[Amended 2-24-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015]
There is hereby established a Board of Ethics (sometimes referred to as "the BoE") consisting of five members to be appointed by the Town Board. All members of the BoE shall be residents of the Town of Ossining. At least one member of the BoE shall be not be a lawyer. Each member shall serve without compensation for a term of five years from the date of appointment. The term of five years is intended to be equal to the number of members of the BoE so that the term of only one member of the BoE shall terminate at the end of each calendar year. Immediately following passage of this section, some of the initial appointments or reappointments of members of the shall be for terms of less than five years so that at the end of each calendar year, the term of one member of the BoE will expire. Upon the expiration of each member's initial appointment, the reappointment of that member or the appointment of a new member to take his/her place shall be for a term of five years. If a vacancy on the BoE shall occur other than by the expiration of a member's term, the Town Board shall appoint a new member for the unexpired portion of that term. The Town Attorney or Deputy Town Attorney shall serve as an advisor to the Board of Ethics, and shall not be a voting member.
A. 
The Board of Ethics shall have all of the powers and duties prescribed by Article 18 of the General Municipal Law and as provided in this chapter.
(1) 
The BoE shall provide written advisory opinions in response to: a written request of the Town Board; or the written request of a present or prospective Town employee with respect to his/her own past, present, contemplated or planned actions; or the written request of a contractor presently doing business with the Town, or who has bid for or is in the process of bidding to do business with the Town.
(2) 
The request for an advisory opinion ("the request") shall be filed with the Town Clerk who shall keep it confidential and shall forward it to the Board of Ethics within 10 days of receiving it.
(3) 
Absent extraordinary circumstances, the BoE shall issue its advisory opinion no later than 30 days after receiving the request from the Town Clerk. Unless there is good cause to do otherwise, and subject to the other provisions of this chapter relating to the confidentiality of advisory opinions issued by the BoE, the BoE shall release its advisory opinion to the Town Clerk and to the Town Board. To the extent practicable, the BoE shall redact the name, address and any other personally identifiable information of the person or entity who made the request. The Town Clerk shall forward a copy of the BoE's advisory opinion to the person or entity who submitted the request. Thereafter, the advisory opinion shall be available for inspection by the Town Board, any Town employee who wishes to review it, and members of the general public.
B. 
The Board of Ethics shall have the power and duty to receive and, within a reasonable time thereafter, investigate any written complaint ("the complaint") regarding a Town employee's alleged violation of the Town of Ossining Code of Ethics, Article 18 of the New York General Municipal Law and any other applicable law or regulation relating to the ethical conduct of any Town employee in accordance with the following:
(1) 
The complaint may be submitted by any of the following individuals or entities:
(a) 
A Town employee;
(b) 
An owner of residential or commercial real property located within the Town;
(c) 
A business owner located within the Town;
(d) 
A lessee of residential real property or a cooperative apartment located in the Town; or
(e) 
Any individual or entity doing business with the Town.
(2) 
The complaint shall consist of a written statement made under oath or affirmed under penalty of perjury, substantially in the form contained within this chapter. It shall contain factual allegations detailing the nature of the allegedly unethical conduct which shall be based upon the complainant's personal knowledge or upon information and belief.
(3) 
The complaint shall be filed with the Town Clerk. Within 10 days after receiving the complaint the Town Clerk shall transmit five copies and any supporting documents submitted with it to the members of the Board of Ethics. Subject to any contrary provisions of this chapter or as otherwise authorized or provided by law, the Town Clerk, the Town Board and the BoE shall keep confidential the complaint and its contents, any proceedings conducted in connection with the complaint, and any findings and recommendations made thereafter by the BoE.
(4) 
Within a reasonable time after receiving a complaint from the Town Clerk, the Board of Ethics shall investigate the complaint, and shall, as the majority of its members deem necessary and appropriate, hold hearings, request production of documents, interview witnesses and administer oaths. The Board of Ethics shall take all necessary steps to protect each individual's right to due process at every stage of the proceeding. Due process rights shall include, among other things:
(a) 
Providing written notice to the Town employee that a complaint has been filed no later than five days after the BoE determines that the complaint sets forth sufficient facts to believe that an ethics violation may have occurred, simultaneously transmitting to him/her a complete copy of the complaint and all supporting papers;
(b) 
Affording the Town employee any due process rights required in applicable union contracts with the Town; and
(c) 
Affording the Town employee the right to be represented by counsel.
(5) 
If, by a vote of the majority of its members, the BoE finds that the complaint and/or its investigation and/or related proceedings fail to provide reasonable cause to believe that the employee or officer who is the subject of the complaint has committed one or more violations of the Town of Ossining Code of Ethics, the provisions of Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, or any other ethical violation prohibited by this chapter, it shall issue findings of fact and recommendations stating in reasonable detail the nature of the investigation, and the reason(s) why it believes that no violation has been committed. Subject to the confidentiality provisions of this chapter and as otherwise provided by law, the BoE shall, in that circumstance, forward its opinion and findings to the Town Board and, simultaneously to the Town employee who is the subject of the complaint.
(6) 
If, by a vote of the majority of its members, the BoE finds that the employee or officer who is the subject of the complaint has committed one or more violations of the Town of Ossining Code of Ethics, the provisions of Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, or any other ethical violation prohibited by this chapter, it shall submit to the Town Board written detailed findings and recommendations setting forth, among other things, the nature of the charges and the BoE's investigation, its findings of fact, and the provisions of the Town of Ossining Code of Ethics or Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, or any other ethical violation prohibited by this chapter. The findings and recommendations shall, in that event, contain a recommendation regarding disposition of the complaint and the type of sanction or punishment, if any, to be imposed upon any Town employee found to have violated the Town of Ossining Code of Ethics, Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, or any other ethical violation prohibited by this chapter.
(7) 
Within a reasonable period of time after receiving the BoE's findings and recommendations, the Town Board shall issue a written decision and order accepting in whole or in part or rejecting in whole or in part the findings and recommendations of the BoE. The decision and order shall state in reasonable detail the basis for the Town Board's decision to accept or reject the findings and recommendations of the BoE. Within five business days after the Town Board issues its decision and order, the Town Clerk shall serve a true and accurate copy of the decision and order upon the Town employee who was the subject of the complaint. Personal service of the decision and order upon the Town employee or by regular mail to the Town employee's last known residence address shall be sufficient.
(8) 
No meeting or proceeding of the Board of Ethics concerning any complaint forwarded to the BoE by the Town Board or by the Town Clerk shall be open to the public except upon request of the Town employee who is the subject of the complaint, or as required by Article 7 of the Public Officers Law or by any other applicable local, state or federal law or regulation.
(9) 
Except where otherwise provided by Articles 6 or 7 of the Public Officers Law, and/or subject to the relevant provisions of any other applicable law or lawful mandate of a court or other government agency or body having the authority to compel the production of records regarding the work of the Board of Ethics, all records of the BoE, including among other things, requests for advisory opinions, complaints, files, witness statements, minutes of hearings and documents provided to or received by the Board of Ethics shall be kept confidential by the BoE, the Town Clerk and by the Town Board.
C. 
In addition to the foregoing powers and duties, the Board of Ethics may make recommendations with respect to the drafting and adoption of a code of ethics or amendments thereto, on their own initiative or upon request of the Town Board.
D. 
In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any Town employee who shall knowingly and intentionally act in a manner that violates any of the provisions of this chapter may be privately admonished, publicly censured, fined, suspended or removed from office or employment in the manner provided by law.