A.
Conflicts of interest generally. City officers and
employees shall not engage in any business or transaction or have
a financial or other private interest, direct or indirect, which is
in conflict with the proper discharge of their official duties.
B.
Attempts to secure preferential treatment. No person
shall attempt, directly or indirectly, to secure preferential treatment
in his or her dealings with the City government by offering any valuable
gift, whether in the form of service, loan, thing or promise or any
other form to Councilmen or other officers or employees. A person
found guilty of this act shall have any current contracts with the
City cancelled and shall not be eligible to bid on any City contracts
for a period of two years.
C.
Accepting gifts. No officer or employee 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
manner whatsoever, in business dealings with the City.
D.
Confidential information; advancing private interests.
No officer or employee shall disclose confidential information concerning
the property, government, or affairs of the City, nor shall he or
she use such information to advance the financial or other private
interest of himself, herself or others.
E.
Investments. No officer or employee shall invest or
hold any investment directly or indirectly in any financial, business,
commercial or other private transaction which creates a conflict with
his or her official duties.
F.
Private employment. No officer or employee shall solicit,
negotiate for, or promise to accept employment with any person, firm
or corporation with which he or she is engaged on behalf of the City
in the transaction of business or which is or may be affected by his
or her official action.
G.
Appearing in behalf of private interests. No officer
or employee shall appear in behalf of private interests before any
agency of the City government.
H.
Representing private interests in actions, proceedings
involving City. No officer or employee shall represent private interests
in any action or proceeding against the interests of the City, in
any litigation to which the City is a party, or in any action or proceeding
in the municipal courts in which the City or any agency or any officer
or employee of the City in the course of his or her official duties
is a complainant.
I.
Disclosure of interest in proposed legislation. Officers
and employees who have a direct or indirect financial or other private
interest in any proposed legislation or who participate in discussion
before or give official opinion to the Council shall publicly disclose,
on the official records of the Council, the nature and extent of such
interest.
J.
Appearing before agencies receiving compensation after
termination of City employment. No person who has served as an officer
or employee of the City shall within a period of two years after termination
of such service or employment appear before any agency of the City
or receive compensation for any services rendered on behalf of any
person, firm, corporation or association in relation to any case,
proceeding or application with respect to which such person was directly
concerned, or which was under his or her active consideration or with
respect to which knowledge or information was made available to him
or her during the period of service or employment.
L.
An elected City official or officer of the city Shall
timely pay his/her real property taxes due and payable on any real
property located in the City of Lackawanna, owned and assessed to
said person on the records of the City of Lackawanna.
[Added 6-2-2008]
M.
An elected City official or officer of the city Engaged
in any business or transaction which requires that he or she shall
timely pay as due any tax imposed by any lawful entity on sales or
transactions conducted or consummated by said person or for the payment
of employees withholding tax for federal or state income tax, Medicare
tax, social security tax or any other tax due by an employer or owner
on behalf of employees or customers shall timely pay such tax as due.
[Added 6-2-2008]
N.
A City official or officer of the city who fails to abide by the provisions of Subsection M above and who shall fail to timely pay any such tax as required by the governmental agency for any tax collected by said City official or officer from a customer or employee in trust for payment to said government agency is guilty of unethical conduct involving moral turpitude as an elected official or public officer and shall be a sufficient basis for the suspension or removal from office of said person.
[Added 6-2-2008]
O.
The Board of Ethics is further empowered to order
the suspension or removal of a person described in this Code convicted
of a violation thereof after a hearing on notice. The affirmative
vote of three members is required to sustain such a finding. Any person
accused hereunder is entitled to a copy of the charges against him/her
and to be represented by an attorney of his or her choice at all stages
of the proceeding. Any order of removal provided for hereunder shall
be reviewed by the Mayor with the power and authority vested in the
mayor to approve, disapprove or modify the decision of the Board.
The Mayor’s decision is due within 30 days of the referral.
The decision of the Mayor may be appealed by an aggrieved party within
30 days to the City Council, whose decision on the matter is final
and due 30 days after the mayor’s decision is appealed with
the City Clerk. In the mayoral or council referral, the Board shall
include a copy of the transcript of the hearing, findings of fact
and conclusions for review by each.
[Added 6-2-2008]
Nothing herein shall be deemed to bar or prevent
the timely filing by a present or former municipal officer or employee
of any claim, account, demand or suit against the City of Lackawanna,
or any municipal board, agency or commission of the City of Lackawanna
on behalf of himself or herself or any member of his or her family
arising out of any personal injury or property damage or for any lawful
benefit authorized or permitted by law.
[Amended 2-22-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005]
The Mayor of the City of Lackawanna shall cause
a copy of this article to be distributed to every officer and employee
of the City of Lackawanna within 30 days after the effective date
of this article. Each officer and employee elected or appointed thereafter
shall be furnished a copy before entering upon the duties of his or
her office or employment. Failure to distribute any such copy or failure
of any officer or employee to receive such copy shall have no effect
on the duty of compliance with such code, nor the enforcement provisions
thereof.
[Amended 2-22-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005]
In addition to any penalty contained in any
other provision of law, any person who shall violate any of the provisions
of this article may be fined, suspended or removed from office or
employment, as the case may be, in the manner provided by law.
