Whenever a Village officer or employee is required to recuse
himself or herself under this chapter, he or she: (1) shall promptly
inform his or her immediate supervisor, if any, and the Board of Ethics;
and (2) shall promptly file with the Village Clerk a signed statement
disclosing the reason for recusal or, if a member of a board or commission
that maintains a public record of its proceedings, shall promptly
state that information upon the public record of the board or commission.
A.
Where a Village officer or employee, or his or her spouse, knows
that he or she has or will have an interest in any actual or proposed
contract, purchase agreement, lease agreement, or other agreement,
including oral agreements, with the Village, the officer or employee
shall publicly disclose the nature and extent of that interest in
writing to his or her immediate supervisor and to the Board of Ethics
as soon as he or she has knowledge of the actual or prospective interest.
B.
For purposes of this disclosure requirement:
(1)
The term "contract" shall mean any claim, account or demand against
or agreement with the Village, express or implied; and
(2)
A Village officer or employee shall be deemed to have an interest
in the contract of his or her relative or household member, and any
private organization when he or she, or his or her relative is an
owner, partner, member, director, officer, employee or directly or
indirectly owns or controls more than 5% of the organization's
equity or debt, whether in the form of outstanding stock or otherwise.
A.
Every application, petition, or request submitted for a variance,
amendment, change of zoning, approval of a plat, exemption from a
plat or official map, license or permit, pursuant to the provisions
of any local law, rule or regulation constituting the zoning and planning
regulations of the Village shall state the name, residence, and the
nature and extent of the interest of any officer of the state, or
any officer or employee of the County of Suffolk, the Town of Brookhaven,
or the Village in the person, partnership or association making the
application, petition or request to the extent known.
B.
For the purpose of this disclosure requirement, an officer of the
state, or an officer or employee the County of Suffolk, the Town of
Brookhaven, or the Village shall be deemed to have an interest in
the applicant when he or she, his or her spouse, domestic partner,
or their brothers, sisters, parents, children, grandchildren, or the
spouse of any of them:
(1)
Is the applicant, or
(2)
Is an officer, director, partner, or employee of the applicant, or
(3)
Legally or beneficially owns or controls stock of a corporate applicant
or is a member of a limited liability company, partnership, or association
applicant, except that ownership of less than 5% of the stock of a
publicly traded corporation shall not constitute an interest for the
purposes of this disclosure requirement, or
(4)
Is a party to an agreement with such an applicant, express or implied,
whereby he or she will receive any payment or other benefit, whether
or not for such services rendered, dependent or contingent upon the
favorable approval of such application, petition or request.
A.
Persons required to file annual statements of financial disclosure.
The following Village officers and employees (individually and collectively,
"reporting person") shall file an annual statement of financial disclosure
with the Board of Ethics:
B.
Policymaking positions. For the purposes of this section, a person
shall be considered to hold a policymaking position if he or she exercises
responsibilities of a broad scope in the formulation of plans for
the implementation of goals or policy for a local agency or acts as
an advisor to an individual in such a position. In determining whether
a person holds a policymaking position, the following factors shall
be considered, applied to the powers and duties of the position as
set forth in the job description or any applicable law or regulation
as well as the actual duties performed by the person:
(1)
Whether the position permits meaningful input into the governmental
decision-making process on issues where there is room for principled
disagreement on goals or their implementation;
(2)
Whether the powers and duties of the position are broadly defined
and require more than the exercise of simple ministerial competence;
(3)
Whether the position permits the person to exercise control over
other officers or employees;
(4)
Whether the position involves the establishment of priorities or
the development of programs;
(5)
Whether the position requires or authorizes the conducting of studies
or entails a significant degree of involvement in the preparation
of budgets or budget requests for a local agency or municipality;
(6)
Whether the position authorizes the person to speak on behalf of
local elected officials or other policymakers;
(7)
Whether the position entails frequent contact with local elected
officials or their principal deputies.
C.
Form of statement.
(1)
All reporting persons shall file a disclosure statement in the form
annexed hereto as Appendix A, as such form may be modified from time
to time by resolution of the Village Board of Trustees.
(2)
The Board of Ethics shall recommend any amendments to the forms of
financial disclosure statement that it deems warranted or that may
be required by law, and shall submit such recommended amendments,
in the form of a resolution, to the Village Board of Trustees for
consideration.
D.
Time for filing. Reporting persons shall file financial disclosure
statements with the Board of Ethics on or before May 15 of each year.
E.
Designation of officers and employees required to file annual disclosure
statements.
(1)
Within 90 days after the effective date of this chapter, and no later
than April 15 of each year thereafter, the Office of the Mayor shall:
(i) cause to be filed with the Board of Ethics a list of the names
and offices or positions of all officers and employees of the Village
required to file annual disclosure statements pursuant to this chapter;
and (ii) notify all such officers and employees of their obligation
to file an annual disclosure statement.
(2)
Any person designated as a person required to file an annual disclosure
statement solely by reason of holding of a policymaking position as
that term is used in this chapter may apply to the Board of Ethics
for reconsideration of his or her filing status and the Board of Ethics
may, upon reconsideration, grant an exemption from filing based upon
the criteria set forth herein.
F.
Maintenance and public inspection of disclosure statements.
(1)
The Village Clerk shall transmit promptly to the Board of Ethics
each disclosure statement filed with the Clerk pursuant to this chapter.
(2)
All statements filed with the Board of Ethics shall be available
for public inspection and copying; except that:
(a)
The Board of Ethics may, on its own initiative, to the extent
permitted by the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the New
York Public Officers Law) withhold from public disclosure particular
information, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy; or
(b)
A reporting person may request that such information be withheld
from public disclosure, and the Board of Ethics, in its discretion,
may grant such request to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information
Law (Article 6 of the New York Public Officers Law).
G.
Review of lists and disclosure statements.
(1)
The Board of Ethics shall review:
(a)
The lists of officers and employees required to file annual
disclosure statements pursuant to this chapter, to determine whether
the lists are complete and accurate. The Board of Ethics shall add
the name of any other officer or employee which the Board of Ethics
determines should appear on the list and shall remove the name of
any officer or employee which the Board of Ethics determines should
not appear on the list.
(b)
All annual disclosure statements to determine whether any person
required to file such a statement has failed to file it, has filed
a deficient statement, or has filed a statement that reveals a possible
or potential violation of this chapter.
(c)
All transactional disclosure statements.
(d)
All applicant disclosure statements.
(2)
If the Board of Ethics determines that an annual disclosure statement,
a transactional disclosure statement, or an applicant disclosure statement
is deficient or reveals a possible or potential violation of this
chapter, the Board of Ethics shall notify the person in writing of
the deficiency, or possible or potential violation and of the penalties
for failure to comply with this chapter.
