No official may take action that provides a financial or other personal
benefit to the official, immediate family, customers, clients, an
employer, or a person who has made campaign contributions to the official
within a twelve-month period.
An official must avoid circumstances that compromise his ability
to make decisions solely in the public interest or create an appearance
of impropriety.
An official must recuse himself/herself when faced with the
above conflicts. Recusal means that the official may not deliberate,
vote or participate in any way in that matter. The official should
disclose his/her conflict and remove him or herself from the Board.
He/she should provide input regarding the matter from the audience
in his/her capacity as a member of the public.
No official may use Town of Verona (Town-owned) property, assets
or any resources for personal purposes or profit or to benefit any
person. Use of these resources is restricted to the conduct of official
business, for the benefit of all residents and to further an authorized
public purpose.
No official, either individually or as a member of a Board (Town
Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board, etc.), may participate in any
decision specifically to appoint, hire, promote, and/or discipline
an immediate relative (spouse, mother, father, son, daughter) for
any position at, for or within the Town of Verona, or within a Board.
Effective March 1, 2017, no official or employee may supervise an
immediate relative (spouse, mother, father, son, daughter) in the
performance of the relative's official powers or duties. NOTE:
Employees hired before March 1, 2017 are exempt from this.
An official may not solicit any gift nor may he/she receive any gift, whether financial or
in any other form from any person who is doing or seeking to do business
of any kind with the Town, including applications for permits or approvals;
has done business with the Town during the last 12 months; or from
a lobbyist representing a person before a Town agency. An official
may not solicit or receive any gift or payment as a reward for exercise
of official duties. Generally, an official may not receive or solicit
any gift, creating the appearance that his/her official duties may
be influenced or that his/her responsibility to make impartial decisions
solely in the public interest is compromised.
An official shall not solicit, negotiate for or commit to accept
private employment from any person doing business with or having any
matter pending with the Town.
An official shall not appear on behalf of or represent a person
in any matter before a municipal agency except on his own behalf.
An official or former official may not disclose confidential
information or use it to further his/her or another person's
private interests or in any way utilize the information for nonpublic
purposes.
No official shall solicit political contributions from subordinates
or request that they attend political functions or engage in any political
activity.
No official who has left Town service shall appear before or
receive compensation in a matter before his/her former department
for a period of one year after departure. He/she is permanently barred
from appearing or receiving compensation regarding a matter he/she
was personally involved in as a Town official.
An official is prohibited from holding more than one position
with the Town when the duties of the positions conflict.
When a violation or concern about a violation of the Town's
Code of Ethics arises, the Town Board should be notified within one
day of said violation occurrence. If there's uncertainty as to
whether a violation has occurred, a letter can be filed with the New
York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), 540 Broadway,
Albany, NY 12207. Additionally, an inquiry to JCOPE can be submitted
by phone, too. JCOPE's phone number is (518) 408-3976. JCOPE's
website is: www.jcope.ny.gov.
Each municipal official shall receive training annually concerning
the requirements of the Town's Code of Ethics and the procedure
for seeking an opinion or investigation by JCOPE. Copies of the code
and amendments to the code shall be provided to all officials. Additionally,
an overview of ethics is required to be completed on an annual basis.
This can be completed at http://www.goer.state.ny.us/Training Development/Online
Learning/ethics/blackout/index.html.