[Amended 9-24-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]
A.
There is hereby established a Town of Clarence Ethics Board. The
Board shall be responsible for ensuring full compliance with this
Code of Ethics, including disclosures and the New York State Open
Meetings Law.
B.
The Ethics Board shall consist of seven members, each having a five-year
term of office. Members shall be appointed by the Town Board. Candidates
for appointment may be recommended to the Town Board by the Ethics
Board Chairperson.
C.
In the event a vacancy occurs prior to the expiration of any term,
the Town Board, within three months, or as soon as practicable, shall
fill such vacancy for the balance of the term in the same manner as
members are appointed to full terms. All members shall reside in the
Town of Clarence and serve without compensation except for necessary
and reasonable expenses.
D.
No more than three members of the Ethics Board may be affiliated
with the same political party. No member shall serve as a committee
person or officer of any political party. Ethics Board members are
subject to the same ethics and disclosure requirements as are other
Town officials and employees.
E.
Appointed officials or employees of the Town of Clarence shall not
make up a majority of the Ethics Board. No elected Town official may
be appointed to the Ethics Board.
F.
The members of the Ethics Board shall elect a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson
and Secretary at the first meeting of each year.
G.
The Ethics Board shall meet at least three times per year. Additional
meetings may be called by the Chairperson or a majority of all the
members upon written seven-day notice to the remaining members of
the Ethics Board. A majority of the Ethics Board, then appointed,
shall constitute a quorum.
H.
Complaint Review Committee; Disclosure Review Committee.
(1)
A three-member Complaint Review Committee shall be selected by the
Ethics Board Chairperson at the first meeting of the Ethics Board
each year. No more than one member of said committee shall be from
the same political party. Ethics Board members shall vote their approval
of these selected members at this meeting. This committee shall conduct
preliminary investigations of complaints and report its findings back
to the full Ethics Board.
(2)
The remaining members of the Ethics Board, less the Chairperson,
shall constitute a Disclosure Review Committee, to review both the
annual and transactional disclosures submitted by Town officials and
employees and then report promptly their findings to the full Board.
This includes annual disclosures filed during the year by new employees
and amended disclosures filed by employees who are reporting changes
in the information provided.
(3)
The Disclosure Review Committee shall review periodically through
the year all transactional disclosures filed with the Town Clerk to
verify that such disclosures are complete and meaningful, including
those where recusal does not take place. Discrepancies are to be reported
promptly to the Ethics Board.
I.
Meetings of the Ethics Board shall be open to the public, except
meetings called to review disclosure statements, to develop and endorse
advisory opinions or to act upon complaints filed with the Ethics
Board. A meeting that would otherwise be closed may be opened upon
the written request of the Town official or employee whose matter
is being considered.
J.
An Ethics Board member may be removed by the Town Board after:
(1)
Receipt of written notice of allegations of substantial neglect of
duty, gross misconduct, inability to discharge the powers and duties
of the office or violation of this code;
(2)
An opportunity to reply; and
(3)
A finding of substantial neglect of duty, gross misconduct, inability
to discharge the powers and duties of the office or violation of this
code.
K.
The Ethics Board shall prepare and recommend to the Town Board for
approval rules, regulations and procedures necessary for internal
implementation of this code. Following approval by the Town Board,
the Ethics Board shall conduct its affairs in accordance with the
approved rules, regulations, and procedures, plus the New York State
Administrative Procedure Act and General Municipal Law.
L.
The Board of Ethics shall possess, exercise and enjoy all the rights,
powers, and privileges necessary to the enforcement of this Code of
Ethics, including, after prior request and receipt of authorization
from the Town Board, the power of subpoena. This power to subpoena
includes any individual, whether or not a Town official or employee,
and any document or thing deemed necessary by the Ethics Board to
aid in resolving any complaint or investigation.
M.
The Town Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Board of Ethics, and all
ethics documents filed with the Town Clerk shall be deemed for the
purposes of this code to be filings with the Board of Ethics.
A.
Advisory opinions.
(1)
Upon receipt of a written and signed request, the Ethics Board shall render written advisory opinions to any Town official or employee or Town agency, board, committee or department or to persons or entities seeking to do or doing business with the Town. Such advisory opinions consider whether an action or situation contemplated or being performed by a person or entity may be in violation of the prohibited activities cited in §§ 19-4, 19-5 or 19-6 of this Ethics Code or other state or municipal laws. The Ethics Board shall have the advice and support of counsel employed by the Town or by the Ethics Board in these matters.
(2)
A request for an advisory opinion shall not be made
public by the Ethics Board. The requestor should also refrain from
public disclosure of the request, unless circumstances require distribution
to affected parties. Advisory opinions rendered by the Ethics Board
shall be adopted by vote of the Ethics Board members and shall be
distributed only to the requestor, any person(s) cited in the request
as being subject to the opinion, Ethics Board members and the Town
Attorney. An exception may be made to this rule if the requestor states
in writing that the opinion may be made public by the Ethics Board.
(3)
If the Ethics Board decides that the opinion rendered
may benefit other officials or employees of the Town, the Ethics Board,
with the written consent of the requestor, may prepare and publish
a summary of such opinion. All references to specific persons, entities
or the like shall be deleted before the opinion is made public.
(4)
Opinions that are not made public pursuant to the
above procedure shall be accessible only to the Ethics Board and to
the Town Attorney to guide future deliberations.
B.
Review of statements of disclosure.
(1)
The Disclosure Review Committee of the Board of Ethics
shall review all filed statements of disclosure, annual and transactional.
This review is to determine whether, pursuant to this Code, any official
or employee required to file a disclosure has failed to do so, has
filed a deficient disclosure, or has filed a disclosure which reveals
that a potential or real conflict of interest exists and, if so, has
been reported by the Town official or employee involved. The results
of such reviews shall be reported periodically by the Disclosure Review
Committee to the Ethics Board.
(2)
The Ethics Board shall investigate any reported conflict
of interest, and if it decides that a conflict of interest exists,
it shall notify the employee in writing of its findings. The employee
shall be given the opportunity to appear before the Ethics Board for
the purpose of responding to the Ethics Board's findings. After the
hearing, the Ethics Board shall affirm, affirm with modification,
or vacate its initial findings. Upon a determination to affirm or
affirm with modification its initial finding, the Ethics Board shall
forward such recommended determination to the Town Board and suggest
penalties in accordance with this Code.
C.
Complaints.
(1)
The Ethics Board shall receive and act upon any written
complaint alleging violations of this Code. A complaint may be submitted
by any Town resident, Town official or employee or entity doing or
seeking to do business with the Town. The complaint must be signed
by the person or legal entity alleging a violation of specific sections
of this Code by a Town official or employee. Distribution of the complaint
by the complainant shall be limited to the Town Ethics Board, the
Town Attorney and the Town official and/or employee named in the complaint.
Absent a written complaint, the Ethics Board, with Town Board approval,
may conduct an investigation to validate an alleged violation and
act upon the alleged violation per the powers and procedures specified
in this section.
(2)
The Ethics Board shall refer a complaint to its Complaint
Review Committee, which will investigate promptly the validity of
the complaint and report its findings and recommendations back to
the Ethics Board. The committee may require the appearance of the
official(s) and/or employee(s) named in the complaint and any other
parties for questioning, as appropriate to its complaint validation
effort.
(3)
Upon receiving the report of the Complaint Review
Committee, the Ethics Board shall dismiss the complaint if no credible
evidence is found to support it. If credible evidence is found to
support the complaint, a full formal hearing by the Ethics Board must
be held with written notice to all interested parties.
(4)
The Town official(s) and/or employee(s) who are the
subject of the complaint must receive written notice of both the Review
Committee's request to meet with him/her for questioning and any full
hearing on the complaint by the Ethics Board. He or she must appear
at these meetings. Any notice and hearing pursuant to this paragraph
shall be governed by the provisions of the New York State Administrative
Procedure Act as to such matters as proper notice and right to counsel
for both the Review Committee questioning and the Ethics Board hearings.
The Board may require the appearance and response of the Town official(s)
and/or employee(s) named in the complaint plus any other persons who
may be able to provide information bearing on the complaint validity
by exercising its subpoena powers, if needed.
(5)
If the Ethics Board finds the complaint not supported
by a preponderance of factual and credible evidence, the complaint
must be dismissed and shall not be made public. If a preponderance
of factual and credible evidence is found to support the complaint,
the Ethics Board shall make a determination, setting forth its reasons,
recommend a penalty, and forward these to the Town Board for implementation.
(6)
A written decision must be prepared by the Ethics
Board for every complaint and be sent to the subject of the complaint,
the submitter of the complaint, the Town Board and Town Attorney.
It shall include, at a minimum:
(7)
If the Ethics Board finds insufficient evidence to
validate the complaint and dismisses the allegation, the subject(s)
of the complaint may elect to have the Ethics Board's written findings
made public. If the complaint is found to be valid and a recommendation
is made to the Town Board, the Town Board may make public the nature
of the complaint and its action on the matter.
D.
Education. The Ethics Board shall assist with compliance
with this Code by:
(1)
Responding to written requests submitted by Town officials
or employees as to the meaning of any portion of the Ethics Code.
(2)
Developing training programs and materials on provisions
and the intent of this Code for education of Town officials or employees
and residents, as directed by the Town Board.
(3)
Providing opportunities for meetings with interested
parties and organizations, including posting of its meetings and agendas
so the public can attend and observe the open portions of its meetings.
