The Town Board of the Town of Austerlitz recognizes that there
are state statutory provisions mandating towns to establish rules
and standards of ethical conduct for public officers and employees
which, if observed, can enhance public confidence in local government.
In the light of a tendency today on the part of some people to downgrade
our local governments and to discredit our public servants and our
free institutions generally, it appears necessary that every effort
be made to assure the highest caliber of public administration of
this Town as part of our state's important system of local government.
It is the purpose of this chapter to implement this objective through
the establishment of standards of conduct, to provide for punishment
of violation of such standards and to create a Board of Ethics to
render advisory opinions to the Town's officers and employees
as provided for herein.
The standards, prohibited acts and procedures established herein
are in addition to any prohibited acts, conflict of interest provisions
or procedures prescribed by statutes of the State of New York and
also in addition to common law rules and judicial decisions relating
to the conduct of Town officers to the extent that the same are more
severe in their application than this chapter.
