[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Harrison 9-21-1966 by L.L. No. 1-1966. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Village Code of Ethics — See Ch. 5.
The proper operation of the town government
requires that its officers and employees be independent, impartial
and responsible to the people of Harrison; that public office not
be used for personal gain; that public officers and employees maintain
the highest standards of morality and discharge faithfully the duties
of their office, regardless of personal consideration; and that the
public has confidence in the integrity of its government and the officers
and employees thereof. In recognition of these goals, there is hereby
established a Code of Ethics for all officers and employees of the
Town of Harrison. In the event of any conflict between the provisions
of this chapter and the provisions of Article 18 of the General Municipal
Law, the latter shall control.
[Amended 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
When used in this chapter and unless otherwise
expressly stated or unless the context otherwise requires, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any claim, account or demand against or agreement with the
Town of Harrison, express or implied, and shall include the designation
of a depository of public funds and the designation of an official
newspaper.
A pecuniary or material benefit accruing to an officer or
employee as the result of a business or professional transaction with
the Town of Harrison. For the purposes of this chapter, an officer
or employee shall be deemed to have an "interest" in the affairs of
his spouse, minor children and dependents; a firm, partnership or
association of which such officer or employee is a member or employee;
a corporation of which such officer or employee is an officer, director
or employee; and a corporation any stock of which is owned or controlled,
directly or indirectly, by such officer or employee.
Any officer or employee of the Town of Harrison, whether
paid or unpaid, including members of any administrative board, commission
or other agency thereof. No person shall be deemed an "officer" or
"employee" solely by reason of being a volunteer fireman or civil
defense volunteer, except a Chief Engineer of Assistant Chief Engineer.
The Town of Harrison, a municipal corporation, and the geographical
environs thereof where the context warrants, and said corporation
shall include any agency, authority, board, bureau, commission, department,
office, entity or other subdivision of local municipal government
and any fire protection district, park, parking, recreation, sewer,
sidewalk, street, water or other improvement district of the Town
of Harrison created by law or having any personnel or governing body
appointed by the Supervisor or Town Board. However, the "Town of Harrison"
shall not include the Westchester Joint Water Works, except any member
of the Board of the Westchester Joint Water Works appointed by the
Supervisor or Town Board of the Town of Harrison.
[Amended 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison,
New York, shall:
A.
Knowingly 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 which is in conflict
with or might reasonably tend to conflict with the proper discharge
of his duties in the public interest.
B.
Act as attorney, director, broker, agent, representative
or employee for any person, firm or corporation interested, directly
or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, in business or professional
dealings with the town unless full disclosure is made as to such interest
to the Town Board, in writing, and such officer or employee disqualifies
himself from acting in his official capacity in matters affecting
such person, firm or corporation.
C.
Accept other employment or engage in any business
transactions or have any interest, directly or indirectly, which conflicts
with the proper discharge of public duties.
[Amended 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990; 7-16-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020]
No officer or employee of the Town shall represent
private interests before any department, board, commission or agency
of the Town nor represent private interests in any action or proceeding
against the interests of the Town or in any litigation to which the
Town is a party. The preceding sentence shall not preclude any officer
or employee from appearing in the performance of their official duties.
In keeping with Article 18 of the General Municipal Law, a municipal
officer or employee serving on one of the Town's various boards, commissions
or agencies shall not appear on behalf of an applicant before the
board, commission or agency of which they are an officer upon any
matter for which they have entered into any agreement, express or
implied, whether for compensation or not, for services rendered or
to be rendered, in relation to such matter. Additionally, no such
appearance may be made by such officer or employee by surrogate or
substitute including upon any matter in which work is prepared by,
but not identified as work of such officer or employee. However, officers
or employees may appear on behalf of an applicant before a Town department,
board, commission or agency, other than the one upon which they serve,
provided that they fully disclose on the record their position within
the Town, fully disclose on the record their interest in such application,
and further provided that their compensation (if any) for such appearance
or application participation is not dependent or contingent upon any
particular action being taken by such department, board, commission
or agency with respect to such matter. Additionally, this shall not
preclude any officer or employee from appearing before any department,
board, commission or agency of the Town, including the one of which
they are a member, upon any matter in which such officer or employee
is appearing on their own behalf as the applicant or interested resident
provided they fully disclose on the record their position within the
Town.
Any member of the Town Board who has a direct
or indirect financial or other private interest in any matter before
the Town Board, or any officer or employee who has a direct or indirect
financial or other private interest in any matter before the Town
Board and who participates in the discussion before, makes a recommendation
to or gives an opinion to the Board on that matter, shall publicly
disclose on the official record of the Town Board the nature and extent
of such interest.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison,
whether paid or unpaid, shall accept any valuable gift, whether in
the form of service, loan, thing or promise or any other form, from
any person, firm or corporation which, to his or her knowledge, is
interested, directly or indirectly, in any matter whatsoever in business
dealings with the Town of Harrison; nor shall any such officer or
employee accept any gift, favor or thing of value that may tend to
influence him or her in the discharge of his or her duties or grant,
in the discharge of his or her duties, any improper favor, service
or thing of value.
An officer or employee of the town shall abstain
from making personal investments in enterprises which he or she has
reason to believe may be directly involved in decisions to be made
by him or her or which will otherwise create conflict between his
or her public duty and his or her private interest and shall refrain
from passing upon any questions in which he or she or any member of
his or her immediate family has an interest which might reasonably
be deemed to create such a conflict.
A.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison, whether
paid or unpaid, shall accept employment or engage in any business
or professional activity which will require him or her to disclose
confidential information which he or she has gained by reason of his
or her official position or authority.
B.
No officer or employee of the town shall disclose
confidential information acquired by him or her in the course of his
or her official duties or use such information to further his or her
personal interests or the private interests of others.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison
shall accept other employment which will impair his or her independence
of judgment in the exercise of his or her official duties.
A.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison shall
use or attempt to use his or her official position to secure unwarranted
privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or others or grant
any special consideration, treatment or advantage to any citizens
beyond that which is available to every other citizen.
B.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison shall,
by his or her conduct, give reasonable basis for the impression that
any person can unduly influence him or her improperly or enjoy his
or her favor in the performance of his or her official duties or that
he or she is affected by kinship, rank, position or influence by any
party or person.
A.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison shall
direct or cause any officer or employee of the town to do or perform
any service or work outside of public work or employment or accept
any such service or work, nor shall any officer or employee of the
Town of Harrison offer to perform any such service or work for such
officer or employee.
B.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrision shall
request or permit the use of town-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 town policy
for the use of such officer or employee in the conduct of official
business.
C.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison shall
solicit or be solicited, directly or indirectly, to contribute, donate,
give or grant any moneys or property to any Town of Harrison political
party, political campaign or political office.
[Added 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
D.
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison shall,
while holding such office or so employed, be an officer or district
leader of any political party or an officer of any political club
in the Town of Harrison. Elected officials shall be exempt from this
prohibition.
[Added 2-19-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986;
amended 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990; 6-15-2017 by L.L. No. 3-2017]
No officer or employee of the Town of Harrison
shall solicit, negotiate for or promise to accept employment by any
person, firm or corporation with which he or she or his or her department,
office or agency is engaged, on behalf of the Town of Harrison, in
the transaction of business which is or may be affected by his or
her official action.
[Added 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990[1]]
No person may serve as Supervisor, as a member
of the Town Board or as a member of the Board of Ethics and, during
the same time period, also serve as a member of either the Architectural
Review Board, the Planning Board, the Board of Assessment Review or
the Zoning Board of Appeals. Furthermore, no person may serve, during
the same time period, as a member of more than one of the following:
[Added 6-20-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
If a person is a member of the Architectural
Review Board, the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Appeals or the
Board of Assessment Review and a designating petition is filed pursuant
to Article 6 of the Election Law, designating such person as a candidate
for a position on the Town Board or as Supervisor, or he or she is
nominated by a political party to seek election to a position on the
Town Board or as Supervisor or any written or verbal notice of his
or her candidacy for such position is published, such filing, nomination
or publication shall be cause for his or her removal from membership
on such Board.
The Town Clerk shall cause a copy of Article
18 of the General Municipal Law and this chapter to be distributed
to every officer and employee of the Town of Harrison.
A.
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall
constitute cause for removal from office or employment or other disciplinary
action as provided by law.
B.
Any person who shall knowingly and intentionally violate
any of the foregoing provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, forfeit his office and be punished for and as a misdemeanor.
A.
In accordance with § 808 of the General
Municipal Law of the State of New York, there is hereby created and
established a Board of Ethics consisting of five members, one of whom
shall be the Supervisor, and the remaining four members shall be appointed
by the Supervisor of the Town of Harrison with the consent and approval
of the Town Board of the Town of Harrison.
B.
Except for the Supervisor, the remaining members shall
not hold any other town office and shall serve without compensation
for terms of five years.
C.
The Board of Ethics shall elect a Chairman from among
its members.
D.
The attorney representing the municipality shall be
a member ex officio of the Board of Ethics.
The Board of Ethics shall render advisory opinions
of specific situations to officers and employees of the town with
respect to Article 18 of the General Municipal Law and any Code of
Ethics adopted pursuant thereto. Such advisory opinions shall be rendered
pursuant to the written request of any such officer or employee under
such rules and regulations as the Board may deem advisable and shall
have the approval of the Town Board of the Town of Harrison, New York;
and the opinions of the Board shall be confidential, and in no event
shall the identity of the officer or employee be disclosed except
to the Town Board of the Town of Harrison.
The Board of Ethics, upon its formation, shall
promulgate its own rules and regulations as to its form and procedures
and shall, at all times, maintain appropriate records of its opinions
and proceedings.
