[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Brodhead
as Title 2, Ch. 5, of the 1997 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The proper operation of democratic government requires that public
officials and employees be independent, impartial and responsible
to the people; that government decisions and policy be made in proper
channels of the governmental structure; that public office not be
used for personal gain; and that the public have confidence in the
integrity of its government. In recognition of these goals, there
is hereby established in this chapter a Code of Ethics for all City
of Brodhead officials and employees, whether elected or appointed,
paid or unpaid, including members of boards, committees and commissions
of the City, as well as any individuals who are candidates for elective
office as soon as such individuals file nomination papers with the
City.
B.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish guidelines for ethical
standards of conduct for all such officials and employees by setting
forth those acts or actions that are incompatible with the best interests
of the City of Brodhead and by directing disclosure by such officials
and employees of private financial or other interests in matters affecting
the City. The Common Council believes that a Code of Ethics for the
guidance of elected and appointed officials and employees will help
them avoid conflicts between their personal interests and their public
responsibilities, will improve standards of public service and will
promote and strengthen the faith and confidence of the citizens of
this City in their elected and appointed officials and employees.
The Common Council hereby reaffirms that each elected and appointed
City official and employee holds his or her position as a public trust,
and any intentional effort to realize substantial personal gain through
official conduct is a violation of that trust. The provisions and
purpose of this chapter and such rules and regulations as may be established
are hereby declared to be in the best interests of the City of Brodhead.
The following definitions shall be applicable in this chapter:
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.
Any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise,
franchise, association, organization, self-employed individual or
any other legal entity which engages in profit-making activities.
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.
The following specific blood or marriage relationships:
A person's spouse, mother, father, child, brother, sister or
first cousin (natural or step); or
A person's relative by blood or marriage who receives, directly
or indirectly, more than 1/2 support from such person or from whom
such person receives, directly or indirectly, more than 1/2 of his/her
support.
Any person excluded from the definition of a "public official"
who is employed by the City.
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, whether paid or unpaid and whether voting or ex officio members.
[Amended 7-20-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-004]
Owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, at least 10%
or $5,000 of the outstanding stock of any business.
[Amended 3-17-2015]
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, to wit:
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.
A.
Officials and employees should adhere to the rules of work and performance
established as the standard for their positions by the appropriate
authority.
B.
Officials and employees should not exceed their authority or breach
the law or ask others to do so, and they should work in full cooperation
with other public officials and employees unless prohibited from so
doing by law or by officially recognized confidentiality of their
work.
C.
Members of the City staff are expected to follow their appropriate
professional code of ethics. Staff members shall file a copy of such
professional ethics codes with the City Clerk-Treasurer. The City
Clerk-Treasurer may notify the appropriate professional ethics board
of any ethics violations involving City employees covered by such
professional standards.
A.
Use of public property. No official or employee shall use or permit
the unauthorized use of City-owned vehicles, equipment, materials
or property for personal convenience or profit, except when such services
are available to the public generally or are provided as City policy
for the use of such official or employee in the conduct of official
business, as authorized by the Common Council or authorized board,
commission or committee.
B.
Use of City stationery. No official or employee shall use, or permit
the unauthorized use of, City stationery for personal use.
C.
Obligations to citizens. No official or employee shall grant any
special consideration, treatment or advantage to any citizen beyond
that which is available to every other citizen. No official or employee
shall use or attempt to use his or her position with the City to secure
any advantage, preference or gain, over and above his or her rightful
remuneration and benefits, for himself or herself or for a member
of his or her immediate family.
D.
Political contributions. No official shall personally solicit from
any City employee, other than an elected official, a contribution
to a political campaign committee for which the person subject to
this chapter is a candidate or treasurer.
A.
Financial and personal interest prohibited.
(1)
No official or employee of the City, whether paid or unpaid, shall
engage in any business or transaction or shall act in regard to financial
or other personal interest, direct or indirect, which is incompatible
with the proper discharge of official duties in the public interest
contrary to the provisions of this chapter or which would tend to
impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of official
duties.
(2)
Any member of the Common Council who has a financial interest or
personal interest in any proposed legislation before the Common Council
shall disclose on the records of the Common Council the nature and
extent of such interest; such official shall not participate in debate
or vote for adoption or defeat of such legislation. If the matter
before the Council involves a member's personal interest with persons
involved, the member may participate in debate or discussion and vote
on the matter following disclosure, unless an ordinance or contract
is involved; if an ordinance or contract is involved, such official
shall not participate in debate or discussion and vote on the matter.
(3)
Any nonelected official who has a financial interest or personal
interest in any proposed legislative action of the Common Council
or any board, commission or committee upon which the official has
any influence or input or of which the official is a member that is
to make a recommendation or decision upon any item which is the subject
of the proposed legislative action shall disclose on the records of
the Common Council or the appropriate board, commission or committee
the nature and extent of such interest. Such official shall not participate
in debate or discussion or vote for adoption or defeat of such legislation.
(4)
Any City employee who has a financial interest or personal interest
in any proposed legislative action of the Common Council or any board,
commission or committee upon which the employee has any influence
or input, or of which the employee is a member, that is to make a
recommendation or decision upon any item which is the subject of the
proposed legislative action shall disclose on the records of the Council
or the appropriate board, commission or committee the nature and extent
of such interest.
B.
Disclosure of confidential information. No official or employee shall,
without proper legal authorization, disclose confidential information
concerning the property, government or affairs of the City, nor shall
such information be used to advance the financial or other private
interests of the official or employee or others.
C.
Gifts and favors.
(1)
No official or employee, personally or through a member of his/her
immediate family, may solicit or accept, either directly or indirectly,
from any person or organization money or anything of value if it could
be expected to influence the employee's official actions or judgments
or be considered a reward for any action or inaction on the part of
the official or employee.
(2)
No official or employee, personally or through a member of his/her
immediate family, shall accept any gift, whether in the form of money,
service, loan, thing or promise, from any person which could reasonably
be expected to impair his/her independence of judgment or action in
the performance of his/her duties or grant in the discharge of his/her
duties any improper favor, service or thing of value. However, it
is not a conflict of interest for any public official or employee
to receive hospitality that is unsolicited and unrelated to government
business, such as a meal, and that is not intended to influence the
official.
(3)
An official or employee is not to accept hospitality if, after consideration
of the surrounding circumstances, it could reasonably be concluded
that such hospitality would not be extended were it not for the fact
that the guest, or a member of the guest's immediate family, was a
City official or employee. Participation in celebrations, grand openings,
open houses, informational meetings and similar events are excluded
from this prohibition. This paragraph further shall not be construed
to prevent candidates for elective office from accepting hospitality,
as a properly reported political contribution, from citizens for the
purpose of supporting the candidate's campaign. (The State Ethics
Board has interpreted "hospitality" as it applies to state officials
as including meals, beverages and lodging which a person offers at
his/her residence and would have been offered if the recipient was
not an official.)
(4)
Gifts received by an official or employee or his/her immediate family
under unusual circumstances shall be referred to the Common Council
within 10 days of receipt for recommended disposition. Any person
subject to this chapter who becomes aware that he/she is or has been
offered any gift, the acceptance of which would constitute a violation
of this subsection, shall, within 10 days, disclose the details surrounding
said offer to the Common Council. Failure to comply with this reporting
requirement shall constitute an offense under this chapter.
D.
Representing private interests before City agencies or courts.
(1)
Nonelected City officials and employees shall not appear on behalf
of any private person (other than himself or herself, his or her spouse
or juvenile children) before any City agency, board, commission or
the Common Council if the official or employee or any agency, board,
commission or committee of which the official or employee is a member
has any jurisdiction, discretion or control over the matter which
is the subject of such representation.[1]
(2)
Elected City officials may appear before City agencies on behalf of constituents in the course of their duties as representatives of the electorate or in the performance of public or civic obligations. However, the disclosure requirements of Subsection A above shall be applicable to such appearances.
E.
Ad hoc committee exceptions. No violation of the conflict of interest
restrictions of this section shall exist, however, where an individual
serves on a special ad hoc committee charged with the narrow responsibility
of addressing a specific issue
or topic in which that individual, or the employer or a client of
that individual, has an interest so long as the individual discloses
to the Common Council that such interest exists.
F.
Contracts with the City. No City official or employee who, in his/her
capacity as such officer or employee, participates in the making of
a contract in which he/she has a private pecuniary interest, direct
or indirect, or performs in regard to that contract with some function
requiring the exercise of discretion on his/her part shall enter into
any contract with the City, unless, within the confines of § 946.13,
Wis. Stats., the contract is awarded through a process of public notice
and competitive bidding or the Common Council waives the requirement
of this section after determining that it is in the best interest
of the City to do so. The provisions of this subsection shall not
apply to the designation of a public depository of public funds.
G.
Campaign contributions. Campaign contributions shall be reported
by all candidates for City office in strict conformity with the provisions
of the Wisconsin Statutes. Any campaign contribution tendered to or
accepted by a candidate subsequent to the final statutory report shall
be reported to the Common Council.
When an official or employee has doubt as to the applicability
of a provision of this chapter to a particular situation or definition
of terms used in this chapter, he/she should apply to 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 chapter before such advisory decision is made. This chapter
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.
A.
This section governs the proposed hiring of individuals for full-time or part-time work as City employees who are members of the immediate family of City employees or elected officials. "Immediate family" includes those relatives by blood or marriage defined in § 50-2 as personal interests.
B.
Hiring an immediate family member of any current City employee or
elected City official will be considered only if that individual has
the knowledge and skills, experience or other job-related qualifications
that warrant consideration for the position. A person cannot be hired
for either full-time or part-time employment in a position immediately
supervised by a member of that person's immediate family.
C.
This section does not apply to nonelected officials who are asked
to accept appointment as members of a City board, commission or committee;
nonelected officials, however, will be expected to disqualify themselves
from participation in matters under consideration which may affect
the hiring, retention, classification or compensation of their immediate
family if currently employed or being considered for employment by
the City.
In the event 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 chapter.
No full-time officer or employee of the City 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.
A.
A determination that a public official's or public employee's actions
constitute improper conduct under the provisions of this chapter may
constitute a cause for removal from office, termination of employment,
suspension, reprimand, removal from committee assignment, or other
appropriate disciplinary action. As an alternative or in addition
to sanctions imposed herein, any individual violating the Ethics Code
shall be subject to a nonreimbursable forfeiture of not less than
$100 nor more than $1,000, as determined by the City of Brodhead Common
Council.[1]
B.
Sanctions, including any disciplinary action, that may affect employees
covered under a labor agreement will be consistent with the terms
and conditions set forth in the labor agreement.
