[Adopted 9-14-1970 by L.L. No. 10, 1970; amended in its entirety 6-22-1992 by L.L. No. 10, 1992]
This local law shall be known and cited as the "Ethics in Government
Law of the Town of Orangetown."
In a democracy, government should be open, accessible, equitable
and efficient. Democratic government requires that elected officials
be independent, impartial and responsible to the people. In order
to foster public confidence in the integrity of its government, public
officers must not use or be perceived to be using their office for
personal gain. In order to enhance public trust in its government,
this code requires disclosure of financial interests that may influence
or be perceived to influence the actions of elected officials or Town
employees. Therefore, it is the intent of this legislation to:
A.
Establish
high standards of ethical conduct for elected officials and Town employees.
B.
Afford
elected officials, covered employees and Town employees clear guidance
to such standards.
C.
Promote
public confidence in the integrity of Town government.
D.
Require
disclosure of financial interests that may influence or be perceived
to influence the actions of elected officials, candidates for elected
office and covered employees.
E.
Facilitate
consideration of potential problems before they arise, minimize unwarranted
suspicion and enhance the accountability of government to the people.
A.
Nothing
contained in this local law shall be deemed to supersede the provisions
of §§ 800, 801, 802, 803 and 809 of the General Municipal
Law, but rather this local law is deemed supplementary thereto. However,
should a higher standard of disclosure of conflict of interest be
required by this local law, then the provisions of this local law
shall govern.
B.
All
other legal requirements pertaining to the conduct of elected officials,
covered employees and Town employees shall not be deemed to have been
superseded by this local law, including but not limited to rules of
any state or county agency relating to licensing and discipline and
any other applicable disciplinary codes.
As used in this local law, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any Town agency, department, division, board, commission
or bureau of the Town of Orangetown.
The Board of Ethics of the Town of Orangetown.
Having or providing any contract, service or work
with the Town.
Buying, selling, renting, leasing or otherwise acquiring
from or dispensing to the Town any goods, services or property, or
obtaining any approval, grant, loan, license, permit or other privilege
from the Town, excepting that by operation of law.
A candidate for Town-wide office who receives the nomination
of a political party, files a designating petition for nomination
at a primary election or seeks independent nomination and who has
not been designated by a party to receive a nomination. The terms
"party," "designation," "primary election." "nomination" and "independent
nomination" as used herein shall have the same meanings as those contained
in § 1-104 of the Election Law.
Any money, thing of value or financial benefit conferred
in return for services rendered or to be rendered.
The heads (other than elected officials) of any agency, department,
division, council, board, commission or bureau of the Town and their
deputies and assistants and the officers, employees and consultants
on annual retainers of such agencies, departments, divisions, boards,
bureaus, commissions or councils who hold policymaking positions as
determined by the Town Board and set forth in a written instrument
annexed hereto as Appendix I,[1] which shall be filed with the Board of Ethics.
An elected official of the Town of Orangetown.
A direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit accruing
to an elected official, covered employee or Town employee or his or
her spouse, child or dependent, whether as a result of a contract
with the Town or otherwise.
Any agency activity respecting the grant, denial, renewal,
revocation, enforcement, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, recall,
cancellation or amendment of a license, permit or other form of permission
conferring the right or privilege to engage in a profession, trade
or occupation or any business or activity regulated by a regulatory
agency which, in the absence of such license, permit or other form
of permission, would be prohibited.
An administrative act carried out in a prescribed manner
not allowing for substantial personal discretion.
Such individual's spouse or unemancipated child as defined
herein or legal dependent as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.
The presentation of the interests of a client or other person
pursuant to an agreement, express or implied, for compensation for
services.
The husband or wife of the reporting individual, unless living
separate and apart from the reporting individual with the intention
of terminating the marriage or providing for permanent separation
or unless separated pursuant to a judicial order, decree or judgment
or a legally binding separation agreement.
Any employee other than an elected official or covered employee
of the Town of Orangetown, whether paid or unpaid.
Any son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter who is under the
age of 21 and living in the household of the reporting individual.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix I is on file in the office of the
Town Clerk.
A.
No
elected official, covered employee or Town employee shall directly
or indirectly solicit, receive compensation or agree to receive compensation
for services rendered concerning matters before any Town agency, nor
shall any such person accept other employment or engage in any business
transactions or make any investments directly or indirectly which
create a conflict with his or her official duties.
B.
No
elected official, covered employee or Town employee shall have any
business or professional dealings or be interested, directly or indirectly,
in any manner whatsoever, except by operation of law, in any business
or professional dealings with the Town of Orangetown or any agency
thereof.
C.
No
elected official, covered employee or Town employee shall be employed,
with or without compensation, as an attorney, agent, broker, director,
representative or employee for any person, firm or corporation interested,
directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, in business or professional
dealings with the Town or any agency thereof unless full disclosure
is made as to such employment to the Town Board in writing and such
elected official, covered employee or Town employee disqualifies himself
or herself from acting in his or her official capacity in matters
affecting such person, firm or corporation.
D.
No
elected official, covered employee or Town employee shall accept any
gift or gifts with an aggregate value of $200 or more within any twelve-month
period, whether in the form of a service, loan, personal property,
travel, entertainment or promise or any other form of gratuity, from
any person other than a relative or from any firm, any organization
or any corporation which to his or her knowledge is interested, directly
or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, in business or any case,
proceeding or application or professional dealings with the Town or
any agency thereof.
E.
No
former elected official, former covered employee or former Town employee
shall directly or indirectly appear, render services or have any business
transaction before any Town agency concerning a matter in which he
or she was personally involved for two years after the termination
of his or her service or employment.
F.
No
firm which has as a member or employee an elected official, covered
employee or Town employee may appear before a Town agency.
G.
No
elected official, covered employee or Town employee shall disclose
confidential information concerning the property, government or affairs
of the Town except when permitted or required by law, nor shall be
or she use such information to advance the financial or other private
interests of any person, firm or corporation.
H.
Any
applicant or any representative of any applicant before any agency,
must disclose, in writing, and on the record, any previous business
dealings and/or business transactions that said applicant or representative
has had with any member of said agency within the previous two years.
Each elected official, covered employee and candidate for elective
office must file an annual financial disclosure statement containing
the information and in the form to be determined by resolution of
the Town Board and in accordance with §§ 811 and 812
of the General Municipal Law.
A.
There shall be a Board of Ethics consisting of five members to be appointed by the Town Board, all of whom shall reside in the Town of Orangetown and who shall serve without compensation. The members of the present Board shall continue in office until December 31, 1992, unless they or any one of them is in violation of any of the provisions of Subsection B hereof, in which case said member or members are deemed to have vacated their office as of the effective date of this local law.
(1)
Members appointed for the period commencing January 1,
1993, and thereafter shall be appointed for five year terms, except
that initially the appointments shall be staggered so that one member
shall be appointed for one year, one member shall be appointed for
two years, one member shall be appointed for three years, one member
shall be appointed for four years and one member shall be appointed
for five years.
(2)
There shall be no more than two members from each political
party. The members of the Board shall elect a Chairman and Secretary
annually.
B.
C.
Any
vacancy occurring on the Board shall be filled within 60 days of its
occurrence by the Town Board in the same manner as the member whose
vacancy is being filled was appointed. A person appointed to fill
a vacancy shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the member
he or she succeeds.
D.
Three
members of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and the Board shall
have power to act by a majority vote of the total number of members
of the Board without vacancy.
E.
Members
of the Board may be removed by the Town Board for substantial neglect
of duty, gross misconduct in office, inability to discharge the powers
or duties of office or violation of this local law, after written
notice and opportunity for a reply.
F.
The
members of the Board shall not receive compensation but shall be reimbursed
for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official
duties.
G.
The
Board shall be the repository for all financial disclosure statements
required pursuant to the provisions of this local law. All documents
filed with the Board, except as otherwise provided in this local law,
shall be kept confidential and shall not be used for any purpose outside
of the jurisdiction of the Board, except pursuant to a lawfully issued
subpoena by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency. The Board shall
notify the Temporary State Commission on Local Government Ethics,
if such Commission is in existence, and, if not, shall file a statement
with the Town Clerk, that it is the authorized repository for completed
annual statements of financial disclosure and that on account thereof,
such completed statements will be filed with it and not with the Commission.
H.
The
Board shall inspect all financial disclosure statements filed with
the Board to ascertain whether any person subject to the reporting
requirements of this local law has failed to file such a statement,
has filed a deficient statement or has filed a statement which reveals
a possible violation of § 811 or 812 of the General Municipal
Law or of this local law, as the case may be.
I.
The
Board shall obtain from the Rockland County Board of Elections lists
of all candidates for elected office. The Board shall determine from
such lists those candidates who have not, after the required date
for filing such statement, filed the statement required by this local
law.
J.
The
Board shall meet at least annually in the month of June for purposes
of organization and to review the status of all confidential memoranda
required to be on file with it and to transact any other business
as may properly come before it and shall report publicly to the Town
Board not later than the 15th day of September annually on its current
state of organization and on the timeliness of all reports required
to be on file and for which notices of delinquency have been issued
and on any other matters which it may appear to be a just and proper
exercise of its responsibility. The Board shall submit a reasonable
budget to the Town Board and may make reasonable expenditures from
funds budgeted to effectuate the purposes of this local law.
K.
The
Board shall adopt, amend and rescind rules and regulations to govern
procedures of the Board, which shall include, but not be limited to,
the procedure whereby a person who is required to file an annual financial
disclosure statement with the Board may request an additional period
of time within which to file such statement, due to justifiable cause
or undue hardship. Such rules or regulations shall provide for a date
beyond which, in all cases of justifiable cause or undue hardship,
no further extension of time will be granted.
L.
The
Board shall receive only sworn complaints alleging a violation of
any of the provisions of this local law. The source of the complaint
shall be verified prior to the commencement of any investigation thereof.
M.
The
Board shall permit any person required to file a statement of financial
disclosure to request an exemption from any requirement to report
one or more items of information which pertains to such person's spouse
or unemancipated children, which item or items may be exempted by
the Board upon a finding by a majority of the total number of members
of the Board without vacancy that the reporting individual's spouse,
on his or her own behalf or on behalf of an unemancipated child, objects
to providing the information necessary to make such disclosure and
that the information which would otherwise be required to be reported
will have no material bearing on the discharge of the reporting person's
official duties.
N.
Upon
written request from any person who is subject to the jurisdiction
of the Board, the Board shall render advisory opinions on the requirements
of the provisions of this local law. An opinion rendered by the Board,
until and unless amended or revoked, shall be binding on the Board
in any subsequent proceeding concerning the person who requested the
opinion and who acted in good faith unless material facts were omitted
or misstated by the person in the request for an opinion. Such opinion
may also be relied upon by such person and may be introduced and shall
be a defense in any criminal or civil action. Such request and any
such opinions shall be confidential.
O.
If
a person required to file a financial disclosure statement with the
Board has failed to file a disclosure statement or has filed a deficient
statement, the Board shall notify the reporting person in writing,
state the failure to file or detail the deficiency, provide the person
with a fifteen-day period to cure the deficiency and advise the person
of the penalties for failure to comply with the reporting requirements.
Such notice shall be confidential. If the person fails to make such
filing or fails to cure the deficiency within the specified time period,
the Board shall send a notice of delinquency to the reporting person
and, in the case of a covered employee, to the appointing authority
for such person. Such notice shall be available for public inspection.
P.
Notification
of alleged violation.
(1)
If a reporting person has filed a statement which reveals
a possible violation of the Code of Ethics of this local law or the
Board received a sworn complaint alleging such a violation or if the
Board determines on its own initiative to investigate a possible or
alleged violation, the Board shall notify the reporting person in
writing, describe the possible or alleged violation of such Code of
Ethics and provide the person with a fifteen-day period in which to
submit a written response setting forth information relating to the
activities cited as a possible or alleged violation of law. If the
Board thereafter makes a determination that further inquiry is justified,
it shall give the reporting person an opportunity to be heard. The
Board shall also inform the reporting person of its rules regarding
the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings and the due process procedural
mechanisms available to such individual. If the Board determines,
at any state of the proceeding, that there is no violation or that
any potential conflict of interest violation has been rectified, it
shall so advise the reporting person and the complainant, if any.
(2)
All the foregoing proceedings shall be confidential. If
the Board determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that
a violation has occurred, it shall send notice of reasonable cause
to the reporting person, to the complainant, if any, and, in the case
of a covered employee, to the appointing authority for such person.
Such notice shall be available for public inspection.
Q.
The
Board shall adopt rules governing the conduct of adjudicatory proceedings
relating to the assessment of civil penalties herein authorized. Such
rules shall provide for due process procedural mechanisms substantially
similar to those set forth in Article 3 of the State Administrative
Procedure Act, but such mechanisms need not be identical in terms
or scope. Assessment of a civil penalty shall be final unless modified,
suspended or vacated within 30 days of imposition and, upon becoming
final, shall be subject to review at the instance of the affected
reporting individual in a proceeding commenced against the appropriate
body pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
R.
The
Board shall conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions
of this local law. Pursuant to this power and duty, the Board may
administer oaths or affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their
attendance and require the production of any books or records which
it may deem relevant or material.
S.
All
decisions of the Board not otherwise required to be kept confidential
shall be printed and made public within 30 days after its decision
and shall be filed with the Town Clerk and shall be available for
public inspection during regular business hours.
A.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of § 1-5 of this local law shall be subject to a civil fine in an amount not to exceed $3,500 for each violation. Assessment of a civil penalty hereunder shall be made by the Board.
B.
An elected official, covered employee or candidate for elected official who knowingly and willfully fails to file an annual statement of financial disclosure or who knowingly and willfully, with intent to deceive, makes a false statement or gives information which such individual knows to be false on such statement of financial disclosure filed pursuant to § 1-6 of this local law shall be assessed a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000. A civil penalty for false filing may not be imposed hereunder in the event that a category of value or amount reported hereunder is incorrect, unless such reported information is falsely understated. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no other penalty, civil or criminal, may be imposed for a failure to file or for a false filing of such statement, except that the Board may impose disciplinary action as otherwise provided by law.
C.
In
the event that a civil penalty assessed by the Board shall become
final and shall not be reviewed pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil
Practice Law and Rules, or, if so reviewed, such civil penalty shall
be sustained or modified and, as so modified, sustained in part, the
Board is hereby directed to review the facts and, if appropriate,
to file appropriate disciplinary charges and to impose disciplinary
action as provided by law.
The Town Clerk shall file with the Temporary State Commission
on Local Government Ethics established by § 813 of the General
Municipal Law and in all events shall maintain as a record subject
to public inspection:
A.
A copy of this local law or any amendments hereto adopted
within 30 days after the adoption thereof.
B.
A statement that the Town of Orangetown has established
a Board of Ethics in accordance with this local law and the composition
of such Board, within 30 days after the establishment of such Board.
C.
A copy of the form of annual statement of financial disclosure
and a statement of the date such annual statement form was promulgated
by this local law.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this local
law, the Town of Orangetown hereby elects to remove itself from the
ambit of all of the provisions of § 812, other than Subdivision
3 of such section, of the General Municipal Law in accordance with
the provisions of Subdivision 3 of such section.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this
local law shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate
the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved
in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
This local law shall take effect upon publishing and posting
and upon filing a copy with the Secretary of State as required by
law.
