[Adopted 4-2-2001 as Title 2, Ch. 5, of the 2001 Code]
The following definitions shall be applicable in this article:
ANYTHING OF VALUE
Any gift, favor, loan, service or promise of future employment,
but does not include reasonable fees and honorariums or the exchange
of seasonal, anniversary or customary gifts among relatives and friends.
BUSINESS
Any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise,
franchise, association, organization, self-employed individual or
any other legal entity which engages in profit-making activities.
FINANCIAL INTEREST
Any interest which shall yield, directly or indirectly, a
monetary or other material benefit to the officer or employee or to
any person employing or retaining the services of the officer or employee.
PERSONAL INTEREST
The following specific blood or marriage relationships:
A.
A person's spouse, mother, father, child, brother, sister or
first cousin (natural or step); or
B.
A person's relative by blood or marriage who receives, directly
or indirectly, more than 1/2 of his support from such person or from
whom such person receives, directly or indirectly, more than 1/2 of
his support.
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE
Any person excluded from the definition of "public official"
who is employed by the City.
PUBLIC OFFICIAL
Those persons serving in statutory elected or appointed offices
provided for in Ch. 62, Wis. Stats., and all members appointed to
boards, committees and commissions established or appointed by the
Mayor and/or Common Council pursuant to this Code of Ordinances, whether
paid or unpaid.
SIGNIFICANT INTEREST
Owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, at least 10%
or $5,000 of the outstanding stock of any business.
STAFF
Any full- or part-time employee of the City.
There are certain provisions of the Wisconsin Statutes which
should, while not set forth herein, be considered an integral part
of any Code of Ethics. Accordingly, the provisions of the following
sections of the Wisconsin Statutes, as from time to time amended,
are made a part of this Code of Ethics and shall apply to public officials
and employees whenever applicable:
A. Section 19.59, Codes of ethics for local government officials, employees
and candidates.
B. Section 946.10, Bribery of public officers and employees.
C. Section 946.11, Special privileges from public utilities.
D. Section 946.12; Misconduct in public office.
E. Section 946.13, Private interest in public contract prohibited.
Public officials and employees are agents of public purpose
and hold office for the benefit of the public. They are bound to uphold
the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this
state and carry out impartially the laws of the nation, state and
municipality, to observe in their official acts the highest standards
of morality and to discharge faithfully the duties of their office
regardless of personal considerations, recognizing that the public
interest must be their prime concern. Their conduct in both their
official and private affairs should be above reproach so as to foster
respect for government.
When an official or employee has doubt as to the applicability
of a provision of this Ethics Code to a particular situation or definition
of terms used in this article, he/she should apply to the Personnel
Committee, which may ask the City Attorney for an advisory opinion
and will be guided by that opinion when given. The official or employee
shall have the opportunity to present his/her interpretation of the
facts at issue and of the applicability of provisions of this article
before such advisory decision is made. This article shall be operative
in all instances covered by its provisions except when superseded
by an applicable statutory provision and statutory action is mandatory,
or when the application of a statutory provision is discretionary
but determined by the City Attorney to be more appropriate or desirable.
Advisory requests and opinions shall be kept confidential, except
when disclosure is authorized by the requestor, in which case the
request and opinion may be made public.
In the event that an employee covered under a collective bargaining
agreement is allegedly involved in an Ethics Code violation, the terms
and conditions set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement
shall prevail in the administration and interpretation of this article.
No full-time officer or employee of the City not covered by
a collective bargaining agreement shall engage in any other remunerative
employment in or out of the City, provided that the Common Council
may approve such outside employment or activity if it finds that it
does not interfere or conflict with such officer's ability to perform
his/her duties in an efficient and unbiased manner. Violation of this
provision shall be grounds for removal from office of any such officer
or employee.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
EMPLOYEE
Any employee, including those in management positions.
FRAUD
An intentional deception designed to obtain a benefit or
advantage or to cause some benefit that is due to be denied.
A.
Examples of fraud include:
(1)
Forgery or alteration of a check, bank draft, or any other financial
document.
(2)
Theft of a check or credit card or other diversion of a payment.
(3)
Misappropriation of funds, securities, supplies or other assets.
(4)
Impropriety in the handling or reporting of money or financial
transactions.
(5)
Profiteering as a result of insider knowledge of City operations.
(6)
An employee with access to confidential information who sells
the information or uses it in the conduct of an outside business activity.
(7)
Accepting or seeking anything of material value from contractors,
vendors, or persons providing services or materials to the City. As
defined in § 19.59(1)(a) to (d), Wis. Stats., any claim
for reimbursement of expenses not made for the exclusive benefit of
the City, including falsification of expense reports and/or timecards.
(8)
Any computer-related activity involving the alteration, destruction,
forgery or manipulation of data for fraudulent purposes.
(9)
Any similar or related irregularity.
B.
The City of New Lisbon specifically prohibits these activities
or actions.
MANAGEMENT
A manager, chief, director, administrator, superintendent,
supervisor, elected or appointed official and any other employee who
has authority to sign another employee's performance evaluation.
The City Administrator, or in certain cases the Mayor, shall
maintain appropriate documentation regarding incidents of fraudulent
or dishonest activity and shall develop and maintain guidelines for
access to and security of this documentation. Questions or other clarifications
of this policy and its related responsibilities should be addressed
to the City Administrator, who shall be responsible for the administration,
revision, interpretation and application of this policy. If the City
Administrator position is vacant or if the City Administrator is the
subject of a current investigation, the Mayor shall be responsible
for the administration, revision, interpretation and application of
this policy.
Failure to comply with any part of this policy is grounds for
disciplinary action up to and including termination. Employees who
have engaged in fraudulent or dishonest activity and those who intentionally
report false or misleading information may be subject to disciplinary
action up to and including termination. Additionally, any member of
management who does not pass to the City Administrator, or in certain
cases the Mayor, each and every report of suspected fraud made by
an employee or other person is subject to disciplinary action.
[Added 5-20-2019 by Ord. No. 0520-19-02]
Whenever the Assessor, in the performance of the Assessor’s
duties, requests or obtains income and expense information that is
provided to the Assessor shall be held by the Assessor on a confidentiality
basis, except, however, that the information may be revealed to and
used by persons: a) in the discharging of duties imposed by law; b)
in the discharge of duties imposed by office (including, but not limited
to, use by the Assessor in performance of official duties of the Assessor’s
office and use by the Board of Review in performance of its official
duties); or c) pursuant to order of a court. Income and expense information
provided to the Assessor under Section 70.47(7)(af), unless a court
determines that it is inaccurate, is, per Section 70.47(7) (af), not
subject to the right of inspection and copying under Section 19.35(1),
Wis. Stats.