive
a gift of any value.
(2)
This section does not prohibit accepting or receiving gifts which
meet any of the following criteria:
(a)
Gifts made to the municipality;
(b)
Gifts from a person with a family or personal relationship with
the officer or employee when the circumstances make it clear that
the personal relationship, rather than the recipient's status
as a municipal officer or employee, is the primary motivating factor
for the gift;
(c)
Gifts given on special occasions, including marriage, illness
or retirement, which are modest, reasonable and customary;
(d)
Unsolicited advertising or promotional material of little intrinsic
value, such as pens, pencils, notepads and calendars;
(e)
Awards and plaques having no resale value which are publicly
presented in recognition of service as a municipal officer or employee
or other service to the community; or
(f)
Meals and refreshments provided when a municipal officer or
employee is a speaker or participant at a professional or educational
conference, program or meeting related to his or her job or office,
and the meals and refreshments are made available to all participants.
(g)
Contributions to political candidates or parties.
A.
The Town Supervisor shall promptly cause a copy of this code, and
a copy of any amendment to this code, to be posted publicly and conspicuously
in each building under the municipality's control and on the
Town website. The code shall be posted within 10 days following the
date on which the code takes effect. An amendment to the code shall
be posted within 10 days following the date on which the amendment
takes effect.
B.
The Town Supervisor shall promptly cause a copy of this code, including
any amendments to the code, to be distributed to every person who
is or becomes an officer or employee of the Town of Bethlehem.
C.
Every municipal officer or employee who receives a copy of this code
or an amendment to the code shall acknowledge such receipt in writing.
Such acknowledgments shall be filed with the Town Clerk, who must
maintain such acknowledgments as a public record.
D.
The failure to post this code or an amendment to the code does not
affect either the applicability or enforceability of the code or the
amendment. The failure of a municipal officer or employee to receive
a copy of this Code of Ethics or an amendment to the code, or to acknowledge
receipt thereof in writing, does not affect either the applicability
or enforceability of the code or amendment to the code.
E.
Upon distribution of this Code of Ethics, each officer and employee
shall be given an orientation to the code and opportunity to ask questions
regarding its application. Further information and training will be
provided to all officers and employees of the Town.
Any municipal officer or employee who violates this code may
be censured, fined or suspended or removed from office or employment
in the manner provided by law.
A.
Membership and qualifications.
(1)
The Ethics Board shall consist of five residents, appointed by the
Town Board, who are not officers or employees of the Town.
(2)
Appointments shall be for terms of three years, provided that the
initial appointments shall have three members appointed for three-year
terms and two members appointed for two-year terms. All terms shall
run through December 31 of the year in which the terms expire.
[Amended 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
(3)
No member of the Ethics Board shall hold office in a political party,
including serving as a committee person.
(4)
No more than two members of the Ethics Board may be members of the
same political party.
(5)
No person shall be removed from the Ethics Board except for cause.
B.
Compensation. Members of the Ethics Board shall serve without compensation
but may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses as approved
by the Town Board.
A.
The Ethics Board shall render advisory opinions only to officers
and employees of the Town of Bethlehem with respect to Article 18
of the General Municipal Law and this Code of Ethics. Officers and
employees of the municipality are encouraged to seek advisory opinions
whenever they are uncertain whether their conduct may violate the
Code of Ethics.
B.
The Ethics Board will prepare an advisory opinion based on a thorough
review of the facts and applicable law. The Board's opinion is to
be based solely on the facts presented in the request or subsequently
submitted in a written signed document. The opinion will be rendered
in writing to the requester as expeditiously as is practicable, with
special attention to the time requirements of a given case. An advisory
opinion issued by the Ethics Board is binding on the requester upon
the date of issuance unless overturned on appeal by the Town Board,
and a failure to follow such opinion may be interpreted as a violation
of the Code of Ethics. Requestors may appeal an advisory opinion from
the Ethics Board to the Town Board by appealing in writing to the
Town Board within 30 days of the date of the Ethics Board opinion.
Submissions for advisory opinions and appeals shall be confidential,
except as required by law.
[Amended 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
C.
An officer or employee of the municipality whose conduct or action
is the subject of an advisory opinion will not be subject to penalties
or sanctions by virtue of acting, or failing to act, due to a reasonable
reliance on the opinion, unless material facts were omitted or misstated
in the material submitted by the requester. These provisions shall
also apply to any decisions rendered by the Town Board should an advisory
opinion of the Ethics Board be appealed to and decided by the Town
Board
[Amended 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
D.
The advisory opinion shall remain confidential to the extent permitted
by law, except in the case where the person requesting the advisory
opinion chooses to appeal the Ethics Board decision to the Town Board.
[Amended 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
A.
The Ethics Board shall adopt its own procedures, consistent with
state law and this code.
B.
Chair. Each year, the Ethics Board shall elect one member to serve
as Chair for a one-year term. No person shall serve two consecutive
terms as Chair.
C.
Quorum. Three members shall constitute a quorum of the Ethics Board.
D.
All actions of the Ethics Board shall require a majority of the members
appointed.
E.
Confidentiality. Except as otherwise required by law, all records
of the Ethics Board, including those of its investigations and deliberations,
shall be confidential.
F.
The Ethics Board shall provide an annual report to the Town Board
during the last quarter of each calendar year providing an overview
of its activities, and which may also contain suggestions for improvement
in the Town Code of Ethics, training, or any related issues.
[Added 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
A.
Any person may file a complaint with the Ethics Board regarding conduct
of a Town officer or employee that is or may violate this code, Article
18 of New York's General Municipal Law, or state law. The Ethics Board
shall not consider or pass upon conduct occurring more than one year
prior to the filing of the complaint. Additionally, the Ethics Board
may by its own action initiate a complaint against an individual in
instances where it has knowledge that such individual has received
an advisory opinion from the Board and is acting in a manner that
is not consistent with that opinion.
[Amended 11-13-2013 by L.L. No. 4-2013]
B.
A complaint shall be made to the Ethics Board Chair in writing, must
be signed, and must describe the specific conduct alleged to be unethical
and/or illegal and include all information relevant to the request,
including the identities and contact information for third persons
who may have, or be reasonably expected to have, information relevant
to the complaint.
C.
No officer or employee may be penalized by the Town for submitting
a complaint request to the Ethics Board unless the Ethics Board makes
a specific finding that the complaint was submitted without adequate
factual basis and in bad faith.
D.
Upon receipt of a complaint, the Chair shall convene the Ethics Board
within one month. The Ethics Board may request that the Town Board
provide it with legal counsel and with resources necessary to conduct
an investigation.
E.
Town officials and employees shall provide cooperation and assistance
to the Ethics Board as requested in the conduct of its business.
F.
Except where the Ethics Board concludes upon its initial review that
a complaint is clearly without merit and should be dismissed, every
person who is the subject of a complaint shall be provided with a
notice of the complaint and an opportunity to be heard on the substance
of such complaint.
G.
All officers and employees shall provide relevant financial information
to the Ethics Board, upon request, in connection with a sworn complaint
involving such individuals.
H.
The Ethics Board shall require clear and convincing evidence before
determining that a violation has occurred.
I.
Any determination made by the Ethics Board regarding a complaint
shall be provided to the Town Board, the requester, and the individual
whose conduct was the subject of the complaint. Should the Ethics
Board determine that past or present conduct is in violation of law
or of this policy, it shall include with its determination proposed
action by the Town Board or the appropriate supervisory authority.
J.
The Town Board shall accept, modify or reject the recommendations
of the Ethics Board in an open session within 60 days of their receipt,
except in cases where the Ethics Board concludes upon its initial
review that a complaint is clearly without merit and should be dismissed.
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the Town Board's ability
to discuss the matter in executive session.
