The proper operation of government requires that public officials
and public employees be independent, impartial and responsible to
the people; that governmental decisions and policies be made free
from undue influence and in the proper channels of governmental structure;
that governmental office and employment not be used for unauthorized
personal gain; that governmental officials and employees strive to
avoid the appearance of impropriety; and that the public have confidence
in the integrity of its government. The purpose of this Code of Ethics
is to set forth standards of ethical conduct to guide elected officials,
employees, board and commission members of the Town of Marlborough
in the conduct of their public responsibilities and to develop and
maintain a tradition of responsible and effective public service.
In recognition of these goals, this Code of Ethics is established
pursuant to authority granted to the Town by Connecticut General Statutes
§ 7-148h, as amended.
A.
Establishment. As authorized by Chapter X of the Charter of the Town
of Marlborough and Section 7-148h, as amended, of the Connecticut
General Statutes, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) shall establish a voluntary
Office of Ethics (OE) consisting of two members, regardless of party
affiliation, and a clerical position. Selection of the members will
be based on "best qualified" and shall serve at the pleasure of the
Board of Selectmen, with no designated term limit. Members must be
residents of the Town of Marlborough. Except for the clerical position,
no member of the OE shall be employed by the Town; have been employed
by the Town for a period of two years prior to being appointed to
the OE; hold or seek any Town office; have campaigned for any other
person seeking a Town office within the past two years; have held
any state or Town office for a period of two years prior to being
appointed to the OE; serve as a member of another board or commission;
hold office in a political party or political committee; or have been
found in violation of any state, local or professional code of ethics.
B.
Organization and procedure. The OE shall designate a Chairman and
Vice Chairman and shall establish its own rules and procedures, which
shall be available to any elector of the Town upon request to the
OE. The first rules and procedures shall be established within three
months of the date this chapter becomes effective. The need to maintain
confidentiality to protect the privacy of public officials, employees
and consultants shall be considered when establishing the rules and
procedures. It shall keep records of its meetings and shall hold meetings
at the call of the Chairman and at such other times as it may determine.
C.
Powers and duties.
(1)
The OE shall render advisory opinions with respect to the applicability
of the Code of Ethics to specific situations to any agency or any
official, employee or consultant/contractor pursuant to a written
request or upon its own initiative. The OE may also issue guidelines.
Such opinions and guidelines, until amended or revoked, shall be binding
on the OE, and reliance upon them in good faith is an absolute defense
in any action brought under the provisions of this chapter. Any request
or opinion, the disclosure of which invades the personal privacy of
any individual [as that term is used in Connecticut General Statutes
Section 1-19(b)(2), as amended, by the Connecticut Freedom of Information
Commission and the courts], shall be kept confidential in a personnel
or similar file and shall not be subject to public inspection or disclosure.
The OE may make available to the public any advisory opinions that
do not invade an individual's privacy and may take other appropriate
steps to increase public awareness of this Code of Ethics.
(2)
The public may initiate complaints alleging a violation of this
Code of Ethics using the Town of Marlborough Ethics Complaint Form
(Attachment 1). The OE itself may also initiate such a complaint.
The OE shall have the power to investigate alleged violations concerning
the application of this Code. As required by Section 7-148h(a) of
the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, the provisions of Section
1-82(a) through (c) of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended,
shall apply to all investigations held under this chapter (see Attachment
2). If the OE determines that there is probable cause, it shall inform
the respondent by certified mail of a pending investigation and continue
the investigation and hold such further interviews as may be necessary.
If the OE determines that the respondent has, in fact, violated the
provisions of this Code based on a preponderance of evidence (rather
than beyond a reasonable doubt), it shall file a Memorandum of Findings
with the Board of Selectmen, except with respect to individuals under
the jurisdiction of the appropriate board of education, in which case,
the Memorandum of Findings shall be filed with that board of education.
In the case of a consultant, it shall also be filed with the contracting
agency.
(3)
If an official, employee or consultant who is the subject of
a complaint under investigation leaves office or employment after
filing of the complaint against them, but before resolution of the
complaint, the OE shall have the power to continue investigation of
the complaint. If an ethics complaint is filed against a former Town
of Marlborough official, employee, board member, commission member
or consultant within 90 days after he/she has left employment for
the Town, the OE shall have the power to initiate an investigation.
(4)
A substantiated violation of the Code shall be presented in
a memorandum of findings to the respondent and the Board of Selectmen
or Board of Education for action they may deem appropriate in accordance
with their respective responsibilities under the law. Such actions
may include, but are not limited to, public censure, reprimand, suspension,
demotion, removal, or dismissal of officials, employees and consultants
as applicable. No such recommendation shall limit the authority of
the Board of Selectmen or the Board of Education under the Charter
of the Town of Marlborough or under any ordinance, statute or any
other law, and the actions hereunder shall be supplemental to any
authority the Board of Selectmen or Board of Education has under any
ordinance, statute or any other law. Any discussion by the Board of
Selectmen, Board of Education or contracting agency of an individual
affected by said memorandum of findings shall be in executive session,
unless the individual affected requests that such discussion be held
in open session.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have
the indicated meanings:
All boards, commissions, authorities and committees of the
Town of Marlborough, including the Board of Education, but not including
a Town Meeting.
Any nonfinancial interest or special treatment that is not
common to other citizens of the Town. An individual's beneficial
interests shall include the beneficial interests of all members of
his/her family.
The Town of Marlborough has a local board of education and
four participant members on the Regional Board of Education.
Information, whether transmitted orally or in writing, that
is obtained by an official or employee by reason of his/her public
position and is of such nature that, at the time of transmission,
it is not a matter of public record.
Any independent contractor or professional person or firm
that is engaged by and receives compensation from any agency for the
purpose of providing scientific, technical or other specialized opinion
to such agency and is in a position to influence any decision of an
agency, official or employee.
Includes all persons, including but not limited to officers
and supervisors, employed by the Town and encompasses all persons,
including but not limited to officers and supervisors, employed by
the Board of Education.
Any interest that has a monetary value of $100 or more or
generates a financial gain or loss of $100 or more in a calendar year;
and is not common to the other citizens of the Town. An individual's
financial interests shall include the financial interests of all members
of his/her family but shall not include any duly authorized compensation
from the Town.
Includes Town employees and all persons who are members of
a board(s), commission(s) or any other agencies pertaining to or in
collaboration with the Town of Marlborough.
A.
This Code of Ethics shall be incorporated into all contracts entered
into by an agency and/or a consultant.
B.
Persons or firms who are engaged by and receive compensation from
other entities, such as the state or federal government, and who are
in a position to influence any decision of an agency, official or
employee shall be guided by this Code of Ethics. The Office of Ethics,
upon complaint or its own motion, may make recommendations to the
entity employing such persons.
Except as otherwise required by law, no official, employee or
consultant shall disclose, without proper authorization, confidential
information, nor shall be/she use such information to advance his/her
financial or beneficial interests or the financial or beneficial interests
of others. This section shall not be used to restrict the release
of information that is properly available to the public.
No official, employee or consultant may inappropriately use
his/her position to influence a decision affecting a financial interest
or a beneficial interest in his/her favor or in favor of any other
person, to include family members, or entity.
A.
No official, employee or consultant or any member of his/her immediate family nor any agency, employee organization or group of employees shall solicit or accept any valuable gift (reference Subsection B of this section), whether in the form of a service, a loan at a less than a commercially reasonable rate, a material thing or a promise, from any person or entity who or which is interested directly or indirectly in any business transactions or pending matters that are within the purview of such prospective recipient's official responsibilities. No official or employee shall accept any special favor, treatment, consideration or advantage beyond that which is generally available to citizens of the Town from any person who, to the official or employee's knowledge, is interested directly or indirectly in any business transactions or pending matters that are within his/her official responsibilities. For purposes of this section, pending matters include, but are not limited to, applications to agencies, bids for work to be performed, applications for employment and bids for the furnishing of supplies, equipment or other items.
B.
The Office of Ethics shall formulate guidelines for delineating gifts
and favors deemed not to be of value in order to avoid de minimis
situations. Such guidelines shall become effective upon adoption by
the Board of Selectmen.
C.
This section shall not apply to a political contribution otherwise
reported as required by law.
Without proper authorization, no official, employee or consultant
shall grant any special consideration, treatment or advantage to any
citizen beyond that which is available to every other citizen.
A.
An official or employee or consultant has a conflict of interest
when he/she engages in or participates in any transaction, including
private employment and the rendering of private services, that is
incompatible with the proper discharge of his/her official responsibilities
in the public interest or would tend to impair his/her independent
judgment or action in the performance of his official responsibilities.
B.
An official or employee or consultant has a financial interest or
beneficial interest that is incompatible with the proper discharge
of his/her official responsibilities in the public interest if he/she
has reason to believe or expect that he/she will derive such interest
by reason of his/her performance of his/her official responsibilities.
C.
An official or employee or consultant does not have a financial or
beneficial interest that is incompatible with the proper discharge
of his/her official responsibilities in the public interest if any
such interest accrues to him/her as a member of a business, profession,
occupation or group to no greater extent than it accrues to any other
member of the business, profession, occupation or group that he/she
represents. This does not relieve an individual from his/her obligation
to refrain from voting on any matter that would directly benefit his/her
business, profession, occupation, group or family as required by this
Code of Ethics of the Charter of the Town of Marlborough and General
Statutes Section 7-148h(b), as amended.
A.
Any official, employee or consultant who has a financial or beneficial
interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, transaction or decision
within the purview of his/her official responsibilities shall disclose
that interest in writing to the OE. Such disclosure also shall be
provided, in the case of an official, to the agency of which the official
is a member, and, in the case of an employee or consultant, to the
agency by which he/she is employed or has been retained. Such disclosure
may disqualify the official, employee or consultant from participation
in the matter, and violation of this section may be grounds for removal
by the appropriate agency in accordance with applicable law.
B.
No official, employee or consultant shall appear on behalf of any
private person or party before any agency in connection with any cause,
proceeding, application or other matter in which he/she has a financial
or beneficial interest without first disclosing such interest to the
agency, which shall record such disclosure in the record of the agency's
proceeding. The Secretary or Clerk of said agency shall notify the
Selectmen-Chair and, in the case of an official or employee of the
Board of Education, the Chairman of the Board of Education, and the
Office of Ethics in writing of such disclosure within three business
days.
A.
No official or employee shall engage in self-employment or accept
private employment or render services for private interest when the
employment or services: are incompatible with the proper discharge
of his/her official duties; or would tend to impair his/her independence
of judgment or action in the performance of his/her official duty.
No consultant shall engage in employment or render services for interests
other than the Town when such employment or services: are incompatible
with the proper discharge of his/her consulting duties; or would tend
to impair the independence of his/her judgment or action on the matter
for which he/she has been engaged by the Town.
B.
No former official, employee or consultant shall appear on behalf
of any private person or other entity before any agency with which
he/she previously was employed or affiliated for a period of one year
after the termination of his/her public service or employment. Such
an individual may be relieved of his/her duty to refrain from such
appearance upon written application to the Office of Ethics, which
office shall review the written application and relevant facts.
C.
Subsections B, C and D of this section shall not prohibit any current or former official, employee or consultant from appearing before any agency on his/her own behalf or on behalf of members of his/her family. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, officials are strongly discouraged from appearing before their own agency unless extenuating circumstances exist. When in doubt, an official should seek an opinion from the Office of Ethics prior to appearing before his/her own agency.
D.
An official should not appear before, or participate in the proceeding
of, another agency in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Section
8-11 or 8-21, as amended, or any other provision of the General Statutes.
E.
To avoid the appearance of impropriety, an official, not otherwise
prohibited, shall exercise care when appearing before other agencies
and shall disclose whether he/she is appearing in his/her official
capacity or as a private citizen.
A.
Every official shall sign by the authority of the Board of Selectmen and file with the Town Clerk an acknowledgement form, supplied by the Town Clerk, indicating his/her awareness of the provisions of this Code of Ethics and the guidelines issued thereunder of the Charter of the Town of Marlborough before being sworn into office and again thereafter every two years as per Subsection C below. The OE shall adopt and implement a procedure for monitoring compliance with the aforesaid filing requirement.
B.
On or before being retained by an agency, every consultant shall sign and file with the agency by which he/she is retained an acknowledgment form, supplied by the Town Clerk, indicating his/her awareness of the provisions of this Code of Ethics, the guidelines thereunder and Section 10.9 of this Code of Ethics of the Charter of the Town of Marlborough and General Statutes Section 7-148h(b), as amended. The OE shall adopt and implement a procedure for monitoring compliance with the aforesaid filing requirement.
C.
Employees.
(1)
The OE shall adopt and implement a plan for making all employees, other than persons who are employed by the Board of Education, aware of the provisions of this Code of Ethics, the guidelines issued thereunder Section 10.9 of this Code of Ethics of the Charter of the Town of Marlborough and General Statutes Section 7-148h(b), as amended. The plan adopted by the OE shall contain a provision requiring that department heads review such provisions with all such employees at an interval to be determined by the Board of Selectmen. The plan shall be completed within 90 days after the adoption of this Code of Ethics, and a copy of the plan shall be filed with the Office of Ethics upon its adoption.
(2)
Every employee, other than persons employed by the Board of Education, shall execute an acknowledgment form, supplied by the Town Clerk, indicating the employee's awareness of the provisions of this Code of Ethics, the guidelines issued thereunder and Section 10.9 of this Code of Ethics of the Charter of the Town of Marlborough and General Statutes Section 7-148h(b), as amended as follows:
(a)
New employees shall execute the form at the time of employment and thereafter in accordance with Section 10.12, Subsections C(2) and (2)(b) below.
(b)
Current employees shall execute the form within 60 days after
the adoption of the procedure set forth in Subsection C(1) above and
thereafter at intervals specified by the OE, but in no event shall
such intervals be less frequent than a period of two years from the
date of signing the last acknowledgement form.
