Town of Southold, NY Article IV Ethics Board

§ 26-21 Establishment of Ethics Board.

A. A Southold Town Ethics Board of five persons shall be appointed by the Town Board. The Ethics Board may establish rules for its own operations, which shall be available to the public, but whether included or not, the following procedures shall pertain to its activities:

[Amended 2-14-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]

(1) The Ethics Board shall state, in writing, the disposition of every request for opinion and every investigation it conducts and the reasons for the disposition. All such statements and written requests shall be kept on file.

(2) The Town Board shall make available to the Ethics Board such meeting space, clerical support and expense reimbursement as the Town Board, in its discretion and consistent with budgetary constraints, deems advisable.

B. Appointment and removal.

(1) Members of the Ethics Board shall be appointed by the Town Board of the Town of Southold and may be nominated by any member of the public. They shall serve without compensation.

(2) Ethics Board members may be removed by the Town Board for reasons of gross misconduct, substantial neglect of duty or inability to perform the duties of office or failure to meet qualifications listed in Subsection D hereof.

C. Term of office. The term of office of Ethics Board members appointed after January 2006 shall be five years, expiring on March 31, except that upon initial appointment, one member shall have a term of three years, another shall have a term of four years and the other a term of five years, respectively.

[Amended 2-14-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006]

D. Qualifications.

(1) From the period of 12 months prior to appointment and throughout his or her term of office, no Ethics Board member or member of his or her family shall hold any elected or appointed office or employment with the Town of Southold except as a member of a citizens' advisory board.

(2) From the period of 12 months prior to appointment and throughout his or her term in office, no Ethics Board member shall be a party to any proceedings before the Town, other than judicial proceedings, or have business dealings with the Town other than routine requests such as applications for building permits, certificates of occupancy, marriage licenses or other similar matters.

(3) Members of the Ethics Board shall be subject to the provisions of this law, including the annual disclosure statement.

(4) Members of the Ethics Board shall be provided with legal defense and indemnification equivalent to members of the Town Board.

§ 26-22 Powers of the Ethics Board.

The Ethics Board has the power to review the annual disclosure statements; to review annually this Code of Ethics and recommend to the Town Board any changes which it deems appropriate; to render advisory opinions on any matter of ethical conduct of Town officials and employees, at the written request of any Town Board, official, employee or private citizen; to conduct investigations or to refer cases to the Town Board, District Attorney or Town Attorney for consideration of appropriate criminal prosecution; or to seek civil relief to compel compliance with this law.

§ 26-23 Investigation procedures.

A. Upon receipt of a sworn complaint by any person alleging a violation of this chapter or upon determining on its own initiative that a violation of the chapter may exist, the Ethics Board shall have the power and duty to conduct any investigation necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. In conducting any such investigation, the Ethics 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 and material.

B. The Ethics Board shall state, in writing, the disposition of every sworn complaint it receives and of every investigation it conducts and shall set forth the reasons for the disposition. All such statements and all sworn complaints shall be indexed and maintained on file by the Board and shall be submitted to the Town Board for its consideration and or action.

C. Any person filing a sworn complaint with the Ethics Board shall be notified in writing of the disposition of the complaint.

D. 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 Town's Ethics Board with respect to the requirements imposed by this chapter or by the Town's Ethics Code, if any, on the former officer or employee.

§ 26-24 Review of lists and disclosure statements.

A. The Ethics Board shall review:

(1) The annual disclosure statement of the designated officers and employees to determine whether the lists are complete and accurate.

(2) All annual disclosure statements to determine whether any person required to file such a statement has failed to file it, has filed a deficient statement or has filed a statement that reveals a possible or potential violation of the chapter or the local Ethics Code, if any.

B. If the Board determines that an annual disclosure statement is deficient or reveals a possible or potential violation of this chapter, the Board shall notify the person, in writing, of the deficiency or possible or potential violation and of the penalties for failure to comply with this chapter or the local Ethics Code.

§ 26-25 Public inspection of Ethics Board records.

[Amended 7-31-1973]

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, the only records of the Ethics Board which shall be available for public inspection are:

(1) Annual disclosure statement lists filed pursuant to this chapter.

(2) Lists of officers and employees required to file annual disclosure statements.

(3) Rules and regulations of the Ethics Board.

(4) Final disposition of an investigation by the Ethics Board.

(5) Advisory opinions, provided that information identifying the persons requesting the opinion is deleted from the copy made available for public inspection.

(6) Educational materials, annual reports and local ethics acts.