[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Glassboro 3-26-1996 by Ord. No. 96-11. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Borough of Glassboro Code of Ethics."
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Glassboro
finds and declares that:
A.
Public office and employment are a public trust.
B.
The vitality and stability of representative democracy
depend upon the public's confidence in the integrity of its elected
and appointed representatives.
C.
Whenever the public perceives a conflict between the
private interests and the public duties of a government officer or
employee, that confidence is imperiled.
D.
Governments have the duty both to provide their citizens
with standards by which they may determine whether public duties are
being faithfully performed, and to apprise their officers and employees
of the behavior which is expected of them while conducting their public
duties.
A.
It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a method
of assuring that standards of ethical conduct and financial disclosure
requirements for officers and employees of the Borough of Glassboro
shall be clear, consistent, uniform in their application and enforceable,
and to provide those officers or employees with advice and information
concerning possible conflicts of interests which might arise in the
conduct of their public duties.
B.
It is the further purpose of this chapter to implement
the provisions of the Local Government Ethics Law, P.L. 1991, c. 29,
N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq.
C.
This chapter is enacted under the authority of the
Local Government Ethics Law, P.L. 1991, c. 29, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1
et seq., and under the further authority granted to the Borough of
Glassboro under the provisions of Titles 40 and 40A of the New Jersey
Statutes.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any agency, board, governing body, including the Chief Executive
Officer, office, commission or other instrumentality within the Borough
of Glassboro, and any independent local authority created by or appointed
under the authority of the Borough of Glassboro which performs functions
other than of a purely advisory nature.
Any corporation, partnership, firm, enterprise, franchise,
association, trust, sole proprietorship, union or other legal entity.
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time, employed by or serving on an agency who is not a local
government officer.
The ownership or control of more than 10% of the profits,
assets or stock of a business organization but shall not include the
control of assets in a nonunion profit entity or labor union.
The partner or dependent child of an officer or employee
residing in the same household.
[Amended 7-24-2007 by Ord. No. 07-26]
Any person, whether compensated or not, whether part-time
or full-time, who is one of the following:
List:
Member of the Borough Council, including the
Mayor.
Borough Administrator.
Deputy Borough Administrator.
Chief Financial Officer.
Construction Code Official.
(Reserved)[1]
Director, Park and Recreation Commission.
Chief of Police.
Captain, Police Department.
(Reserved)[2]
Borough Clerk.
Borough Attorney.
Borough Engineer.
Borough Planning Consultant.
Borough Auditor.
Municipal Judge.
Borough Prosecutor.
Borough Public Defender.
Planning Board members.
Planning Board Attorney.
Planning Board Engineer.
Planning Board Planner.
Planning Board Landscape Architect.
Planning Board Clerk.
Zoning Board of Adjustment member.
Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney.
Zoning Board Clerk.
(Reserved)[3]
(Reserved)[4]
Water and Sewer Department Superintendent.
Water and Sewer Department Assistant Superintendent.
Tax Collector.
Fire Chief.
Board of Health members.
Library Board of Trustees member.
Director, Glassboro Public Library.
Sanitary Inspector/Rooming House Inspector.
Glassboro Housing Authority members.
(Reserved)[5]
Highway Department Superintendent.
Vital Statistics Registrar.
(Reserved)[6]
Emergency Management Coordinator.
Deputy Fire Chief.
Deputy Borough Clerk.
Any other person who is a managerial executive
or confidential employee, as defined in Section 3 of the New Jersey
Employer-Employee Relations Act, N.J.S.A. 34:13A-3, of the Borough
of Glassboro or of an agency created under the authority of or appointed
by the Borough of Glassboro.
An officer or employee of the Borough of Glassboro or of
an agency under the authority of or appointed by the Borough of Glassboro.
Officers and employees of the Borough of Glassboro
shall comply with the following provisions:
A.
No officer or employee of the Borough of Glassboro
or member of his or her immediate family shall have an interest in
a business organization or engage in any business, transaction or
professional activity which is in substantial conflict with the proper
discharge of his or her duties in the public interest.
B.
No officer or employee shall use or attempt to use
his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages
for himself or others.
C.
No officer or employee shall act in his or her official
capacity in any manner where he or she, a member of his or her immediate
family or a business organization in which he or she has an interest,
has a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might
reasonably be expected to impair his or her objectivity or independence
of judgment.
D.
No officer or employee shall undertake any employment
or service, whether compensated or not, which might reasonably be
expected to prejudice his or her independence of judgment in the exercise
of his or her official duties.
E.
No officer or employee, member of his or her immediate
family or any business organization in which he or she has an interest
shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, political contribution, service,
promise of future employment or other thing of value based upon an
understanding that the gift, favor, loan, contribution, service, promise
or other thing of value was given or offered for the purpose of influencing
him, directly or indirectly, in the discharge of his or her official
duties. This provision shall not apply to the solicitation or acceptance
of contributions to the campaign of an announced candidate for elective
public office if the officer has no knowledge or reason to believe
that the campaign contribution, if accepted, was given with the intent
to influence the officer in the discharge of his or her official duties.
F.
No officer or employee shall use or allow to be used
his or her public office or employment, or any information not generally
available to the members of the public, which he or she receives or
acquires in the course of and by reason of his or her office or employment,
for the purpose of securing financial gain for himself, any member
of his or her immediate family or any business organization with which
he or she is associated.
G.
No officer or employee or any business organization
in which he or she has an interest shall represent any person or party
other than the Borough in connection with any cause, proceeding, application
or other matter pending before any agency of the Borough of Glassboro.
This provision shall not be deemed to prohibit an employee from representing
another employee where the representation is within the context of
official labor union or similar representational responsibilities;
nor shall this provision be applicable to the Borough Public Defender
with respect to representation of defendants in the Municipal Court.
H.
No officer shall be deemed in conflict with these
provisions if, by reason of his or her participation in the enactment
of any ordinance, resolution or other matter required to be voted
upon or which is subject to executive approval or veto, no material
or monetary gain accrues to him or her as a member of any business,
profession, occupation or group, to any greater extent than any gain
could reasonably be expected to accrue to any other member of such
business, profession, occupation or group.
I.
No elected officer shall be prohibited from making
an inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent if no fee, reward
or other thing of value is promised to, given to or accepted by the
officer or a member of his or her immediate family, whether directly
or indirectly, in return therefor.
J.
Nothing shall prohibit any officer or employee of
the Borough of Glassboro, or members of his or her immediate family,
from representing himself, herself or themselves in negotiations or
proceedings concerning his, her or their own interests.
K.
No officer or employee elected or appointed in the
Borough shall, without receiving formal written authorization from
the appropriate person or body, disclose any confidential information
concerning any other officer or employee or any other person or any
property or governmental affairs of the Borough.
L.
No officer or employee shall approve or disapprove
or in any way recommend the payment of any bill, voucher or indebtedness
owed or allegedly owed by the Borough in which he has a direct or
indirect personal, pecuniary or private interest.
M.
No officer or employee elected or appointed in the
Borough shall request, use or permit the use of any public property,
vehicle, equipment, labor or service for personal convenience or the
private advantage of himself or any other person. This prohibition
shall not be deemed to prohibit an official or employee from requesting,
using or permitting the use of such public property, vehicle, equipment,
labor or service which it is the general practice to make available
to the public at large or which are provided as a matter of stated
public policy for the use of officials and employees in the conduct
of official business.
A.
Officers of the Borough shall annually file a financial
disclosure statement. All financial disclosure statements shall include
the following information, which shall specify, where applicable,
the name and address of each source and the officer's job title:
(1)
Each source of income, earned or unearned, exceeding
$2,000 received by the officer or a member of his or her immediate
family during the preceding calendar year. Individual client fees,
customer receipts or commissions on transactions received through
a business organization need not be separately reported as sources
of income. If a publicly traded security is the source of income,
the security need not be reported unless the local government officer
or member of his or her immediate family has an interest in the business
organization;
(2)
Each source of fees and honorariums having an aggregate
amount exceeding $250 from any single source for personal appearances,
speeches or writings received by the local government officer or a
member of his or her immediate family during the preceding calendar
year;
(3)
Each source of gifts, reimbursements or prepaid expenses
having an aggregate value exceeding $400 from any single source, excluding
relatives, received by the local government officer or a member of
his or her immediate family during the preceding calendar year;
(4)
The name and address of all business organizations
in which the local government officer or a member of his or her immediate
family had an interest during the preceding calendar year; and
(5)
The address and brief description of all real property
in the state in which the local government officer or a member of
his or her immediate family held an interest during the preceding
calendar year.
B.
The New Jersey Local Finance Board Financial Disclosure
Form shall be used. The Borough Clerk shall make the forms available
to the officers and employees required to file a financial disclosure
statement.
C.
The original statement shall be filed with the Borough
Clerk. All subsequent statements shall be filed on or before April
30 of each year. A copy of the statement shall be filed with the New
Jersey Local Finance Board.
D.
All financial disclosure statements filed shall be
public records.
A.
Any signed written complaint alleging that the conduct
of any local government employee or local government officer is in
conflict with the provisions of the Ethics Law[1] shall be filed with the State of New Jersey, Division
of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services, Local
Finance Board. Said Board shall be the primary enforcement agency
under the law.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1 et seq.
B.
The Local Finance Board shall, according to law, impose
such penalties and/or take such action as permitted by state statute.
C.
The Borough of Glassboro, independent of the Local
Finance Board, reserves any of its rights to take any other appropriate
disciplinary action against any local government employee and/or local
government officers, including but not limited to removal, suspension
or demotion with or without pay.
