Every officer and employee of the City or of any of its Boards
or Departments shall promptly and fully account for and deliver to
his successor or as otherwise directed by the Mayor and Council, all
money, equipment and other property of the City which he has in his
possession or has received from the City during his term of office
or employment. (Ref. 16-246 RS Neb.)
For purposes of this section officer shall mean (a) any member
of any Board or Commission of the Municipality, (b) any Appointed
Official if such Municipal Official (i) serves on a Board or Commission
which spends and administers its own funds and (ii) is dealing with
a contract made by such Board or Commission, or (c) any elected Municipal
Official. Unless specified otherwise, volunteer firefighters and ambulance
drivers shall not be considered officers for purposes of this section,
with respect to their duties as firefighters and ambulance drivers.
No officer of the Municipality shall be permitted to benefit
from any contract to which the Municipality is a party. The existence
of such an interest in any contract renders the contract voidable
by decree of a court of competent jurisdiction as to any person who
entered into the contract or took assignment thereof with actual knowledge
of the prohibited conflict. An action to have a contract declared
void under this section may be brought by the Municipality or by any
resident thereof and must be brought within one year after the contract
is signed or assigned. Any such decree may provide for the reimbursement
of any person for the reasonable value of all money, goods, material,
labor, or services furnished under the contract, to the extent that
the Municipality has benefited thereby. The prohibition in this section
shall apply only when the officer or his or her parent, spouse, or
child (a) has a business with which the individual is associated or
business association which shall mean a business: (1) in which the
individual is a partner, director, or officer or (2) in which the
individual or a member of the individual's immediate family is a stockholder
of a closed corporation stock worth $1,000 or more at fair market
value or which represents more than 5% equity interest, or is a stockholder
of publicly traded stock worth $10,000 or more at fair market value
or which represents more than 10% equity interest or (b) will receive
a direct pecuniary fee or commission as a result of the contract;
Provided however, if such officer (a) is an employee of the business
involved in the contract and (b) has no ownership interest or will
not receive a pecuniary fee such officer shall not be deemed to have
an interest within the meaning of this section.
The provisions of this section shall not apply if the interested
officer:
1.
Makes a declaration on the record to the Governmental Body responsible
for approving the contract regarding the nature and extent of his
or her interest, prior to official consideration of the contract;
2.
Does not vote on the matter of granting the contract, except that
if the number of members of the Board declaring an interest in the
contract would prevent the Board, with all members present, from securing
a quorum on the issue, then all members may vote on the matter; and
3.
Does not act for the Municipality as to inspection or performance
under the contract in which he or she has an interest.
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The receiving of deposits, cashing of checks, and buying and selling of warrants and bonds of indebtedness of any Municipality by a financial institution shall not be considered a contract under the provisions of this section. The ownership of less than 5% of the outstanding shares of a corporation shall not constitute an interest within the meaning of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections A through C above, if an officer's parent, spouse or child is an employee of the Municipality, the officer may vote on all issues of the contract which are generally applicable to all employees or all employees within a classification and do not single out his or her parent, spouse, or child for special action. If an officer has the power to employ personnel and he or she hires his or her parent, spouse, or child, such officer shall disclose the hiring pursuant to Subsections 1 through 5 below, except that if the parent, spouse, or child is already employed in the position at the time the officer takes office and such position does not change, no disclosure need be made. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any contract entered into with an interested officer shall be subject to applicable competitive bidding requirements and shall be fair and reasonable to the Municipality.
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The Municipal Clerk shall maintain, separately from other records, a ledger containing the information listed in Subsections 1 through 5 of this section about every contract entered into by the Municipality in which an officer has an interest as specified above for which disclosure is made as provided in Subsections A through C above. Such information shall be kept in the ledger for five years from the date of the officer's last day in office and shall include the:
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1.
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Names of the contracting parties;
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2.
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Nature of the interest of the officer in question;
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3.
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Date that the contract was approved by the Municipality involved;
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4.
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Amount of the contract; and
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5.
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Basic terms of the contract.
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The information supplied relative to the contract shall be provided
to the Clerk not later than 10 days after the contract has been signed
by both parties. The ledger kept by the Clerk shall be available for
public inspection during the normal working hours of the office in
which it is kept.
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An open account established for the benefit of any Municipality
or entity thereof, with a business in which an officer has an interest,
shall be deemed a contract subject to the provisions of this section.
The statement required to be filed pursuant to this section shall
be filed within 10 days after such account is opened. Thereafter,
the Clerk shall maintain a running account of all amounts purchased
on the open account. Purchases made from petty cash or a petty cash
fund shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
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Any officer who knowingly violates the provisions of Sections
49-14, 103.01 through 49-14,103.03 RS Neb., shall be guilty of a Class
III misdemeanor. Any officer who negligently violates Sections 49-14,
103.01 through 49-14, 103.03 RS Neb. shall be guilty of a Class V
misdemeanor.
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The Municipality may enact ordinances exempting from the provisions
of this section, contracts involving $100 or less in which an officer
of such Municipality may have an interest.
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No officer, including volunteer firefighters and ambulance drivers,
shall receive any pay or perquisites from the Municipality other than
his or her salary. The Governing Body shall not pay or appropriate
any money or other valuable thing to pay a person who is not an officer
for the performance of any act, service, or duty, which shall come
within the proper scope of the duties of any officer of the Municipality.
(Ref. 17-611, 18-305 through 18-312, 49-14,103.01 through 49-14, 103.03,
70-624.04 RS Neb.)
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The provisions of § 1-402 of this Code shall not apply to contracts involving $100 or less in which an Officer of the City may have an interest, and such Officer need not file for such contracts a disclosure statement provided for in said section.
