Village of Southampton, NY Disclosure

§ 7-19 Particular matter disclosure.

Whenever a Village officer or employee is required to recuse himself or herself under this chapter, he or she: shall promptly inform his or her immediate supervisor, if any; and shall promptly file with the Village Clerk a signed statement disclosing the reason for recusal or, if a member of a board or commission that maintains a public record of its proceedings, shall promptly state that information upon the public record of the board or commission.

Whenever a Village officer or employee who is a member of a Village board or other deliberative body that is charged with making determinations upon the record of a public hearing receives a communication, in any form, regarding the merits of the question to be decided in a matter pending before the board or deliberative body, he or she: shall promptly inform the chairperson of such board or deliberative body, if any; and shall promptly state that information upon the public record of the board or deliberative body. The foregoing disclosure requirement shall not apply to: communications from the chairperson of the board or deliberative body or its members, its counsel, its consultant or from another authorized Village officer or employee, or to communications regarding ministerial matters such as procedural requirements or scheduling.

§ 7-20 Disclosure of interests in Village contracts.

Where a Village officer or employee, or his or her spouse, knows that he or she has or will have an interest in any actual or proposed contract, purchase agreement, lease agreement, or other agreement, including oral agreements, with the Village, the officer or employee shall publicly disclose the nature and extent of that interest in writing to his or her immediate supervisor and to the Board of Ethics as soon as he or she has knowledge of the actual or prospective interest.

For purposes of this disclosure requirement:

(1)

The term "contract" shall mean any claim, account or demand against or agreement with the Village, express or implied; and

(2)

A Village officer or employee shall be deemed to have an interest in the contract of his or her relative, dependent or household member, and any private organization when he or she, or his or her relative, dependent or household member is an owner, partner, member, director, officer, employee or directly or indirectly owns or controls more than 5% of the organization's equity or debt, whether in the form of outstanding stock or otherwise.

§ 7-21 Applicant disclosure in land use applications.

Every application, petition, or request submitted for a variance, amendment, change of zoning, approval of a plat, exemption from a plat or official map, license or permit, pursuant to the provisions of any local law, rule or regulation constituting the zoning and planning regulations of the Village shall state the name, residence, and the nature and extent of the interest of any officer of the state, or any officer or employee of the County of Suffolk, the Town of Southampton, or of the Village, or any party officer as defined by New York Election Law § 2(4), in the person, partnership or association making the application, petition or request to the extent known.

For the purpose of this disclosure requirement, an officer or employee shall be deemed to have an interest in the applicant when he or she, his or her spouse, domestic partner, or their brothers, sisters, parents, children, grandchildren, or the spouse of any of them:

(1)

Is the applicant; or

(2)

Is an officer, director, partner, or employee of the applicant; or

(3)

Legally or beneficially owns or controls stock of a corporate applicant or is a member of a limited liability company, partnership, or association applicant (except that ownership of less than 5% of the stock of a publicly traded corporation shall not constitute an interest for the purposes of this disclosure requirement); or

(4)

Is a party to an agreement with such an applicant, express or implied, whereby he or she will receive any payment or other benefit, whether or not for such services rendered, dependent or contingent upon the favorable approval of such application, petition or request.

§ 7-22 Annual financial disclosure.

Persons required to file annual statements of financial disclosure. The following Village officers and employees (individually and collectively, "reporting person") shall file an annual statement of financial disclosure with the Board of Ethics:

(1)

Elected Village officials;

(2)

Department heads and division heads;

(3)

Village inspectors;

(4)

Members of the Architectural Review Board, Planning Board, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals;

(5)

Village Attorney, legal counsel to the Architectural Review Board, Planning Board, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Prosecutor(s);

(6)

Village officers or employees holding policymaking positions.

Policymaking positions. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be considered to hold a policymaking position if he or she exercises responsibilities of a broad scope in the formulation of plans for the implementation of goals or policy for a local agency or acts as an advisor to an individual in such a position. In determining whether a person holds a policymaking position, the following factors shall be considered, applied to the powers and duties of the position as set forth in the job description or any applicable law or regulation as well as the actual duties performed by the person:

(1)

Whether the position permits meaningful input into the governmental decisionmaking process on issues where there is room for principled disagreement on goals or their implementation;

(2)

Whether the powers and duties of the position are broadly defined and require more than the exercise of simple ministerial competence;

(3)

Whether the position permits the person to exercise control over other officers or employees;

(4)

Whether the position involves the establishment of priorities or the development of programs;

(5)

Whether the position requires or authorizes the conducting of studies or entails a significant degree of involvement in the preparation of budgets or budget requests for a local agency or municipality;

(6)

Whether the position authorizes the person to speak on behalf of local elected officials or other policymakers;

(7)

Whether the position entails frequent contact with local elected officials or their principal deputies.

Form of statement.

(1)

All reporting persons shall file a disclosure statement in the form annexed hereto as Appendix A,[1] as such form may be modified from time to time by resolution of the Village Board of Trustees.

[1]

Editor's Note: Appendix A is included as an attachment to this chapter.

(2)

The Board of Ethics shall recommend any amendments to the forms of financial disclosure statement that it deems warranted or that may be required by law, and shall submit such recommended amendments, in the form of a resolution, to the Village Board of Trustees for consideration.

Time for filing. Reporting Persons shall file financial disclosure statements with the Board of Ethics on or before May 15 of each year, except that officers elected after May 15, and employees appointed after that date who are required to file financial disclosure statements, shall file financial disclosure statements with the Board of Ethics within 60 days of the commencement of their respective term of office or period of employment, and then on or before May 15 of each subsequent year.

Designation of officers and employees required to file annual disclosure statements.

(1)

Within 90 days after the effective date of this chapter, and no later than February 15 of each year thereafter, the Office of the Mayor shall: cause to be filed with the Board of Ethics a list of the names and offices or positions of all officers and employees of the Village required to file annual disclosure statements pursuant to this chapter; and notify all such officers and employees of their obligation to file an annual disclosure statement.

(2)

Any person designated as a person required to file an annual disclosure statement solely by reason of holding of a policymaking position as that term is used in this chapter, may apply to the Board of Ethics for reconsideration of his or her filing status and the Board of Ethics may, upon reconsideration, grant an exemption from filing based upon the criteria set forth herein.

Maintenance and public inspection of disclosure statements.

(1)

The Village Clerk shall transmit promptly to the Board of Ethics each disclosure statement filed with the Clerk pursuant to this chapter.

(2)

All statements filed with the Board of Ethics shall be available for public inspection and copying; except that:

(a)

The Board of Ethics may, on its own initiative, to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the New York Public Officers Law) withhold from public disclosure particular information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; or

(b)

A reporting person may request that such information be withheld from public disclosure, and the Board of Ethics, in its discretion, may grant such request to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the New York Public Officers Law).

Review of lists and disclosure statements.

(1)

The Board of Ethics shall review:

(a)

The lists of officers and employees required to file annual disclosure statements pursuant to this chapter, to determine whether the lists are complete and accurate. The Board of Ethics shall add the name of any other officer or employee which the Board of Ethics determines should appear on the list and shall remove the name of any officer or employee which the Board of Ethics determines should not appear on the list.

(b)

All annual disclosure statements to determine whether any person required to file such a statement has failed to file it, has filed a deficient statement, or has filed a statement that reveals a possible or potential violation of this chapter.

(c)

All transactional disclosure statements.

(d)

All applicant disclosure statements.

(2)

If the Board of Ethics determines that an annual disclosure statement, a transactional disclosure statement, or an applicant disclosure statement is deficient or reveals a possible or potential violation of this chapter, the Board of Ethics shall notify the person in writing of the deficiency, or possible or potential violation and of the penalties for failure to comply with this chapter.