There is hereby created and established a Board
of Ethics consisting of five members and two associate members appointed
by the City Council.
All members shall be appointed for terms of
three years each. All associate members shall be appointed for terms
of three years each. Each member and associate member shall serve
until their successor is appointed and qualified. All members must
be residents of the City of Bangor. No member shall serve more than
two complete consecutive terms.
[Amended 5-12-2008 by Ord. No. 08-153]
No member or associate member of the Board shall
hold any other City office or position or be the member of any City
agency to which the City Council shall have appointing authority,
except that any person that works as a part-time employee for the
City of Bangor less than 200 hours during any calendar year may serve
on the Board.
The Board shall establish such rules as it may
determine to be necessary to govern its procedures. In addition, the
Board shall at all times maintain in the office of the City Clerk
appropriate records of its opinions and proceedings.
[Amended 10-23-2017 by Ord. No. 17-367]
The Board shall make findings of fact and render
opinions to the City Council concerning application of the provisions
of this code to any particular situation. In the performance of its
duties, the Board shall limit its review and fact finding to those
issues referred to it by the City Council. The Board shall also make
annual recommendations for necessary revisions to this code and shall
perform such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time by
the City Council. In the event the Board has no recommendations for
revisions to this code, the Chair of the Board shall issue a report
to the City Council advising them of such.
A.
Any City Councilor, board member or commission member
seeking advice as to whether a particular situation constitutes an
actual or potential violation of this code shall first submit a written
statement in the form of a Council order describing the nature of
the matter to the City Council. If the Council feels that an advisory
opinion is necessary, it shall adopt the order, by majority vote,
referring the matter to the Board. A tie vote on the order shall also
cause the matter to be referred to the Board.
(1)
Upon referral of a question, the Board shall have
the power to request voluntary statements from all persons concerned
and to review all records on file with the City of Bangor or other
public agencies. All Board hearings shall be conducted in accordance
with rules of procedure to be adopted by the Board. The Board may
conduct any fact finding and deliberations in executive session as
provided in 1 M.R.S.A. § 405, Subsection 6A.
(2)
Upon conclusion of its fact finding and deliberations,
the Board of Ethics shall issue written findings with respect to each
matter and question referred to it. If the Board finds any matter
referred to it to have been based upon allegations it determines to
have been frivolous, unfounded or with malice, it shall so advise
the Council.
(3)
It is the purpose and intent of this code to provide
a mechanism by which all such matters may be handled in an orderly
and impartial fashion in such a manner as to protect the best interests
of the citizens of the City of Bangor.
B.
Employee conflicts. Upon referral, the Board of Ethics
may render advisory opinions with respect to potential or prospective
conflicts of interest involving City employees. However, allegations
of past or present misconduct involving alleged violations of this
code by City employees shall not be reviewed by the Board but shall
be referred for disposition in accordance with the City's established
employee disciplinary procedures.
A.
All members shall attend an annual orientation meeting
to be scheduled during the month of January of each calendar year.
B.
The Board shall meet at least quarterly and, prior
to December 31 of each calendar year, shall prepare and submit to
the City Council an annual report outlining its doings during the
preceding twelve-month period.
