A. 
Public employment is a public trust, particularly when public funds are being expended. This article is intended to set organizational and behavioral guidelines for the manner in which employees should act in order to preserve and in furtherance of public trust and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Employees should also maintain a standard of conduct that will inspire public confidence in the integrity of the County. The County is committed to the responsible exercise of governmental authority and expressly prohibits all forms of impropriety, threats, favoritism and undue influence.
B. 
The provisions of this article supplement, but do not supersede, other provisions of law including, but not limited to, the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3100 et seq.), the Virginia Governmental Frauds Act (Code of Virginia, § 18.2-498.1 et seq.) and Article 2 (§ 18.2-438 et seq.) and Article 3 (§ 18.2-446 et seq.) of Chapter 10 of Title 18.2, Code of Virginia. The provisions of this article apply notwithstanding the fact that the conduct described may not constitute a violation of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act.
County employees1 must follow the following principles when doing their work (1Note: For the purpose of this article, the word "employee" includes both officers and employees of the County.):
A. 
Act in best interest of the public. Employees shall perform their official duties in such a manner as to promote the best interest of the members and general public at all times.
B. 
No additional value for service. Employees shall not solicit or accept money or other thing of value for services performed within the scope of their official duties, except the compensation, expenses or other remuneration paid by the agency of which they are an officer or employee. This prohibition shall not apply to the acceptance of special benefits that may be authorized by law. Furthermore, no employee shall offer or accept any money or other thing of value for or in consideration of obtaining employment, appointment or promotion of any person with any governmental or advisory agency.
C. 
No use of confidential information for own benefit. Employees shall not use for their own economic benefit or that of another party confidential information that they have acquired by reason of their public position and which is not available to the public.
D. 
No accepting of gifts that tend to influence. Employees shall not accept any money, loan, gift, favor, service or business or professional opportunity that reasonably tends to influence them in the performance of official duties. This subsection shall not apply to any political contribution actually used for political campaign or constituent service purposes and reported as required by Chapter 9.3 of Title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia.
E. 
No accepting of business opportunities intended to influence. Employees shall not accept any business or professional opportunity when they know that there is a reasonable likelihood that the opportunity is being afforded to influence the performance of official duties.
F. 
No accepting money for expertise or opinions within scope of duties. Employees shall not accept any honoraria for any appearance, speech or article in which the officer or employee provides expertise or opinions related to the performance of official duties. The term "honoraria" shall not include any payment for or reimbursement to such person for actual travel, lodging or subsistence expenses incurred in connection with such appearance, speech or article or in the alternative a payment of money or anything of value not in excess of the per-diem deduction allowable under § 162 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended from time to time.
G. 
No accepting gifts for influence. Employees shall not accept a gift from a person who has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties under circumstances where the timing and nature of the gift would cause a reasonable person to question the officer's or employee's impartiality in the matter affecting the donor. Any gift that is received by an employee as a result of the performance of their official duties that is sharable (fruit baskets, desert trays, product samples) should be shared among other County employees.
H. 
No accepting of frequent gifts. Employees shall not accept gifts from sources on a basis so frequent as to raise an appearance of the use of public office for private gain.
Explanatory note for Subsections G and H: Certain small gifts are de minimis under Virginia's Conflict of Interest Act and are allowed. The Conflict of Interest Act imposes a $100 per year limitation on the receipt of gifts from any person, organizations or businesses who contract with or are seeking to contract with the County. See Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3103.1. Gifts that are greater than $20 are aggregated toward the $100 annual limit. Therefore, it does not violate this policy to have one lunch or dinner with a contractor who pays for the check. However, multiple lunches or dinners which exceed $20 individually and $100 in the aggregate would violate this policy. Any gift that exceeds $100 must be returned.
I. 
No retaliating. Employees shall not use their public position to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against any person for expressing views on matters of public concern or for exercising any right that is otherwise protected by law.
J. 
No misrepresentations. No County employee having official responsibility for a procurement transaction shall knowingly falsify, conceal or misrepresent a material fact; knowingly make any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations; or make or use any false writing or document knowing it to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry.
K. 
Conserve County property. Employees shall protect and conserve County property and shall not use it for other than authorized activities.
L. 
No use of County property for personal benefit. The use of County equipment, machines, property or services for purposes other than County business is strictly prohibited; except, however, for a de minimis use. No employee shall authorize any work to be performed on any property owned by such employee, the employee's relatives or an individual with whom or business to which the employee has a financial interest.
M. 
Comply with laws and policies. Employees are expected to comply with all federal and state laws, grants and regulations and all County policies.
N. 
Additional considerations during pending or active procurements. During any pending or active procurement, employees should:
(1) 
Avoid and limit individual discussions with bidders and offerors; and
(2) 
Direct bidders and offerors to submit any questions about the procurement in writing to the Purchasing Agent.
A. 
Each employee with more than a de minimis personal interest in any contract or any prospective contract shall disqualify himself or herself from participating in the award or administration of that contract and shall file a disclosure of such personal interest with the County Administrator. In addition, if the County Administrator has a personal interest in a contract or prospective contract, he or she shall disclose such interest to the governing body.
B. 
No employee having official responsibility for a procurement transaction shall participate in that transaction on behalf of the County when the employee knows that:
(1) 
The employee is contemporaneously employed by a bidder, offeror or contractor involved in the procurement transaction;
(2) 
The employee, the employee's partner or any member of the employee's immediate family holds a position with a bidder, offeror or contractor such as an officer, director, trustee, partner or the like, or is employed in a capacity involving personal and substantial participation in the procurement transaction, or owns or controls an interest of more than 5%;
(3) 
The employee, the employee's partner or any member of the employee's immediate family has a pecuniary interest arising from the procurement transaction; or
(4) 
The employee, the employee's partner or any member of the employee's immediate family is negotiating, or has an arrangement concerning, prospective employment with a bidder, offeror or contractor.
No employee or former employee of the County having official responsibility for procurement transactions shall accept employment with any bidder, offeror or contractor with whom the employee or former employee dealt in an official capacity concerning procurement transactions for a period of one year from the cessation of employment by the County unless the employee or former employee provides written notification to the County Administrator prior to commencement of employment by that bidder, offeror or contractor.
A. 
No contractor or subcontractor shall demand or receive from any supplier or subcontractor, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order, any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is exchanged.
B. 
No subcontractor or supplier shall make, or offer to make, kickbacks as described in this section.
C. 
No person shall demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of value in return for an agreement not to compete on a public contract.
D. 
If a subcontractor or supplier makes a kickback or other prohibited payment as described in this section, the amount thereof shall be conclusively presumed to have been included in the price of the subcontract or order and ultimately borne by the County and will be recoverable from both the maker and recipient. Recovery from one offending party shall not preclude recovery from other offending parties.
No person who, for compensation, prepares an invitation to bid or request for proposal for or on behalf of the County shall (i) submit a bid or proposal for that procurement or any portion thereof or (ii) disclose to any bidder or offeror information concerning the procurement that is not available to the public. However, the Purchasing Agent may permit such person to submit a bid or proposal for that procurement or any portion thereof if he or she determines that the exclusion of the person would limit the number of potential qualified bidders or offerors in a manner contrary to the best interests of the County.
A. 
Except in cases of emergency, no building materials, supplies or equipment for any building or structure constructed by or for the County shall be sold by or purchased from any person employed as an independent contractor by the County to furnish architectural or engineering services, but not construction, for such building or structure, or from any partnership, association or corporation in which such architect or engineer has a personal interest as defined by this policy and Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3101.
B. 
Except in cases of emergency, no building materials, supplies or equipment for any building or structure constructed by or for the County shall be sold by or purchased from any person who has provided or is currently providing design services specifying a sole source for such materials, supplies or equipment to be used in the building or structure to the independent contractor employed by the County to furnish architectural or engineering services in which such person has a personal interest as defined by this policy and Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3101.
To assist in fostering a climate of ethical awareness, conduct and decision-making, employees may find it useful to refer, either by themselves or in consultation with their peers or supervisor, to the following five considerations:
A. 
Is the decision or conduct lawful?
B. 
Is the decision or conduct consistent with the County's policy and objectives?
C. 
What will the outcome be for the employee, work colleagues, the County, citizens and other parties?
D. 
Do these outcomes raise a conflict of interest or lead to private gain at public expense?
E. 
Can the decision or conduct be justified in terms of the public interest and would it withstand public scrutiny?
A. 
Employees may consult with the County Administrator with any questions as to the existence of a potential conflict of interest.
B. 
Any employee with a serious, well-founded reason to believe that another County employee has violated this policy may speak in confidence with the County Administrator about such concerns. The County Administrator shall promptly investigate such allegations and take appropriate actions if a problem is found to exist.
C. 
Any employee with a serious, well-founded reason to believe that the County Administrator has violated this policy may speak in confidence to the Chairman of the governing body about such concerns. The Chairman of the governing body shall promptly investigate such allegations and take appropriate actions if a problem is found to exist.
D. 
Employees presenting serious, well-founded concerns to either the County Administrator or the Chairman of the governing body are protected from retaliation by their superiors and co-workers. Any supervisor or co-worker attempting to retaliate will face discipline up to and including dismissal.
A willful violation of any provision of this article shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor under Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4377. Upon conviction, any County employee, in addition to any other fine or penalty provided by law, shall forfeit his or her employment.