[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of West Seneca 12-16-2019 by L.L. No.
5-2019.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter also superseded former Ch.
13, Ethics, Code of, adopted 12-7-2009 by L.L. No. 4-2009.
The proper operation of Town government requires that its officers
and employees be independent, impartial and responsible to the people;
that government decisions and policy be made in the proper channels
of the governmental structure; that public office not be used for
personal gain; that public officers and employees observe in their
official acts the highest standards of ethics and discharge faithfully
the duties of their public office regardless of personal consideration;
and that the public have confidence in the integrity of its government
and the officers and employees thereof. It is the policy of the Town
of West Seneca and the purpose of this chapter to establish standards
and guidelines for ethical conduct of officers and employees. Though
assurance of such conduct will continue to rest primarily on personal
integrity and community vigilance, the establishment of standards
is another step toward providing the highest caliber of public administration
for the Town and ensuring that government decisions are arrived at
impartially and free of conflict of interests and thereby increasing
confidence in public officials. It is also the purpose of this chapter
to protect officials and employees from unwarranted assaults on their
integrity by separating real conflict from the inconsequential, recognizing
that for local government to attract and hold competent administrators,
public service must not require a complete divesting of all proprietary
interests. In recognition of these goals, there is hereby established
a Code of Ethics for all officers and for all employees of the Town
of West Seneca, hereinafter referred to as the "Town." In the event
of any conflict between the provisions of this Code and provisions
of Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, the latter shall control.
This chapter shall be enforceable upon all Town officials, officers
and employees. No acknowledgement, service or acceptance of this chapter
shall be necessary for enforcement of its provisions.
A.
AGENCY
APPEAR and APPEAR BEFORE
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CUSTOMER or CLIENT
FINANCIAL BENEFIT
GOOD FAITH
HOUSEHOLD
INTEREST
PERSONNEL ACTION
RECUSE
RELATIVE
TOWN EMPLOYEE
WHISTLEBLOWER
WRONGDOING
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
Any Town department, division, board, committee, or bureau,
including the Town Board or any successor thereto.
Communicating in any form, including without limitation,
personally, by letter, electronic communication, telephone or by any
other device.
The same meaning as defined in the New York State Public
Officer's Law[1] as well as any information discussed and/or revealed at
an executive session of a Town Board meeting.
Any action or omission which is in conflict or gives or may
reasonably give the appearance of conflict with the performance of
official Town business or government.
Any entity or person to whom an official, officer or employee
of the Town of West Seneca or his or her outside employer or business
has supplied goods or services during the previous calendar year having,
in the aggregate, a value greater than $2,000.
Any money, service, license, permit, contract, authorization,
loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, gratuity or other compensation
of anything of value, or any promise thereof.
Information concerning potential wrongdoing is disclosed
in good faith when the individual making the disclosure reasonably
believes such information to be true and reasonably believes that
it constitutes potential wrongdoing.
All persons living in a single residence, whether related
or not.
Deemed to include the affairs of the official, officer or
employee or their spouse, minor children and dependents, firm, partnership
or association in which such official, officer or employee is a member
or employee; a corporation in which such official officer or employee
is an officer director, or employee; and a corporation of which any
stock is owned or controlled directly by the official, officer or
employee.
Any action affecting compensation, appointment, promotion,
transfer, assignment, reassignment, reinstatement or evaluation of
performance.
The act of abstaining from participation or influencing in
an official action due to a conflict of interest.
A spouse, parent, grandparent, stepparent, sibling, step-sibling,
sibling's spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, uncle, aunt,
nephew, niece or household member of a Town official, officer or employee
and individuals having any of these relationships to the spouse of
the Town official, officer or employee.
All board members, officers and staff employed by the Town,
whether employed full-time or part-time, employed pursuant to a contract,
employed temporarily or employees who are on probation, paid or unpaid.
Any Town employee (as defined herein) who in good faith discloses
information concerning wrongdoing by another Town employee or concerning
the business of the Town itself.
Any alleged corruption, fraud, criminal or unethical activity,
misconduct, waste, conflict of interest, intentional reporting of
false or misleading information or abuse of authority engaged in by
a Town employee (as defined herein) that relates to the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: See McKinney's Public Officers Law
§ 1 et seq.
B.
Word usage. The use of the masculine gender shall include the feminine
where applicable.
Every official, officer and employee of the Town of West Seneca
shall be subject to and abide by the following standards of conduct:
A.
No Town official, officer or employee shall use his or her official
position or office to take or fail to take any action in a manner
which he or she knows or has reason to know may result in a financial
benefit or interest for any of the following persons or entities:
B.
No Town official, officer or employee shall have any interest, financial
or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction
or professional activity or incur any obligation of any nature that
is in conflict with, or might reasonably tend to conflict with, the
proper discharge of his duties in the public interest. Any officer
or employee who has a direct or indirect financial or other private
interest in any matter before any board of the Town shall publicly
disclose in writing on the official record of such board the nature
and extent of such interest prior to participating in the discussion
or before making a recommendation or giving an opinion to such board
on such matter.
C.
No Town official, officer or employee shall represent private interests
before any board, department, office or agency of the Town, nor represent
private interests in any action or proceeding against the interests
of the Town or in any litigation to which the Town is a party. The
preceding sentence shall not preclude any such officers or employees
from appearing in the performance of public or civic obligations or
on their own behalf with respect to matters of a personal nature.
All appearing parties before any board of the Town shall make a disclosure
as provided under § 809 of Article 18 of the General Municipal
Law. Every application, petition or request submitted for a variance,
change of zoning, site plan approval or waiver, license or permit
pursuant to the provisions of any ordinance, local law, rule or regulation
constituting the zoning and planning regulations of the Town in which
a Town officer or employee has an interest as defined in this chapter
shall state the name, residence and the nature and extent of the interest
of any officer or employee of the Town, in the person, partnership
or association making such application, petition or request.
D.
A Town Board member, official, officer or employee shall promptly recuse himself or herself from acting on a matter before the Town when acting on the matter or failing to act on the matter may provide a financial benefit to the persons or entities listed in § 13-3A above. A Town Board member shall promptly recuse himself or herself from voting on the appointment, hiring, or other matter involving a person or entity described in § 13-3A above.
E.
No Town official, officer or employee, whether paid or unpaid, shall
directly or indirectly solicit, accept or receive any gift, whether
in the form of money, services, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality,
material goods, things, or promise of any other form, under circumstances
in which it could reasonably be inferred or could reasonably be expected
that the gift was intended to influence such official, officer or
employee in the performance of his or her official duties or was intended
to reward official action or inaction. Under no circumstances shall
an official, officer or employee accept any gift valued in excess
of $25. No officer or employee of the Town shall grant in the discharge
of his duties any improper favor, service or thing of value. Nothing
contained herein shall be deemed to prohibit any officer or employee
of the Town from borrowing money from any bank or banks designated
as depositories by the Town Board.
F.
No Town official, officer or employee shall disclose any confidential
information or use said information to further their personal interest
or the personal interests of others, unless required to do so by law
or court order.
G.
No Town official, officer or employee, whether paid or unpaid, shall
engage in or accept private employment or render services for private
interests when such employment or service is in conflict with the
proper discharge of his official duties.
H.
No Town official, officer or employee shall accept employment by
any person, firm or corporation with which he or his department, office
or agency is engaged on behalf of the Town in the transaction of business
which is or may be affected by his official action. No officer or
employee of the Town shall, within one year after termination of service
or employment with the Town, appear before any board or agency of
the Town in relation to any case, proceeding or application in which
he personally participated during the period of his service or employment
or which was under his active consideration.
I.
No Town official, officer or employee shall use or attempt to use
his official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions
for himself or others or grant any special consideration, treatment
or advantage to any citizens beyond that which is available to every
other citizen.
J.
No Town official, officer or employee shall, by his conduct, give
reasonable basis for the impression that any person can unduly influence
him or improperly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official
duties or that he is affected by the kinship, rank, position or influence
of any party or person.
K.
No Town official, officer or employee shall direct or cause any officer
or employee of the Town to do or perform any service or work outside
of public work or employment, or accept any such service or work,
nor shall any officer or employee of the Town offer to or perform
any such service or work for such officer or employee.
L.
No Town official, officer or employee shall use or permit the use
of Town property (including vehicles, equipment, materials and any
other property) for personal convenience, profit, or political means
except when such use is available to Town citizens generally or is
provided as a matter of written Town policy.
M.
No Town official, officer or employee shall require, authorize, or
influence any other Town official, officer, or employee to participate
in an election campaign or contribute to a political committee.
N.
No Town official, officer or employee shall induce or aid other officials,
officers or employees of the Town to violate any provisions of this
chapter.
O.
All Town Board members, officials, officers, employees, and volunteers
are required to reasonably cooperate with any investigation of the
Board of Ethics. Such reasonable cooperation shall include by way
of example, but not be limited to, participating in investigatory
interviews, producing documents or other tangible information in their
possession or control, and appearing at scheduled hearings and giving
testimony. Employees represented by a union will have the right to
have a union representative present with them for any investigatory
interviews and to seek the advice of their union representative prior
to appearing before or providing information to the Board of Ethics.
P.
Every Ethics Board Member shall annually complete two hours of ethics
training.
Q.
This Ethics Code shall be annually available to all Town officials,
Board members, employees, and volunteers.
A.
In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision of law,
a violation of this chapter may result as follows:
(1)
Forfeiture of pay, suspension or removal from office or employment
or such other disciplinary action as the Town Board may consider advisable.
(2)
Any contract knowingly entered into by and/or with the Town or any
agency thereof in which there is an interest or financial benefit
prohibited by this chapter shall be null, void, and wholly unenforceable.
(3)
Recommend a civil fine, not to exceed $10,000 for each violation,
upon a Town Official, Board member, employee or volunteer found guilty
of a violation of this code. Such fine shall be payable to the Town.
B.
No action expressly or impliedly permitted under Article 18 of the
General Municipal Law shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
A.
The following Town officials, officers and employees of the Town
of West Seneca shall be required to file annual disclosure statements
by March 31 of each year in the form set forth in Exhibit "A" attached
hereto:[1]
(1)
All elected officials.
(2)
All department heads.
(3)
Any and all Board members, Commission members, Committee members,
whether elected, appointed, or volunteer.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said attachment is on file in Town offices.
B.
Said forms shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall be available
for public inspection.
A.
This Whistleblower Policy applies to all board members, officers,
employees of the Town of West Seneca, and the public, and provides
them with a confidential means to report credible allegation of misconduct,
wrongdoing or unethical behavior and to protect those individuals,
when acting in good faith, from personal or professional retaliation.
B.
Town employees who discover or have knowledge of potential wrongdoing
concerning board members, officers or employees of the Town, or a
person having business dealings with the Town, or concerning the Town
itself, shall report such activity in accordance with the following
procedures:
(1)
The Town employee shall disclose any information concerning wrongdoing
either orally or in a written report to his or her supervisor, to
the Town Ethics Board Attorney, general counsel, human resources representative,
or the Erie County Whistle Blower Hotline at (716-858-7722) or email
at whistleblower@erie.gov.
(2)
Town employees who discover or have knowledge of wrongdoing shall
report such wrongdoing in a prompt and timely manner. If reporting
through the Town Ethics Board Attorney, then the form attached hereto
as Exhibit "C"[1] shall be completed and submitted to the Town Ethics Board
Attorney.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said attachment is on file in Town offices.
(3)
The identity of the whistleblower and the substance of his or her
allegations will be kept confidential to the best extent possible.
(4)
The individual to whom the potential wrongdoing is reported shall
investigate and handle the claim in a timely and reasonable manner,
which may include referring such information to the authorities or
an appropriate law enforcement agency where applicable.
(5)
Should a Town employee believe in good faith that disclosing information
within the Town would likely subject him or her to adverse personnel
action or be wholly ineffective; the Town employee may instead disclose
the information to the local authorities or to an appropriate law
enforcement agency, if applicable.
(6)
No Town employee who in good faith discloses potential violations
of the Town's Code of Ethics or other instances of potential
wrongdoing shall suffer harassment, retaliation or adverse personnel
action.
(7)
All allegations of retaliation against a whistleblower or interference
with an individual seeking to disclose potential wrongdoing will be
thoroughly investigated by the Town Ethics Board.
(8)
Any Town employee who retaliates against or attempts to interfere
with any individual for having in good faith disclosed potential violations
of the Town's Code of Ethics or other instances of potential
wrongdoing is subject to disciplinary action, which may include termination
of employment.
(9)
Any allegation of retaliation or interference will be taken and treated
seriously and irrespective of the outcome of the initial complaint,
will be treated as a separate matter.
(10)
The Whistleblower Policy is not intended to limit, diminish or impair
any other rights or remedies that an individual may have under the
law with respect to disclosing potential wrongdoing free from retaliation
or adverse personnel action.
(11)
Specifically, the Whistleblower Policy is not intended to limit any
rights or remedies that an individual may have under the laws of the
State of New York, including but not limited to the following provisions:
Civil Service Law § 75-b, Labor Law § 740, State
Finance Law § 191 (commonly known as the "False Claims Act")
and Executive Law § 55(1).
(12)
With respect to any rights or remedies that an individual may have
pursuant to Civil Service Law § 75-b or Labor Law § 740,
any employee who wishes to preserve such rights shall, prior to disclosing
information to a government body, have made a good faith effort to
provide the appointing authority or his or her designee the information
to be disclosed and shall provide the appointing authority or designee
a reasonable time to take appropriate action unless there is imminent
and serious danger to public health or safety. [See Civil Service
Law § 75-b(2)(b); Labor Law § 740(3)].
C.
Once a complaint has been submitted, the Ethics Board will investigate
the allegations of the complaint. In conducting any such investigation,
the Ethics Board may administer oaths or affirmations, issue subpoenas
pursuant to Article 23 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules,
compel witness attendance and require the production of any books
or records which it may deem relevant and material. The Ethics Board
shall require clear and convincing evidence before determining that
a violation has occurred.
A.
A Board of Ethics is hereby established pursuant to Article 18, Section
808, Subdivision 3 of the General Municipal Law. The members of the
Board of Ethics shall be appointed by the Town Board and shall receive
no salary or compensation for their services as members of such Board.
A member of the Board of Ethics may be removed for cause. The Board
shall be composed of one member to be appointed by each member of
the Town Board with staggered terms. Three members shall be appointed
in 2021 and two members to be appointed in 2022. The term of each
member shall be five years with three more being appointed or reappointed
in 2026 and two being appointed or reappointed in 2027, which shall
continue on the same scheme. A member of the Town Board shall not
appoint himself or herself or any other current Town Board member.
The seventh member of the Board of Ethics shall be the Town Clerk,
who shall be an ex officio member without the power to vote. The members
of the Board of Ethics shall be residents of the Town of West Seneca
and only one member shall be a current Town official, officer or employee.
The Town Attorney representing the Town shall be an ex officio member
of the Board of Ethics without the power to vote. In the event that
the Town Board increases to five board members, the Board of Ethics
shall become a five-member Board. One member shall be appointed by
each Town Board member and the terms shall be five years as decided
by a majority of the Town Board members.
B.
Advisory opinions. Upon written request of any Town official, officer
or employee, the Board of Ethics established herein shall render advisory
opinions regarding this chapter of Ethics or the provisions contained
in Article 18 of the New York State General Municipal Law. The Board
of Ethics shall also make recommendations as to any amendments to
this chapter upon the request and majority vote of the Town Board.
The opinions of the Board of Ethics shall be advisory and under no
circumstances shall the identity of the Town officer, official or
employee be disclosed except to authorized persons and agencies or
pursuant to a court order.
C.
Rules and regulations. The Board of Ethics shall promulgate its own
rules and regulations as to its form and procedures and shall maintain
appropriate records of its opinions and proceedings.
D.
All recommendations, advisory opinions and rules and regulations
of the Board of Ethics shall be kept in the Town Clerk's Office.
If any portion of this chapter shall be adjudged by a court
of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
portion thereof shall be deemed inoperative and the balance of the
code deemed to be in full force and effect.
Nothing herein shall be deemed to bar or prevent the timely
filing by a present or former Town official, officer or employee of
any claim, account, demand or suit against the Town or any agency
thereof on behalf of himself or any relative or household member arising
out of any personal injury or property damage or for any lawful benefit
authorized or permitted by law.
Compliance with this Code of Ethics shall be deemed a condition
of employment for all Town officials, officers and employees. The
Town Human Resources Department must promptly cause a copy of this
code, including any amendments, to be distributed to every person
who is or becomes an official, officer or employee of the Town of
West Seneca and a receipt of the same shall be signed by such official,
officer or employee. Such receipts shall be filed with Human Resources,
who shall supply the necessary forms, and a photocopy shall be filed
in the officer's or employee's personnel folder and with
the Board of Ethics.
This chapter shall become effective immediately upon its enactment
by the Town Board after proper filing, including filing with the office
of the State Comptroller and the office of the Secretary of State.
