(a)
The
citizens and businesses within Odessa are entitled to a fair, ethical,
and accountable local government body. To this end, the public should
have full confidence that their elected officials:
(1)
Comply with both the letter and spirit of the laws and policies affecting
the operations of government;
(2)
Are independent, impartial and fair in their judgment and actions;
(3)
Use their public office for the public good, not for personal gain;
(4)
Conduct public deliberations and processes openly, unless required
by law to be confidential, in an atmosphere of respect and civility;
and
(5)
Conduct their public deliberations and processes in accordance with
transparency, uniformity, and consistency.
(b)
The
city council has adopted this code of ethics and conduct for elected
officials for councilmembers of the city council to conduct themselves
in accordance with the following ethical standards:
(1)
Act in the public interest.
Recognizing that stewardship
of the public interest must be their primary concern, councilmembers
will work for the common good of the people of the city, and they
will assure fair and equal treatment of all persons, claims, and transactions
that come before them.
(2)
Comply with both the spirit and letter of the law and city policy.
Councilmembers of the city council (hereinafter “councilmembers”)
shall comply with the laws of the nation, the state, and the city
in the performance of their public duties. These laws include, but
are not limited to: the United States and Texas Constitution; state
laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, election campaigns, financial
disclosures, employer responsibilities, and open processes of government;
city charter, ordinances, and policies.
(3)
Conduct of councilmembers.
The professional and personal
conduct of councilmembers while exercising their office must be above
reproach and avoid any sense or appearance of impropriety. Councilmembers
shall refrain from abusive conduct, or verbal attacks upon the character
or motives of other councilmembers, council appointees, boards, and
committees, the staff or public.
(4)
Respect for process.
Councilmembers shall perform their
duties in accordance with the processes and rules of order established
by the city council governing the deliberation of public policy issues,
meaningful involvement of the public, and implementation of policy
decisions of the city council by city staff.
(5)
Conduct at public meetings.
Councilmembers shall prepare
themselves for public issues, listen courteously and attentively to
all public discussions before the body, and focus on the business
at hand. Councilmembers shall refrain from interrupting other speakers;
making personal comments not germane to the business of the body;
or otherwise interfering with the orderly conduct of meetings.
(6)
Decisions based on merit.
Councilmembers shall base
their decisions on the merits and substance of the matter at hand,
rather than on unrelated considerations. When making adjudicative
decisions (those decisions where the member is called upon to determine
and apply facts particular to an individual case), councilmembers
shall maintain an open mind until the conclusion of the hearing on
the matter and shall base their decisions on the facts presented at
the hearing and the law.
(7)
Communication.
Councilmembers shall publicly disclose
any substantive information that is relevant to a matter under consideration
by the body which they may have received from sources outside of the
public decision-making process.
(8)
Conflict of interest.
(A)
In order to assure their independence or impartiality on behalf of
common good and compliance with conflict of interest laws, councilmembers
shall use their best efforts to refrain from creating a sense or appearance
of impropriety in their actions and decisions.
(B)
Chapter 171 of the Texas Local Government Code regulates local public
officials’ conflicts of interest. Councilmembers are prohibited
from voting or participating on a matter involving a business entity
or real property in which the official has a substantial interest
if an action on the matter will result in a special economic effect
on the business that is distinguishable from the effect on the public,
or in the case of a substantial interest in real property, it is reasonably
foreseeable that the action will have a special economic effect on
the value of the property, distinguishable from its effect on the
public.
(C)
Councilmember who has a substantial interest in an action, business
entity, or real property is required to file, before a deliberation,
vote or decision on any matter involving the action, business entity
or real property, an affidavit with the city secretary’s office,
stating the nature and extent of the interest. The affidavit is a
state-created form that is available from the city attorney’s
office, and must be filed within seven (7) days of when the councilmember
becomes aware that the matter is under consideration by the city.
In addition, a councilmember is required to abstain from further participation
in the matter. However, a councilmember that is required to file an
affidavit is not required to abstain from participating in the matter
if a majority of the councilmembers of the governing body have a substantial
interest and are required to file and do file affidavits of similar
interests on the same official matter.
(9)
Gifts and favors.
(A)
Councilmembers shall not take any special advantage of services or
opportunities for personal gain, by virtue of their public office
that is not available to the public in general. They shall refrain
from accepting any gifts, favors or promises of future benefits, which
might compromise their independence of judgment or action or give
the appearance of being compromised.
(B)
Councilmembers shall not solicit, accept, or agree to accept a gift
or favor from any individual or firm doing business with, or whose
business or property is the subject of any application to, or regulatory
process of, the city. Additionally, councilmembers shall not solicit,
accept, or agree to accept a gift or favor from an individual or firm
interested in or likely to become interested in any regulatory matter
or transaction involving the exercise of the councilmember’s
official duties.
(C)
A councilmember, or any business entity in which the councilmember
has a substantial interest, may not:
(i)
Solicit, accept, or agree to accept a gift as consideration
for the councilmember’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote,
or other exercise of discretion as a city official;
(ii)
Accept or solicit any gift, favor, service, or thing of value,
including a promise of future employment, of sufficient economic value
that it might reasonably tend to influence a Councilmembers in the
discharge of that councilmember’s official duties.
(D)
In the event such a benefit or gift is received, the councilmember
shall notify the city manager for disclosure and inventory by the
city. The city manager may donate the gift to a governmental entity
that has the authority to accept the gift, or may donate the gift
to a recognized tax-exempt charitable organization. If the gift is
not donated, it should be returned. If it would not be possible or
practical to return it, and so as not to accept the actual benefit,
the councilmember shall notify the city manager who will distribute
the item to a charitable or social services type organization.
(E)
In the event a question arises as to the acceptance of a benefit
or gift received, the councilmember may contact the city attorney’s
office for a written legal opinion.
(F)
The exceptions to this rule are as follows:
(i)
Any gift or benefit which the councilmember receives in a capacity
other than as a councilmember;
(ii)
Any gift or benefit conferred on account of a kinship or personal
relationship independent of the city;
(iii)
Any gift or benefit of a de minimis value;
(iv)
Expenses that are customarily shared by business or professional
persons at the time of and in connection with the transaction of business
and are so trivial that they pose little risk of affecting the councilmember’s
impartiality;
(v)
Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the city or any councilmember
to confer a gift or benefit on another provided it is not done for
reasons of influence;
(vi)
Food items can be displayed at a convenient location for all
to share; or
(vii)
Gifts that have been reviewed by the city manager and approved
as also being of general benefit to the city.
(10)
Confidential information.
Councilmembers shall respect
the confidentiality of information concerning the property, personnel,
or affairs of the city. Councilmembers must maintain the confidentiality
of all written materials and verbal information provided, which is
confidential and privileged. Councilmembers shall neither disclose
confidential information without proper legal authorization, nor use
such information to advance their personal, financial, or other private
interests.
(11)
Use of public resources.
Councilmembers shall not use
public resources which are not available to the public in general,
such as city staff time, equipment, facilities, or supplies, for private
gain or personal, political purposes. Any councilmembers desiring
such use of city resources for public meetings shall first obtain
approval from the council at a duly called, posted council meeting.
(12)
Representation of private interests.
In keeping with
their role as stewards of the public interest, councilmembers shall
not appear on behalf of the private interests of third parties before
the council or any board, committee, or proceeding of the city, nor
voluntarily participate on behalf of others in any litigation to which
the city is, or might be, an adverse party.
(13)
Advocacy.
Councilmembers shall represent the official
policies or positions of the city council to the best of their ability
when designated as delegates for this purpose. When presenting their
individual opinions and positions, councilmembers shall explicitly
state they do not represent their body or the city, nor will they
allow the inference that they do.
(14)
Policy role of councilmembers.
Councilmembers shall
respect and adhere to the council-manager structure of the city government
as outlined by the city charter. In this structure, the city council
determines the policies of the city with the advice, information,
and analysis provided by the public, boards, committees, and city
staff. Except as provided by the city charter, councilmembers shall
not interfere with the administrative functions of the city or the
professional duties of city staff. Further, councilmembers shall not
impair the ability of the staff to implement council policy decisions.
(15)
Independence of boards and committees.
Because of the
value of the independent advice of boards and commissions to the public
decision-making process, councilmembers shall refrain from using their
position to unduly influence the deliberations or outcomes of board
and commission proceedings.
(16)
Positive work place environment.
Councilmembers shall
support the maintenance of a positive and constructive work place
environment for city employees and for citizens and businesses dealing
with the city. Councilmembers shall recognize their special role in
dealings with city employees to in no way create the perception of
inappropriate direction to staff. If councilmembers have questions
about staff performance, those concerns should be first shared with
all other councilmembers.
(Ordinance 2019-55 adopted 11/12/19)
(a)
The
city charter provides detailed information on the roles and responsibilities
of councilmembers, the mayor pro tem, and the mayor. The city’s
code of ethics and conduct provides guidance on ethical issues. This
code of ethics and conduct is designed to describe the manner in which
councilmembers should treat one another, city staff, citizens, and
others they come into contact with in representing the city.
(b)
The
constant and consistent theme through all of the conduct guidelines
is “respect.” Councilmembers experience significant workloads
and amounts of stress in making decisions that could impact thousands
of lives within the city. Despite these pressures, elected officials
are called upon to exhibit appropriate behavior. Demonstrating respect
for each individual through words and actions is the touchstone that
can help guide councilmembers to do the right thing in even the most
difficult situations.
(1)
Elected officials’ conduct with each other in public meetings.
Elected officials are individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds,
personalities, values, opinions, and goals. Despite this diversity,
all have chosen to serve in public office in order to preserve and
protect the present and future of the community. In all cases, this
common goal should be acknowledged even though individuals may not
agree on every issue.
(A)
Honor the role of the chair in maintaining order.
It
is the responsibility of the chair to keep the comments of members
on track during public meetings. Councilmembers should honor efforts
by the chair to focus discussion on current agenda items. If there
is a disagreement about the agenda or the chair’s actions, those
objections should be voiced politely and with reason, following the
general rules of parliamentary procedure, as stated within the city
code.
(B)
Practice civility and decorum in discussions and debate.
Difficult questions, tough challenges to a particular point of view,
and criticism of ideas and information are legitimate elements of
a free democracy in action. Free debate neither requires, nor justifies
public officials to make belligerent, personal, impertinent, slanderous,
threatening, abusive, or disparaging comments. Any physical actions
that could be construed as threatening will not be tolerated.
(C)
Avoid personal comments that could offend other members.
If a councilmember is personally offended by the remarks of another
councilmember, the offended councilmember should make a note of the
actual language used and call for a “point of order” that
challenges the other councilmember to justify or apologize for the
language used. The chair has the inherent authority to maintain control
of this discussion, calling for courtesy and respect of all those
involved.
(D)
Demonstrate effective problem-solving approaches.
Councilmembers
have a public stage, with the responsibility to show how individuals
with disparate points of view may find common ground and seek compromises
that benefit the community as a whole.
(2)
Elected officials’ conduct with the public in public meetings.
Making the public feel welcome is an important part of the democratic
process. No signs of partiality, prejudice or disrespect should be
evident on the part of individual members toward an individual participating
in a public forum. Every effort should be made to be fair and impartial
in listening to public testimony.
(A)
Be welcoming to speakers and treat them with care and gentleness.
While questions of clarification may be asked, the official’s
primary role during public testimony is to listen.
(B)
Be fair and equitable in allocating public hearing time to individual
speakers.
The chair will determine and announce limits
on speakers at the start of the public hearing process. No speaker
will be turned away unless he or she exhibits inappropriate behavior.
(C)
Practice active listening.
It is disconcerting to speakers
to have councilmembers not look at them when they are speaking. It
is fine to look down at documents or to make notes but councilmembers
should refrain from doing anything that gives the appearance of disinterest.
Councilmembers shall try to be conscious of facial expressions.
(D)
Maintain an open mind.
Councilmembers of the public
deserve an opportunity to influence the thinking of elected officials.
(E)
Ask for clarification, but avoid debate and argument with the public.
Only the chair may interrupt a speaker during a presentation.
However, a councilmember may ask the chair for a point of order if
the speaker is off the topic or exhibiting behavior or language the
councilmember finds disturbing.
(3)
Elected officials’ conduct with city staff.
Governance
of a city relies on the cooperative efforts of elected officials,
who set policy, appointed officials who advise the elected, and city
staff who implement and administer the council’s policies. Therefore,
every effort should be made to be cooperative and show mutual respect
for the contributions made by each individual for the good of the
community.
(A)
Treat all staff as professionals.
Clear, honest communication
that respects the abilities, experience, and dignity of each individual
is expected. Poor behavior towards staff is not acceptable.
(B)
Do not disrupt city staff from their jobs.
Councilmembers
should not disrupt city staff while they are in meetings, on the phone,
or engrossed in performing their job functions in order to have their
individual needs met. Do not attend city staff meetings unless requested
by staff - even if the councilmember does not say anything, his or
her presence implies support, shows partiality, may intimidate staff,
and hampers staff’s ability to do their job objectively.
(C)
Never publicly criticize an individual employee.
Councilmembers
should never express concerns about the performance of a city employee
in public, to the employee directly, or to the employee’s manager.
Comments about staff performance should only be made to the city manager
through private correspondence or conversation.
(D)
Do not get involved in administrative functions.
Councilmembers
acting in their individual capacity must not attempt to influence
city staff on the making of appointments, awarding of contracts, selecting
of consultants, processing of development applications, or granting
of city licenses and permits.
(E)
Do not solicit political support from staff.
Councilmembers
should not solicit any type of political support (financial contributions,
display of posters or lawn signs, name on support list, etc.) from
city staff. City staff may, as private citizens with constitutional
rights, support political candidates but all such activities must
be done away from the workplace. The use of the city’s email
system for political purposes or communications is not allowed.
(F)
No attorney-client relationship.
Councilmembers shall
not seek to establish an attorney-client relationship with the city
attorney, including his or her staff and attorneys contracted to work
on behalf of the city. The city attorney represents the city and not
individual councilmembers. Councilmembers who consult with the city
attorney cannot enjoy or establish an attorney-client relationship
with the attorney.
(4)
City council conduct with boards and committees.
The
city has established several boards and commissions as a means of
gathering more community input. Citizens who serve on boards and commissions
become more involved in government and serve as advisors to the city
council. They are a valuable resource to the city’s leadership
and should be treated with appreciation and respect.
(A)
If attending a board or commission meeting, be careful about personal
opinions.
Councilmembers may attend any board or commission
meeting, which are always open to any member of the public. However,
they should be sensitive to the way their participation, especially
if it is on behalf of an individual, business or developer, could
be viewed as unfairly affecting the process. Any public comments by
a councilmember at a board or commission meeting should be clearly
made as individual opinion and not as a representation of the feelings
of the entire city council.
(B)
Limit contact with board and commission members to questions of clarification.
It is inappropriate for a councilmember to contact a board or
commission member to lobby on behalf of an individual, business, or
developer, and vice versa. It is acceptable for councilmembers to
contact board or commission members in order to clarify a position
taken by the board or commission.
(C)
Remember that boards and commissions serve the community, not individual
councilmembers.
The city council appoints individuals
to serve on boards and commissions, and it is the responsibility of
boards and commissions to follow policy established by the council;
but board and commission members do not report to individual councilmembers,
nor should councilmembers feel they have the power or right to threaten
board and commission members with removal if they disagree about an
issue. Appointment and re-appointment to a board or commission should
be based on such criteria as expertise, ability to work with staff
and the public, and commitment to fulfilling official duties. A board
or commission appointment should not be used as a political “reward.”
(D)
Be respectful of diverse opinions.
A primary role of
boards and commissions is to represent many points of view in the
community and to provide the council with advice based on a full spectrum
of concerns and perspectives. Councilmembers may have a closer working
relationship with some individuals serving on boards and commissions
but must be fair and respectful of all citizens serving on boards
and commissions.
(E)
Keep political support away from public forums.
Councilmembers
may support board and commission members who are running for office
but not in an official forum in their capacity as a councilmember.
(Ordinance 2019-55 adopted 11/12/19)
(a)
Public disruption.
Councilmembers who do not follow
proper conduct after a warning in a public meeting may be barred from
further testimony at that meeting or removed from the council chambers.
(b)
Inappropriate staff behavior.
Councilmembers should
refer to the city manager any city staff or to the council appointee
any appointee’s staff who do not follow proper conduct in their
dealings with councilmembers, other city staff, or the public. These
employees may be disciplined in accordance with standard city procedures
for such action; if it is determined such action did occur. (Please
refer to the section on council conduct with city staff for more details
on interaction with staff.)
(c)
Behavior and conduct:
(1)
Compliance and enforcement.
The code of ethics and conduct
expresses standards of ethical conduct expected for councilmembers.
Councilmembers have the primary responsibility to assure that ethical
standards are understood and met, and that the public can continue
to have full confidence in the integrity of the government. The city
council, has the additional responsibility to intervene when actions
of any appointed or elected officials appear to be in violation of
this code.
(2)
Councilmembers.
(A)
Councilmembers who intentionally and repeatedly do not follow proper
conduct may be reprimanded or formally censured by the council, and
be removed from committee assignments (both within the city and intergovernmental
agencies) by the council.
(B)
Councilmembers should point out to the offending councilmember any
perceived infractions of the ethics policy. If the offenses continue,
then the matter should be placed on a council agenda in closed session
under the provisions of section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code.
(C)
The affected councilmember may request that the complaint be considered
in a public meeting. A copy of the complaint in writing shall be provided
to the affected councilmember. At such meeting, the city attorney
shall present in detail to the city council the nature of the complaint
and the city attorney’s findings and conclusions as to a possible
violation of this code of conduct.
(D)
The affected councilmember shall have the right to a full and complete
hearing before the city council with the opportunity to call witnesses
and present evidence in such person’s behalf. The non-implicated
city councilmembers in attendance shall conduct a hearing in open
session and review the complaint. The city council may reject the
complaint and take no action or take action to formally reprimand
or censure the offending councilmember.
(E)
A violation of this code of conduct, alone, shall not constitute
a basis for challenging the validity of a council decision.
(Ordinance 2019-55 adopted 11/12/19)
As an expression of the standards of conduct for councilmembers
expected by the city, the code of conduct is intended to be self-enforcing.
It therefore becomes most effective when councilmembers are thoroughly
familiar with it and embrace its provisions. For this reason, this
document shall be included in the regular orientations for candidates
for city council and newly elected councilmembers. Councilmembers
entering office shall sign a statement affirming they read and understood
the City of Odessa Code of Conduct. In addition, the city council
shall annually review the code of conduct, and the city council shall
consider recommendations and update it as necessary.
(Ordinance 2019-55 adopted 11/12/19)
