[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of the Town of Henlopen Acres 1-8-1993.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as "The Town of Henlopen Acres Code of Conduct."
This chapter shall be applicable to all elected and appointed officials
and to all employees of the Town of Henlopen Acres.
It is the purpose of this chapter to ensure the propriety and the preservation
of public confidence in the officials and employees of the Town of Henlopen
Acres and to establish ethical standards for those officials and employees
which will protect the integrity of the government of the Town of Henlopen
Acres.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall be
applicable unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary:
A person's parents, spouse, children (natural or adopted) and
siblings of the whole and half-blood.
Any money, thing of value or any other economic benefit of any kind
or nature whatsoever conferred on or received by any official or employee
of the Town in return for any service rendered or to be rendered by the official
or employee or by another.
Includes all employees of the Town of Henlopen Acres.
An interest in a private enterprise which a person has if:
He has a legal or equitable ownership interest in the enterprise of
at least 1% or more in the case of a corporation whose stock is regularly
traded on an established securities market or he has a legal or equitable
ownership interest in an enterprise other than that of a corporation whose
stock is not regularly traded on an established securities market of at least
10%;
He is an employee, officer, partner, director, manager, trustee of an
enterprise and receives from that enterprise during the immediate preceding
calendar year or might reasonably expect to receive from the enterprise during
the current or next calendar year income in excess of $5,000 for services
as a manager, employee, agent, partner, member, director or officer of such
private enterprise; or
He is a creditor of a private enterprise in an amount equal to at least
1% of the total debt in the case of a corporation whose securities are regularly
traded on an established securities market or of at least 10% of the total
debt of an enterprise whose securities are not regularly traded on an established
securities market.
Any payment, gratuity or benefit paid or to be made on behalf of
any bidder, contractor, prospective contractor, subcontractor, prospective
subcontractor or any person associated with any of them to any official or
employee as an inducement or reward for the employment of a contract, subcontract,
order or favor.
Any application, petition, request, business dealing, contract, subcontract
or any other transaction of any sort with the Town of Henlopen Acres.
Any elected or appointed official of the Town of Henlopen Acres and
all members of any committee or commission appointed by the Mayor of the Town
of Henlopen Acres or appointed by the Commissioners of Henlopen Acres.
Any direct administrative or operating authority at any level, either
exercisable alone or with others, either personally or through subordinates
to approve, disapprove, recommend or otherwise direct action on behalf of
the Town of Henlopen Acres.
Any individual, natural person, joint-stock company, partnership,
voluntary association, society, club, firm, company, corporation, business
trust, organization or any other group acting as a unit, or the manager, lessee,
agent, servant, partner, member, director, officer or employee of any of them.
An interest in a matter which intends to impair the independent judgment
of an official or employee in the performance of his duties with respect to
that matter.
Any activity conducted by any person, whether conducted for profit
or not for profit and includes the ownership of real and personal property.
Private enterprise may include the activities of the state or any other political
subdivision of the state or any agency, authority or instrumentality thereof.
The Town of Henlopen Acres.
The following standards of conduct shall be applicable to all officials,
whether elected or appointed, and all employees of the Town:
A.
No official or employee shall participate on behalf of
the Town in the review or disposition of any matter pending before the Town
or before a committee or commission thereof in which he has a personal or
private interest; provided, however, that the prohibition set forth herein
shall not apply if the person who has official responsibility with respect
to the matter requests any person who has a personal or private interest to
respond to questions concerning any such matter.
B.
No official or employee shall use his position to secure
special privileges or exemptions for himself or others whether for compensation,
gratuity or without any compensation or gratuity.
C.
No official or employee shall solicit, demand, accept
or agree to accept from another person anything of a pecuniary value for or
because of any official action taken or to be taken or which could be taken
or any legal duty, to be performed or which could be performed by such official
or employee.
D.
No officer or employee, in the course of his public responsibilities,
shall use the granting of sexual favors as a condition, either explicit or
implicit, for an individual's favorable treatment by the Town.
In any case where a person has a statutory responsibility with respect
to action or nonaction on any matter in which he may have a personal or private
interest and there is no provision for the delegation of such responsibility
to another person nor is there any provision for the designation of another
person to take action or to refrain from taking action, the person may exercise
responsibility with respect to such matter, provided that he promptly, after
becoming aware of such personal or private interest, files a written statement
with the Commissioners of Henlopen Acres fully disclosing the personal or
private interest and explaining why it is not possible to delegate responsibility
for the matter to another person.
A.
The Town shall not make or enter into any contract in
excess of $500 for materials, supplies, work or labor for the benefit and
use of the Town with any official or employee of the Town or with any partnership
in which any official or employee is a general partner or in any corporation
in which any official or employee is a director or controlling stockholder
or with any firm or company in which any official or employee is pecuniarily
interested unless all the elected members of the Commissioners of Henlopen
Acres, other than the interested official or employee, vote to execute such
contract. Any such contract executed without such unanimous vote and consent
shall be absolutely null and void.
B.
Any person being awarded a contract with the Town in
excess of $2,000 shall execute such documents as may be required by the Town
and shall represent that no person has been retained to solicit or secure
the contract with the Town upon an agreement or understanding for a commission,
percentage, brokerage or contingent fee, excepting for bona fide employees,
bona fide established, commercial agencies maintained by the person representing
the contracting party for the purpose of securing business.[1]
In addition to any penalty set forth herein, any person violating any
of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and upon conviction thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction shall be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $200 or be imprisoned for a term of
not more than 20 days, or both, and shall pay the costs of prosecution.
