Officers, employees and consultants of the Town of New Paltz
hold their positions to serve and benefit the public, and not for
obtaining unwarranted personal or private gain in the exercise and
performance of their official powers and duties. The Town Board recognizes
that, in furtherance of this fundamental principle, there is a need
for clear and reasonable standards of ethical conduct. This code of
ethics establishes those standards.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BOARD
The governing board of a municipality and any municipal administrative
board, commission or other agency or body comprised of two or more
municipal officers or employees.
CODE
This code of ethics.
CONSULTANT
A person, paid or unpaid, providing advice to and at the
request of a municipal board, committee, commission or other body.
INTEREST
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, employee, or directly or indirectly owns
or controls more than 5% of the organization's outstanding stock.
MUNICIPALITY
Town of New Paltz. The word "municipal" refers to the municipality.
MUNICIPAL OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE
A paid or unpaid officer or employee of the Town of New Paltz,
including, but not limited to, the members of any municipal board.
RELATIVE
A spouse, parent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, sibling's
spouse, child, step-child, 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.
SPOUSE
A spouse or registered domestic partner.
This code of ethics applies to the officers and employees of
the Town of New Paltz, 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 (Conflicts of Interest of Municipal Officers and Employees)
and all rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the Town of
New Paltz.
No municipal officer or employee, during his or her tenure as
a municipal officer or employee, may engage in any private employment,
including the rendition of any business, commercial, professional
or other types of services, when the employment:
A. Can be reasonably expected to require more than sporadic recusal and abstention pursuant to §
15-6 of this code;
B. Can be reasonably expected to require disclosure or use of confidential
information gained by reason of serving as a municipal officer or
employee;
C. Violates § 805-a(1)(c) or (d) of the General Municipal
Law (Certain action prohibited); or
D. 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.
This code shall not be construed as prohibiting a municipal
officer or employee from:
A. Representing himself or herself, or his or her spouse or minor children,
before the municipality; or
B. Asserting a claim against the municipality on his or her own behalf,
or on behalf of his or her spouse or minor children.
Except as otherwise required by law:
A. No municipal officer or employee, either individually or as a member
of a board, may participate in any decision specifically to appoint,
hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative for any position
at, for or within the municipality or a municipal board.
B. No municipal officer or employee may supervise a relative in the
performance of the relative's official powers or duties without
prior approval of the Town Board.
C. Disclosure of relationships, as defined in §
15-2, must be made by the person seeking employment and/or appointment with the Town of New Paltz.
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.
Any municipal officer or employee who violates this code may
be censured, fined, suspended or removed from office or employment
in the manner provided by law.