A.
There is hereby established a Board of Ethics consisting of at least
five members, three of whom shall constitute a quorum, to be appointed
by the Town Board, all of whom shall reside in the Town of New Lebanon
and who shall serve without compensation for a term of five years.
A majority of such members shall be persons other than Town officers
or employees, but at least one member shall be a Town officer or employee
of the Town of New Lebanon.
B.
Advisory board. Upon the written request of any Town officer or employee,
the Board of Ethics may render a written advisory opinion with respect
to the interpretation or application of this chapter or of Article
18 of the General Municipal Law of the State of New York. Any other
person may similarly request an advisory opinion but only with respect
to whether that person's own action might violate a provision
of this chapter or Article 18. The opinions of the Board of Ethics
shall be advisory, and in no event shall the identity of the Town
officer or employee be disclosed. Such opinions may be on the advice
of the Town Attorney or such attorney as may be authorized for the
Board of Ethics by the Town Board. Advisory opinions and requests
for advisory opinions shall be indexed and maintained on file by the
Board of Ethics.
A.
The Town Board shall have the authority to appoint a member of the
Board of Ethics as the chairperson of the Board of Ethics. Such appointment
shall be made in January of each calendar year or as soon thereafter
as practicable, and shall be for a term ending on the 31st day of
December of such calendar year.
B.
The chairperson of the Board of Ethics shall have the following powers
and duties:
(1)
To call meetings of the Board of Ethics and to cause notice of such
meetings to be distributed and posted as required under the New York
State Open Meetings Law; provided, however, that, in addition to any
other applicable requirements of law, notice of the time, date, and
location of any such meeting called by the chairperson shall be transmitted
at least two days in advance of such meeting to any member of the
Board of Ethics who does not execute a written waiver of notice of
such meeting before, during, or after the meeting;
(2)
To prepare a written agenda for any meeting of the Board of Ethics,
which written agenda may be modified or amended by majority vote of
the Board of Ethics at a meeting thereof;
(3)
To serve as the presiding officer at all meetings of the Board of
Ethics;
(4)
To receive and open all mail, correspondence, complaints, requests, and related materials directed to the Board of Ethics, provided, however, that, except with respect to any written complaint governed by § 16-12G, below, the chairperson shall transmit copies of such mail, correspondence, complaints, requests, and related materials to each member of the Board of Ethics within five business days of receipt;
(5)
Without transmission to other members of the Board of Ethics and without any meeting or action on the part of the Board of Ethics, to immediately transmit to the Town Board for its review and action pursuant to § 16-12G any written complaint received by the chairperson or the Board of Ethics in which the complainant alleges that any person serving as a member of the Board of Ethics has committed conduct that is asserted by the complainant to be unethical, in violation of any provision of this chapter, or in violation of any other law, or otherwise requests any action or investigation in relation to a member of the Board of Ethics; and
(6)
To transmit all notices, letters, and copies of actions, reports,
recommendations, advisory opinions, and decisions of the Board of
Ethics to the persons or entities entitled thereto under this chapter.
A.
The Board of Ethics may only act with respect to Town officers or
employees.
B.
The termination of a Town officer's or employee's term
of office or employment with the Town shall not affect the jurisdiction
of the Board of Ethics with respect to the requirements imposed on
the Town officer or employee by this chapter.
C.
The Board of Ethics shall have the following powers and duties:
(1)
To prescribe and promulgate rules and regulations governing its own
internal organization and procedures in a manner consistent with this
chapter;
(2)
To review, index, maintain on file and respond to written complaints and to make notifications and conduct investigations pursuant to § 16-12 of this chapter;
(3)
To render, index and maintain on file advisory opinions and/or other necessary records pursuant to § 16-9B of this chapter;
(4)
To provide training and education to Town officers and employees;
A.
Any person may file a written complaint alleging a violation of this
chapter in accordance with the following requirements and procedures:
(1)
All written complaints shall set forth the essential facts underlying
the complaint, including the relevant date(s) of alleged conduct,
facts and circumstances constituting the alleged violation, and the
location(s) at which the alleged conduct occurred.
(2)
All written complaints shall describe the complainant's basis
of knowledge of the facts alleged (e.g., personal observation, received
information from third party, etc.).
(3)
All written complaints shall provide the identity of all known or
suspected witnesses to the alleged facts and alleged conduct.
(4)
All written complaints shall include the mailing address, telephone
number, and email address of the complainant.
(5)
All written complaints shall be signed by the complainant.
(6)
All written complaints shall be submitted in a sealed envelope prominently
bearing the legend "ETHICS COMPLAINT" on the face thereof. Such written
complaints shall be hand delivered to the Town Clerk's office
or mailed to the Town of New Lebanon Ethics Board, PO Box 328, New
Lebanon, New York, 12125 (or to such other address for the Board of
Ethics as may be established from time to time and published by the
Town of New Lebanon).
B.
In the event any person shall submit a written complaint under this
chapter to the Town Clerk's office, the Town Clerk shall not
open the sealed envelope, shall date-stamp the envelope on the date
of receipt, and shall immediately notify the chairperson of the Board
of Ethics of the receipt of such written complaint and shall provide
same to the chairperson for processing. The Town Clerk shall maintain
a record of all written complaints received, reflecting the date received,
the date of notification to the chairperson of the Board of Ethics,
and the date on which the written complaint was provided to the chairperson.
C.
Upon receipt of a written complaint by the chairperson of the Board of Ethics either from a complainant or from the Town Clerk's office, such chairperson shall be authorized to open and initially review the written complaint solely to determine whether such written complaint must be forwarded to the Town Board for processing under Subsection G, below. If the written complaint must be forwarded to the Town Board for processing under Subsection G, below, the chairperson shall immediately forward the written complaint to the Town Board for processing without further action by the Board of Ethics. In the event such written complaint is not required to be forwarded to the Town Board for processing under Subsection G, below, the chairperson of the Board of Ethics shall notify the remaining members of the Board of Ethics of the receipt of a written complaint, shall transmit a copy of the written complaint to each member of the Board of Ethics, and shall promptly call a meeting of the Board of Ethics to begin processing. The chairperson shall maintain a record of all written complaints received reflecting the date received, the date of forwarding to the Town Board for processing under Subsection G, below (if applicable), the transmission of the written complaint to the remaining members of the Board of Ethics (if applicable), and the date on which a meeting of the Board of Ethics was called to begin processing (if applicable).
D.
The complainant shall be notified in writing of the receipt of said written complaint by the chairperson of the Board of Ethics within 10 days thereof. In the event the written complaint was forwarded to the Town Board for processing under Subsection G, below, such notification shall specify that fact and the date on which it was forwarded to the Town Board.
E.
Upon receipt of a written complaint by any person alleging a violation of this chapter in accordance with Subsection A, above, or upon determining on its own initiative that a violation of this chapter may exist, the Board of Ethics shall have the power and duty to conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Prior to making any findings that a Town officer or employee has committed or is committing one or more violations of this chapter, the Board of Ethics shall provide such Town officer or employee with notice of the alleged violation(s) and an opportunity to be heard consistent with the requirements of procedural due process and applicable law. Nothing herein shall be construed as superseding any applicable provisions of any collective bargaining agreement.
F.
The Board of Ethics shall state, in writing, the disposition of every
written complaint it receives and of every investigation it conducts
and shall set forth the reasons for the disposition. All such statements
and all written complaints shall be indexed and maintained on file
by the Board of Ethics. The Town officer or employee who was under
investigation and the complainant shall be notified of the disposition
of any written complaint received within 30 days of such disposition.
In the event the Board of Ethics finds, after investigation and hearing,
that a Town officer or employee violated any provision of this chapter,
a copy of the written determination of the Board of Ethics shall be
transmitted to the Town Board and, if applicable, to the appointing
authority or person or body authorized by law to impose discipline
within 30 days of such determination.
G.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the Board of
Ethics to conduct an investigation of itself or of any of its members
or staff. If a written complaint alleges that any person serving as
a member of the Board of Ethics has committed conduct that is asserted
by the complainant to be unethical, in violation of any provision
of this chapter, or in violation of any other law, or otherwise requests
any action or investigation in relation to a member of the Board of
Ethics, the chairperson of the Board of Ethics shall immediately transmit
to the Town Board a copy of the written complaint. In such instance,
the Town Board shall have all of the powers and duties of the Board
of Ethics as set forth in this section of this chapter.
A.
In its discretion, after a hearing providing for due process procedural mechanisms and subject to any applicable provisions of law and collective bargaining agreements, the Board of Ethics may include in its written determination its recommendation of appropriate disciplinary action pursuant to § 16-8 of this chapter.
B.
Judicial review. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Board
of Ethics or the Town Board may seek judicial review and relief pursuant
to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules of the State of
New York.
A.
The Board of Ethics shall prepare and submit an annual report to
the Town Board of the Town of New Lebanon, summarizing the activities
of the Board. The report may recommend changes to the text or administration
of this chapter.
B.
The Board of Ethics shall periodically review this chapter and the
Board's rules, regulations and administrative procedures to determine
whether they promote integrity, public confidence and participation
in Town government and whether they set forth clear, enforceable,
common sense standards of conduct.
A.
The only records of the Board of Ethics which shall be available
for public inspection are those whose disclosure is required by Article
6 of the Public Officers Law of the State of New York (Freedom of
Information Law) or by some other state or federal law or regulation.
B.
No meeting or proceeding of the Board of Ethics concerning misconduct,
nonfeasance or neglect in office by a Town officer or employee shall
be open to the public, except upon the request of the officer or employee
or as required by the provisions of Article 7 of the Public Officers
Law (Open Meetings Law) or by state or federal law.
