This chapter shall be known as the "Code of Ethics of the Town
of Milton."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
EMPLOYEE
Any person that receives a salary or wage from the Town of
Milton.
FAMILY MEMBER
A parent, stepparent, sibling, stepsibling, spouse, child,
stepchild, grandparent, household member, or domestic partner of a
municipal officer or employee, and individuals having any of these
relationships to the spouse of the officer or employee.
INTEREST
A direct or indirect monetary, financial or material benefit,
but does not include any benefit arising from the provision or receipt
of any services generally available to the residents or taxpayers
of the municipality or an area of the municipality, or a lawful class
of such residents or taxpayers. A municipal officer or employee is
deemed to have an interest in any matter involving:
A.
Any firm, partnership, association of which he or she, his or
her spouse, or a member of his or her household, is an owner, partner,
member, director, officer or employee; and
B.
Any corporation of which any such person is a director, officer
or employee, or directly or indirectly owns or controls more than
5% of the corporation's outstanding stock.
MUNICIPALITY
The Town of Milton. The word "municipal" refers to the municipality.
OFFICER
A person serving as a paid or unpaid official of the Town
of Milton including, but not limited to, elected officers, members
of the municipality's governing board, any of its administrative
boards (e.g., Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals), commissions,
committees, agencies, department heads and others who work in a similar
like capacity.
No municipal officer or employee shall exercise or perform his
or her official powers and duties on the basis of family or private
business, nor create an appearance of impropriety by giving the impression
that he or she will exercise or perform his or her official powers
or duties on the basis of any consideration other than the best interests
of the municipality.
An officer or employee of the Town of Milton shall treat all
members of the public, whether a person, firm or corporation, or other
organization without special advantage in carrying out his or her
official duties.
No officer or employee of the Town of Milton may request or
permit the use of Town-owned vehicles, equipment, materials, resources
or property for a non-Town purpose, except when such use:
A. Is available to the public generally and on the same terms as a member
of the public, or
B. Is provided as written Town policy for the use of the officer or
employee in the conduct of official duties.
C. When the Town Board motions and votes to approve a use of Town property
for any purpose deemed appropriate by the Town Board.
[Added 12-20-2017 by L.L. No.
4-2017]
No Town officer or employee or former municipal officer or employee
who acquires confidential information in the course of exercising
or performing his or her official powers or duties may disclose or
use such information unless the disclosure or use is required or allowed
by law or in the course of exercising or performing his or her official
powers and duties.
[Amended 3-19-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014]
A. Membership.
(1) The Board of Ethics shall consist of five members appointed and approved
by a minimum of four members of the Town Board.
(2) There shall be five members of the Ethics Board with members serving
three-year terms. After the completion of a three-year term, each
member may be reappointed for subsequent three-year terms, or for
one-year terms at the Town Board's discretion, if they are in
good standing and with the approval of the Ethics Board and the Town
Board.
[Amended 12-20-2017 by L.L. No.
4-2017]
(3) It is the responsibility of the Milton Town Board to:
(a)
Solicit (through public advertisements or otherwise) new applicants
to fill current and upcoming vacancies on the Town of Milton Board
of Ethics (Ethics Board) in a timely manner, as the need arises.
(b)
The Town Board will either accept (or reject), at its sole discretion,
the recommendations of the current Ethics Board members, regarding
the appointment of prospective new Ethics Board members to open positions
on the Ethics Board for the Town of Milton.
(c)
The Town Board may, at its discretion, delegate the responsibility
to solicit and interview potential candidates, as it so determines.
(4) A quorum for the Board of Ethics is hereby established as three appointed members. At no time will the Board of Ethics act or convene for the purposes of fulfilling the duties and responsibilities outlined in §
14-19, Subsection
C, entitled "Powers and duties of the Board of Ethics," without a quorum.
B. Qualification of Board members.
(1) All members of the Board of Ethics must be residents of the municipality.
(2) The members of the Board of Ethics should be qualified by temperament
and experience to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the
Board.
(3) No member of the Board of Ethics shall be a political committeeperson,
or hold office in a partisan political organization, or hold elective
office in the Town of Milton. An Ethics Board member may make campaign
contributions and vote, but not otherwise participate in any Town
of Milton election campaign. Nothing in this section shall prohibit
a member of the Ethics Board from being selected to sit on any appointed
or unpaid Town committees.
[Amended 12-20-2017 by L.L. No.
4-2017]
(4) Not more than three members of the Board of Ethics may be members
of the same political party.
(5) No officer or employee of the Town of Milton is eligible to serve
on the Board of Ethics.
(6) All candidates seeking appointment to the Board of Ethics must agree
to:
(a)
Maintain an email account which they agree to monitor at least
once per week during their appointed term of office.
(b)
Respond to requests for communication from the Ethics Board
members and the Town Board within 48 hours of actually receiving a
communication during their appointed term of office. Exceptions may
be made for vacations, illness, family emergencies, extended leave
of absence (when the Ethics Board is notified in advance), acts of
God, and other actual emergencies.
(c)
Submit a typed application/resume for a seat on the Town of
Milton Ethics Board in a sealed envelope to the Town of Milton marked
"Attention: Ethics Board."
(d)
Sit for an in-person interview with the current Ethics Board
members.
(e)
Disclose any prior felony or misdemeanor convictions, and any
current pending criminal charges or otherwise consent to and authorize
a background check.
(f)
Maintain primary physical residence in the Town of Milton for
no less than nine months of any year in which appointed to the Board
of Ethics.
(g)
Be of sound mind, even temperament, and good character.
(h)
Be able to fulfill the duties of the office and be willing and
able to serve out the proposed term of office for the Ethics Board
seat that he/she is seeking to fulfill.
(i)
Have no clear and present significant conflicts of interest.
(j)
Disclosing their registered political affiliation so as not to be in conflict with the provision of §
14-19B(4).
[Added 12-20-2017 by L.L. No.
4-2017]
(7) The minimum age for applicants to the Ethics Board is 21 years of
age at the time of appointment.
(8) Applicants with prior military service must provide a copy of their
DD Form 214 to the Board of Ethics for review, either prior to or
during the interview process. This form should be redacted to obscure
personally identifying information with the exception of their name.
The circumstances surrounding discharges that are other than honorable
which are accompanied by supporting documentation will be considered
for eligibility, however, as a general rule, any such applicant would
be expected to have an honorable discharge from any military service
branch. At no time will an applicant with a dishonorable discharge
from military service be considered for Ethics Board membership.
(9) All the applicants must be citizens of the United States of America
either by birth or by naturalization.
(10)
No person or proprietor of a business who stands to gain financially
through reoccurring commerce or business relations with the Town of
Milton is eligible to serve on the Board of Ethics. Any past financial
transactions or connections between (or involving) the applicant (or
any immediate family member) and the Town of Milton within the past
two years at the time of application must be fully disclosed and described
in writing at the time of the interview.
(11)
New applicants to the Ethics Board are required to complete
an in-person interview before a quorum of current Ethics Board members.
All current members of the Ethics Board will be invited to participate
in the interview.
C. Powers and duties of the Board of Ethics:
(1) The Board of Ethics shall select its own Chairperson from within
the Board for a one-year term and appoint such staff as necessary
to carry out its duties under this chapter and to delegate authority
to the Chairperson, if any, to act in the name of the Board between
meetings of the Board, provided that the delegation is in writing
and the specific powers to be delegated are enumerated, and further
provided that the Board may not delegate the power to conduct hearings,
determine violations, recommend disciplinary action, impose civil
fines, refer any matter to a prosecutor or render advisory opinions.
(2) To prescribe and promulgate rules and regulations governing its own
internal organization and procedures in a manner not inconsistent
with this section or any state or federal law.
(3) To review lists of municipal officials and disclosure statements pursuant to §
14-18 of the Milton Code of Ethics.
(4) To conduct investigations pursuant to §
14-20 of the Milton Code of Ethics.
(5) To conduct hearings, recommend disciplinary action and initiate appropriate actions and proceedings pursuant to §§
14-20 and
14-21 of the Milton Code of Ethics.
(6) To issue advisory opinions pursuant to §
14-22 of the Milton Code of Ethics.
(7) To provide ethics training and education to Town officers and employees
on the provisions of the Milton Code of Ethics and Article 18 of the
General Municipal Law.
(8) The Ethics Board of the Town of Milton may act only with respect
to officers and employees of the municipality and persons having business
dealings with the municipality. The termination of a Town officer's
or employee's term of office or employment with the Town shall
not affect the jurisdiction of the Town Ethics Board with respect
to requirements imposed by this chapter on current and former Town
officers or employees to the extent permitted by law.
(9) The Town Ethics Board may refer any matter within its jurisdiction
to the County Ethics Board in its discretion.
(10)
A member of the Board of Ethics may be removed from office by
a minimum of four votes of the Town Board for failure to fulfill the
duties of the office or for violation of this chapter. The Town Board
must give the Board member written notice and an opportunity to reply.
(11)
The Ethics Board must prepare an annual report to the Town Board
on its activities and further recommend changes to the Town Ethics
Law, where appropriate.
(12)
Where necessary and indicated, the Ethics Board will retain
and utilize either in-house legal counsel, or, when required, will
request permission from the Town Board to retain outside legal counsel.
In-house legal counsel is to be utilized whenever possible.
(13)
Any formal communications from the Board of Ethics to the Town
Board shall be in written form. Any majority opinions/recommendations
issued by the Board of Ethics will require the signatures of a majority
of the members of the Board of Ethics. While not required, a dissenting
opinion/recommendation may be written, signed and attached to the
majority opinion/recommendation, if the members in the minority so
choose.
D. Removal of appointed Ethics Board members.
(1) Appointed members of the Board of Ethics may voluntarily vacate or
be removed from their appointed office in the following ways:
(a)
Upon submission of a letter of resignation to the Town of Milton
Board.
(b)
By completing their term of office in accordance with §
14-19, Board of Ethics, Subsection
A, Membership, Subsection
A(3).
(c)
By being found in violation of the Code of Ethics and being
subsequently removed from office by the Town Board.
(d)
By receiving a unanimous vote of no confidence from the remaining
members of the Board of Ethics, and being subsequently removed from
office by the Town Board.
(2) A vote of no confidence regarding a member of the Board of Ethics may be called for by any member of the Ethics Board. A vote of no confidence may only be made if the member in question has refused to resign from their appointed term as defined by §
14-19, Subsection
D, entitled "Removal of appointed Ethics Board members." Additionally, a vote of no confidence may be made if the member in question has demonstrated a violation of his/her duties and responsibilities, or if he/she no longer qualifies for membership as defined by §
14-19.
[Amended 3-19-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014]
A. Upon receipt of a form duly sworn by the person requesting an investigation
of an alleged violation of this chapter or upon the Board determining
on its own initiative that a violation of this chapter may exist,
the Ethics Board shall have the power and duty to conduct any investigation
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. In conducting
any such investigation, the Board may administer oaths or affirmations,
subpoena witnesses and compel their attendance and require the production
of any books or records which it may deem relevant or material. The
form to be utilized in requesting an investigation of an alleged violation
of this chapter shall be the form available in the office of the Town
Clerk.
B. The Town Ethics Board investigation shall be confidential until such
time that a final determination of the Town Ethics Board has been
made. Thereafter, the Town Ethics Board shall state in writing its
disposition of every sworn complaint it receives and of every investigation
it conducts, and shall set forth the reasons for the disposition to
the Town Board. Any findings of violations of this chapter or other
applicable law shall be served upon the subject of the investigation
within seven days of such service of any findings of violations of
this chapter, and violations shall be made a public record and shall
be indexed and maintained on file by the Town Clerk.
C. All employees of the Town of Milton and all officials (whether paid
or unpaid) are required to fully cooperate with the reasonable requests
of the Town of Milton Ethics Board during all formal ongoing investigations.
Notwithstanding the above requirement, the following conditions will
also apply:
(1) The Ethics Board shall advise the employee or officer of their right
to confer with or obtain outside legal (or other) counsel. No individual
shall be denied his/her right to obtain and to utilize outside legal
(or other) counsel. A reasonable period of time will be provided to
retain outside counsel (as a general rule, no less than 30 calendar
days).
[Amended 12-20-2017 by L.L. No.
4-2017]
(2) Any individual questioned in connection with any investigation will
be advised whether or not he/she is a target/subject of that investigation
as soon as possible.
(3) During an investigation, the subject(s) of investigation will be
advised of the accusations or charges against him/her in a timely
manner.
All officers and employees of the Town of Milton and members
of the Town of Milton Ethics Board must complete an ethics training
seminar on a biennial basis. Ethics training will be provided at the
direction of the Town Board, in conjunction with the Town Ethics Board.
Ethics training will be provided by qualified professionals proficient
in municipal ethics, and will be designed to keep recipients knowledgeable
of current standards and issues in municipal ethics. The training
seminar will be made available each year. Scheduling and records documenting
compliance with this section will be performed and maintained by the
Town Clerk.
[Added 3-19-2014 by L.L.
No. 1-2014]
This local law shall take effect upon the Town Clerk filing this local
law with the New York Secretary of State, but shall not be retroactive
on actions or inactions that have occurred prior to its effective
date.