Article 18 of the General Municipal Law prohibits the officers
and employees of a town from having certain conflicts of interest
and requires the Town Board to adopt a code of ethics that sets forth
for the guidance of its officers and employees standards of conduct
reasonably expected of them. The Henrietta Town Board recognizes that
officers and employees of the Town of Henrietta, New York, hold their
positions to serve and benefit the public, and not for obtaining unwarranted
personal or private gain in the exercise and performance of their
official powers and duties. In furtherance of this fundamental principle,
this Code of Ethics establishes clear and reasonable standards of
ethical conduct.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Town Board of the Town of Henrietta, New York, and any
other board of the Town (e.g., Planning Board, Zoning Board) which
requires a quorum to meet or otherwise has been formally established
by the Town of Henrietta.
This Code of Ethics.
A direct or indirect financial or material benefit accruing
to a Town officer or employee or relative, but does not include any
benefit arising from the provision or receipt of any services generally
available to the residents or taxpayers of the Town. A Town officer
or employee is deemed to have an interest in any private organization
when he or she, his or her spouse, or a member of his or her household
is an owner, partner, member, director, officer, employee, or directly
or indirectly owns or controls more than 5% of the organization's
outstanding stock.
A spouse, domestic partner, parent, stepparent, sibling,
stepsibling, sibling's spouse, child, stepchild, uncle, aunt, nephew,
niece, first cousin, or household member of a Town officer or employee,
and individuals having any of these relationships to the spouse or
domestic partner of the officer or employee.
The Town of Henrietta, New York.
A paid or unpaid officer or employee of the Town of Henrietta,
whether serving in a full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary or
advisory capacity, including, but not limited to, the members of any
board.
This Code applies to the officers and employees of the Town.
The provisions of this Code shall apply in addition to all applicable
state and local laws and judicial precedents relating to conflicts
of interest and ethics, including, but not limited to, Article 18
of the General Municipal Law, and all rules, regulations, policies
and procedures of the Town.
A.
Prohibition on use of Town position for personal or private gain.
No Town officer or employee shall use his or her Town position or
official powers and duties to secure a financial or material benefit
for himself or herself, a relative, or any private organization in
which he or she has an interest as defined in this Code.
B.
Investments and interests in contracts in conflict with official
duties.
(1)
No Town officer or employee may directly or indirectly acquire or
hold investments in any financial, business, commercial or other private
transaction that creates a conflict with the person's official duties
or that would otherwise impair the person's independence of judgment
in the exercise or performance of his or her official powers and duties.
(2)
No Town officer or employee may directly or indirectly acquire or
hold investments that can be reasonably expected to require more than
sporadic recusal and abstention.
(3)
Except as provided in § 802 of the General Municipal Law
of New York:
(a)
No Town officer or employee shall have an interest in any contract
with the Town when such officer or employee, individually or as a
member of a board, has the power or duty to:
(b)
No chief fiscal officer, treasurer, or his deputy or employee
shall have an interest in a bank or trust company designated as a
depository, paying agent, registration agent or for investment of
funds of the Town.
(c)
Should a Town officer or employee wish to enter into a contract
with the Town that would not be prohibited by this section, said person
may first have the proposed arrangement assessed by the Board of Ethics.
(d)
The provisions of this section shall in no event be construed
to preclude the payment of lawful compensation and necessary expenses
of any Town officer or employee in one or more positions of public
employment, the holding of which is not prohibited by law.
(4)
This section does not prohibit a Town officer or employee from acquiring
any other investments or the following assets:
C.
Disclosure of interest in legislation, investments, contracts and
other matters; recusal and abstention.
(1)
Whenever a matter requiring the exercise of discretion comes before
a Town officer or employee, either individually or as a member of
a board, and disposition of the matter could result in a direct or
indirect financial or material benefit to himself or herself, a relative,
or any private organization in which he or she is deemed to have an
interest, the Town officer or employee shall disclose, in writing,
the nature of the interest. Any disclosure made by a board member
shall be made publicly at a meeting of the board and must be included
in the minutes of the meeting, in which case a separate writing will
not be required. All other disclosures shall be made to the officer
or employee's supervisor.
(2)
The disclosure shall be made when the matter requiring disclosure
first comes before the Town officer or employee, or when the Town
officer or employee first acquires knowledge of the interest requiring
disclosure, whichever is earlier.
(3)
No Town officer or employee may participate in any decision or take
any official action with respect to any matter requiring the exercise
of discretion, including discussing the matter and voting on it, when
he or she knows or has reason to know that the action could confer
a direct or indirect financial or material benefit on himself or herself,
a relative, or any private organization in which he or she is deemed
to have an interest. In the event that this section prohibits a municipal
officer or employee from exercising or performing a power or duty:
(a)
If the power or duty is vested in a municipal officer as a member
of a board, then the power or duty shall be exercised or performed
by the other members of the board; or
(b)
If the power or duty that is vested in a municipal officer individually,
then the power or duty shall be exercised or performed by his or her
deputy or, if the officer does not have a deputy, the power or duty
shall be performed by another person to whom the officer may lawfully
delegate the function.
(c)
If the power or duty is vested in a municipal employee, he or
she must refer the matter to his or her immediate supervisor, and
the immediate supervisor shall designate another person to exercise
or perform the power or duty.
(4)
D.
Private employment and agreements in conflict with official duties.
No Town officer or employee, during his or her tenure as a Town officer
or employee, may engage in any private employment, including the rendition
of any business, commercial, professional or other types of services,
when the employment:
(1)
Can be reasonably expected to require more than sporadic recusal
and abstention;
(2)
Can be reasonably expected to require disclosure or use of confidential
information gained by reason of serving as a Town officer or employee;
(3)
Involves receiving, or entry into any agreement, express or implied,
for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter
before the officer or employee, including the employee's board or
department where he is employed, or a board or department over which
he has jurisdiction or to which he has the power to appoint, hire
or terminate any member, officer or employee; or
(4)
Involves receiving, or entry into any agreement, express or implied,
for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter
before the Town, whereby his compensation is to be dependent or contingent
upon any action by the Town with respect to such matter, provided
that this subsection shall not prohibit the fixing at any time of
fees based upon the reasonable value of the services rendered;
(5)
Requires representation of a person or organization other than the
municipality in connection with litigation, negotiations or any other
matter to which the municipality is a party.
E.
Future employment.
(1)
No municipal officer or employee may ask for, pursue or accept a
private post-government employment opportunity with any person or
organization that has a matter requiring the exercise of discretion
pending before the municipal officer or employee, either individually
or as a member of a board, while the matter is pending or within the
30 days following final disposition of the matter.
(2)
No municipal officer or employee, for the two-year period after serving
as a municipal officer or employee, may represent or render services
to a private person or organization in connection with any matter
involving the exercise of discretion before the municipal office,
board, department or comparable organizational unit for which he or
she serves.
(3)
No municipal officer or employee, at any time after serving as a
municipal officer or employee, may represent or render services to
a private person or organization in connection with any particular
transaction in which he or she personally and substantially participated
while serving as a municipal officer or employee.
F.
Use of Town resources. No Town officer or employee may use or permit
the use of Town resources for personal or private purposes, except
as authorized by law or Town policy.
G.
Nepotism. No Town officer or employee, either individually or as
a member of a board, may participate in any decision specifically
to appoint, hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative from
any position at, for or within the Town or a Town board; nor supervise
a relative in the performance of the relative's official powers or
duties. However, this section shall not be deemed to apply to any
employment or supervisory arrangement preexisting Code adoption.
H.
Confidential information. No Town officer or employee who acquires
confidential information in the course of exercising or performing
his or her official powers or duties may disclose or use such information
unless the disclosure or use is required by law or in the course of
exercising or performing his or her official powers and duties.
I.
Gifts.
(1)
No Town officer or employee shall directly or indirectly solicit
any gift.
(2)
No Town officer or employee shall accept or receive any gift having
a value of $75 or more, whether in the form of money, service, loan,
travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or in any other
form, when the gift reasonably could be expected or inferred to be
intended to influence the officer or employee in the exercise or performance
of his or her official powers or duties or as a reward for any official
action on the part of the officer or employee.
(3)
This section does not prohibit:
(a)
Gifts made to the municipality;
(b)
Gifts from a person with a family or personal relationship with
the officer or employee when the circumstances make it clear that
the personal relationship, rather than the recipient's status as a
municipal officer or employee, is the primary motivating factor for
the gift (i.e., such as a birthday gift from a spouse);
(c)
Unsolicited advertising or promotional material of little intrinsic
value, such as pens, pencils, notepads, and calendars;
(d)
Awards and plaques having a value of $75 or less which are publicly
presented in recognition of service as a municipal officer or employee
or other service to the community;
(e)
Meals and refreshments provided when a municipal officer or
employee is a speaker or participant at a job-related professional
or educational conference or program and the meals and refreshments
are made available to all participants; or
(f)
Gifts, fees or compensation related to the solemnization of
marriages.
(4)
No Town officer or employee shall directly or indirectly compel or
induce a subordinate Town officer or employee to make, or promise
to make, any political contribution, whether by gift of money, service
or other thing of value.
(5)
No Town officer or employee may act or decline to act in relation
to appointing, hiring or promoting, discharging, disciplining, or
in any manner changing the official rank, status or compensation of
any municipal officer or employee, or an applicant for a position
as a Town officer or employee, on the basis of the giving or withholding
or neglecting to make any contribution of money or service or any
other valuable thing for any political purpose.
J.
Personal representations and claims permitted. This Code shall not
be construed as prohibiting a Town officer or employee from representing
himself or herself, or his or her relative, before the Town; or asserting
a claim against the Town on his or her own behalf or on behalf of
his or her relative.
A.
The Town Supervisor or designee shall promptly cause a copy of this
Code to be distributed annually to every person who is or becomes
a Town officer and/or employee. An amendment to the Code shall be
distributed within 10 days following the date on which the amendment
takes effect.
B.
Every Town officer or employee who receives a copy of this Code or
an amendment to the Code must acknowledge such receipt in writing.
Such annual acknowledgments must be filed with the Town Clerk, who
shall maintain such acknowledgments as a public record.
C.
Neither the failure to distribute this Code or an amendment to it,
nor a Town officer or employee to receive a copy, shall affect either
the applicability or enforceability of the Code or the amendment.
In addition to any penalty contained in any other provision
of state or local law, inclusive of (but not limited to) any provisions
at General Municipal Law Article 18, any Town officer or employee
who violates this Code may be censured, fined, suspended or removed
from office or employment in a manner provided by law.
