[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Rome as
Sec. 2.06 of the prior Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
It is declared that high ethical standards among Town officers
and employees are essential to the conduct of good representative
government and that a code of ethics for the guidance of public officers
and employees will help them avoid conflicts between their personal
interests and public responsibilities, will improve standards of public
service and will promote and strengthen the confidence of the residents
of the Town in their public officers and employees. The purpose of
this chapter is to establish guidelines for ethical standards of conduct
for all such Town officers and employees by setting forth those acts
or actions that are incompatible with the public interest and which
compromise, or appear to compromise, public trust in the fairness,
independence and integrity of Town officers and employees and their
official actions.
The provisions of the following sections of the Wisconsin Statutes,
as from time to time amended, are made a part of this section and
shall apply to all public officers and public employees whenever applicable,
to wit:
A.Â
Section 946.10, Bribery of Public Officers and Employees.
B.Â
Section 946.11, Special Privileges from Public Utilities.
C.Â
Section 946.12, Misconduct in Public Office.
D.Â
Section 946.13, Private Interest in Public Contract Prohibited.
A.Â
Applications. This section is intended to supplement § 19.59,
Wis. Stats. If any conflict between this section and § 19.59
exists, the provisions of § 19.59 shall prevail.
B.Â
Conflict of interest. No public official or employee, whether paid
or unpaid, shall engage in any business or transaction or shall have
a financial or other personal interest, direct or indirect, which
is incompatible with the proper discharge of official duties or will
tend to impair independence or judgment or action in the performance
of official duties. Personal, as distinguished from financial interest,
includes an interest arising from blood or marriage relationships
or close business or political association.
C.Â
Conflicts of interest; disclosure of interest. Except as provided
herein, no public officer or public employee shall engage in any business
transaction with the Town, or have a financial or other personal interest,
direct or indirect, which is incompatible with the proper discharge
of official duties or will tend to impair independence or judgment
or action in the performance of official duties. Any public officer
or employee who has a substantial financial interest, including employment,
in any business entity entering into, proposing to enter into or bidding
on any transaction with the Town, or as part of official duties will
be making an official decision or recommendation significantly affecting
a business competitor, client or regular customer, shall disclose
such interest to the membership of the Town Board (or committee, board
or commission thereof, as appropriate) to be recorded in the minutes
of that body. Upon such disclosure, the public officer or employee
shall abstain from voting on the matter and from participating in
the discussion of the matter.
D.Â
Representing private interests before the Town Board or Town agencies.
No public officer or employee, including persons or firms engaged
to provide professional services to the Town shall represent private
interests before the Town Board, commission or committee without disclosure
of the private business relationship and explicit consent of the Town
Board.
E.Â
Disclosure of confidential information. No public officer or employee
shall, without proper authorization of the Town Board, disclose confidential
information concerning the property, government or affairs of the
Town, nor shall he or she use such information to advance the financial
or other private interest of himself or others.
F.Â
Gifts and favors. No public officer or employee shall accept anything
of value whether in the form of a gift, service loan or promise from
any person, who, to his or her knowledge, has a direct financial interest
in any transaction or official business with the Town, which may tend
to impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of
official duties. However, it is not a conflict of interest for any
public officer or employee to receive a gift of gratuity that is an
unsolicited item of nominal intrinsic value, such as a meal up to
$10 in value.
G.Â
Outside employment. Except as these positions may be part-time, the
Town Administrator, Clerk/Treasurer, Director of Public Works, Fire
Chief, Chief of Police, Zoning Administrator and Librarian shall not
engage in any other remunerative employment; provided that the Town
Board may approve such outside employment or activity if it finds
that it does not interfere or conflict with such ability of the employee
to perform his or her duties in an efficient and unbiased manner.
[Amended 4-16-2020 by Ord. No. 20-03; 4-16-2020 by Ord. No. 20-05]
H.Â
Incompatible employment. No Supervisor or other public official or
employee shall engage in or accept private employment or render services
for private interests when such employment or service is incompatible
with the proper discharge of his official duties or tends to impair
his independence of judgment or action in the performance of his official
duties. In the event a Supervisor, official or employee possesses
a financial or personal interest in any business or transaction, any
presumption of conflict of interest with his public duties shall be
removed by his disclosure of the nature and extent of such investment
to the Town Board for the records of that authority.
I.Â
Advisory opinion. Any questions as to the interpretation of any provisions
of this subsection shall be referred to the Town Attorney for an advisory
opinion.
J.Â
Penalties. Any person who violates this section may, upon conviction,
be penalized pursuant to § 19.59(7), Wis. Stats.
K.Â
Confidentiality of information. Whenever the Assessor, in the performance
of the Assessor's duties, requests or obtains income and expense information
pursuant to § 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats. or any successor
statute thereto, then, such income and expense information that is
provided to the Assessor shall be held by the Assessor on a confidential
basis, except, however, that said information may be revealed to and
used by persons: in the discharging of duties imposed by law; in the
discharge of duties imposed by office (including, but not limited
to, use by the Assessor in performance of official duties of the Assessor's
office and use by the Board of Review in performance of its official
duties); or pursuant to order of a court. Income and expense information
provided to the Assessor under § 70.47(7)(af), unless a
court determines that it is inaccurate, is not subject to the right
of inspection and copying under § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words, and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein.
If not defined herein, the word, term or phrase shall have the definition
commonly accepted including a relevant definition contained in the
Wisconsin Statutes. When not inconsistent with the context, the words
used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural
number include the singular number and words in the singular number
include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and
not merely directory:
Includes a corporation, firm partnership, association, organization
and any other group acting as a unit as well as individuals, including
a personal representative, receiver or other representative appointed
according to law. Whenever the term "person" is used in any section
of this chapter prescribing a penalty or fine, as to partnerships
or associations, the work shall include the partners or members thereof,
and as to corporations, shall include the officers, agents or members
thereof who are responsible for any violation of such section.
Any person excluded from the definition of a public officer
who is employed by the Town.
Persons serving in statutory elected or appointed offices
provided for in Chapter 60 of the Wisconsin Statutes, and all members
appointed to boards, committees and commissions established or appointed
by the Town Chairperson and/or Town Board, whether paid or unpaid.
The Town of Rome, Adams County, Wisconsin, or any duly appointed
designate thereof, including, but not limited to, the Town Board and
Town committees.
The present governing body of the Town or any successors
to the legislative power of said body, or any duly appointed designate
thereof.
Public and private facilities, such as water wells, water
and sewage pumping stations, water storage tanks, electrical power
substations, static transformer stations, telephone and telegraph
exchanges, microwave radio relays and gas regulation stations, inclusive
of associated transmission facilities but not including sewage disposal
plants, municipal incinerators, warehouses, shops, storage yards and
power plants.
