All official boards, commissions, and committees of the City
are to formally review the following Code of Ethics provided in this
chapter with their members annually during their first meeting in
the month of April. New members are to be provided a copy of the Code
of Ethics for their review when they are appointed or elected to each
board, commission, or committee.
(1437 § 1, 1975; 2813 § 1, 2012)
The proper operation of municipal government requires that public
officials and employees be independent, impartial, and responsible
to the people; that governmental decisions and policy be made in the
proper channels of the governmental structure; and that public office
not be used for personal gain.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
Public officials are all elective officials of the City and
the members of all official boards, commissions, and committees of
the City. Public officials and employees are bound to uphold the Constitution
of the United States and the Constitution of the State and to carry
out the laws of the nation, state, and municipality. Public officials
and employees are bound to observe in their official acts the highest
standards of morality and to discharge faithfully the duties of their
offices, regardless of personal considerations; recognizing that the
public interest must be their primary concern, and that conduct in
both their official and private affairs should be above reproach.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
Public officials and employees should not exceed their authority
or breach the law or ask others to do so, and they should work in
full cooperation with other public officials and employees unless
prohibited from so doing by law or the officially recognized confidentiality
of their work.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
Preferential consideration of the request or petition of any
individual citizen or group of citizens shall not be given. No person
shall receive special advantages beyond that which are available to
any other citizen.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
No public official or employee shall request or permit the use
of City-owned vehicles, equipment, materials, or property for personal
convenience or profit, except when such services are available to
the public generally or are provided as municipal policy for the use
of such public official or employee in the conduct of official business.
No public official or employee shall use the time of any City employee
during working hours for personal convenience or profit.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
A.
Conflict
with proper discharge of duties. No public official or employee, while
serving as such, shall have any interest, financial or otherwise,
direct or indirect, or engage in any business or transaction or professional
activity, or incur any obligation of any nature that is in substantial
conflict with the proper discharge of his or her duties in the public
interest and of his or her responsibilities as prescribed by law.
B.
Incompatible
employment. No public official or employee shall accept other employment
that he or she has reason to believe will either impair his or her
independence of judgment as to his or her official duties or require
him or her or induce him or her to disclose confidential information
acquired by him or her in the course of and by reason of his or her
official duties.
C.
Disclosure
of confidential information. No public official or employee shall
willfully and knowingly disclose for pecuniary gain to any other person
confidential information acquired by him or her in the course of and
by reason of his or her official duties nor shall any public official
or employee use any such information for the purpose of pecuniary
gain.
D.
Conflict
of interest. A conflict of interest exists in a matter before a public
official for consideration or determination if:
1.
The
public official has a substantial financial or substantial personal
interest in the outcome or as owner, member, partner, officer, employee,
or stockholder of any corporation or other professional enterprise
that will be affected by the outcome, and such interest is or may
be adverse to the public interest in the proper performance of governmental
duties by the public official;
2.
The
public official has reason to believe or expect that he or she will
derive direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss, as the
case may be, by reason of his or her official activity;
3.
The
public official, because of bias, prejudice, or because he or she
has prejudged a matter set for public hearing, is incapable because
of such bias, prejudice or prejudgment of granting to the matter before
him or her a fair and impartial hearing.
4.
Personal
interest as distinguished from financial interest is defined as including,
among other matters, an interest arising from blood or marriage relationships,
or close business association.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
A.
Any
Councilmember who has a conflict of interest as defined herein, in
any matter before the City Council, shall disclose such fact on the
record of the City Council and refrain from participating in any discussion
of voting thereon, provided that such exceptions shall be observed
as are required by law.
B.
Any
member of any official board, commission, or committee who has a conflict
of interest as defined herein in any matter before the board, commission,
or committee of which he or she is a member, shall disclose such fact
on the record of such board, commission, or committee and refrain
from participating in any discussion or voting thereon, provided that
such exceptions shall be observed as are required by law.
C.
Any
employee who has a financial or other special interest in a matter
before the City Council or any board, commission, or committee and
who participates in discussion with, or gives an official opinion
to the City Council, or to such board, commission, or committee relating
to such matter, shall disclose on the record of the City Council or
such board, commission, or committee, as the case may be, the nature
and extent of such interest.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
Public officials and employees of the City shall comply with
applicable provisions of state law relative to conflicts of interest
and generally regulating the conduct of public officials and employees.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
The violation of any provision of this chapter shall be:
A.
As to
all City employees, grounds for dismissal from City employment;
B.
As to
any appointed position on any board, commission, or committee, grounds
for removal from any such board, commission, or committee;
C.
As to
any prosecution of any elected public official, the City Council shall
make findings of fact by at least a vote of three City Councilmembers
that an elected public official has, in fact, violated this chapter
as a prerequisite to prosecution.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
This chapter and its application are intended to be supplemental
to and consistent with all applicable state laws.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, is punishable as provided in Section 1.04.010 of this Code.
(1301 § 1, 1972; 2813 § 1, 2012)
