The following words or phrases shall have the following meanings:
CAMPAIGN For the purposes of this chapter, "campaign" shall refer to those activities as are restricted in §
35-5C.
[Added 8-7-2007 by Ord. No. 238]
COMMISSION North Branford
Ethics Commission as established in §
35-5 herein.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Oral or written information, obtained by an official in the course of performing his or her duties and is not, at the time of transmission, a matter of public record or knowledge.
FINANCIAL INTEREST A direct or indirect personal interest having a value of more than $50, to an official or a member of his or her immediate family and which is an interest distinct from that of the public at large.
GENERAL PUBLIC Ordinary people, especially all the people who are not members of a particular organization or who do not have any special type of knowledge.
GIFT Any thing or group of things, including but not limited to loan, promise, service, entertainment, food, beverage, travel, and lodging, given or paid to the extent that consideration of equal value is not received by the donor having an aggregate monetary value in excess of $50 in any calendar year. "Gift" shall also include any thing or benefit, regardless of its monetary value, perceived or intended by either the donor or the person to whom it is offered to be of sufficient value to influence an official in the performance or nonperformance of his or her duties.
IMMEDIATE FAMILY Any parent, child, spouse, parent or child of said spouse, spouse of any child, grandchildren or cohabitating person of an official irrespective of whether or not any of the foregoing persons reside in the official's household.
OFFICIAL Any person holding elective or appointive office in the government of the Town as a regular or alternate member on the Town Council, Board of Education, or any council, board, commission, committee or agency, including, but not limited to Town Council, Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation and Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, Permanent Project Building Committee, Registrars of Voters, Board of Fire Commissioners, Police.
PERSON Any individual, entity, corporation, limited liability company, association, partnership, or political entity.
PERSONAL INTEREST A direct or indirect interest having a pecuniary or nonpecuniary value peculiar to an official, which is not shared by the general public or is not in furtherance of an official governmental duty.
POLITICAL PARTY An organization of voters formed to influence the government's conduct and policies by nominating and electing candidates to public office. In the Town of North Branford, which has traditionally maintained a two-party system, political party refers to either the Democratic or Republican party.
PROBABLE CAUSE Trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to justify a reasonable person to believe that a violation of the Code may have transpired.
No official shall use or authorize the use of Town funds, services, property, equipment, owned or leased vehicles, or materials for a personal interest, except when such use or authorization is provided in conformance with established Town policies for the official Town business.
[Amended 8-7-2007 by Ord. No. 238]
A. There is hereby created an Ethics Commission which shall be charged with the administration of the Code of Ethics and its enforcement as provided herein. The Commission shall be comprised of five resident electors and appointed by a two-thirds-majority vote of the Town Council. No more than two members shall be of the same political party. The Town Council may appoint as aforesaid and designate two additional members as alternates, no more than one of whom shall be of the same political party or be unaffiliated. Of the five members initially appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, two for terms of two years and two for terms of three years. All subsequent and alternate (if any are made) appointments shall be for a term of three years. Said Commission shall elect a Chair who shall preside over the call of its meetings and a Vice Chair who shall perform the Chair's duties in his or her absence.
B. No member of such Commission shall:
(1) Be a Town employee or employee of the Board of Education or have served as any such employee within two years of such appointment.
(2) Have held public (state) office or have been a candidate (or campaigned for another) for such public office for a two-year period prior to appointment.
(3) Hold office in any political party or political committee or any organization or association organized primarily for the purpose of influencing legislation or decisions of public agencies.
(4) Serve as an official or have served as an official as herein defined, or campaigned for an official, for a two-year period prior to appointment.
(5) Be a party to any contract to do business with the Town.
C. Although any member of the Commission shall have an unrestricted right to vote, make political contributions or attend fundraising or other political events, no Commission member shall publicly support any candidate for any municipal office subject to the Commission's jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, volunteering as a campaign worker, giving a speech at a political event or formally endorsing a candidate, or posting a sign at his/her home or business.
D. No candidate for municipal office may disseminate information that indicates that a Commission member supports the candidate's candidacy.
The Commission meetings shall be governed by standard rules of parliamentary procedure. The Commission shall adopt rules of procedures and regulations which it deems necessary to carry out the intent of this chapter, and said rules and any amendments thereto shall be filed in the Office of the Town Clerk and available for public inspection.
An Official may submit a written request for an advisory opinion to the Chair of the Commission. The Commission shall render a written advisory opinion based upon this chapter within 30 days of said written request. The Commission shall file its advisory opinion with the Town Clerk, but shall delete references to the identity of the official or any other party.
The Commission shall report annually, on or before February 1, to the Town Council summarizing the activities of the Commission.
Any complaint of an alleged violation of this chapter must be received by the Town Clerk within one year from the date of the alleged violation.
In order that all public officials are aware of what constitutes ethical conduct in the operations of the government of the Town of North Branford, the Town Clerk shall cause a copy of this Code of Ethics to be distributed to each and every official of the Town within 60 days after the enactment of this Code. Each Official shall be furnished a copy before entering the duties of his office at the time of being sworn in and sign a statement stating that he or she has received a copy of this chapter.
If any section, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of the remaining portions of this chapter or any part thereof.