[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Garden City 2-6-2020 by L.L. No. 2-2020.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law also repealed former Ch. 12,
Code of Ethics, adopted 12-29-1970 as Res. No. 100-1970.
Officers, elected officials and employees of the Village of
Garden City ("Village") hold their positions to serve and benefit
the public, and not for obtaining personal or private gain in the
exercise and performance of their official powers and duties. The
Board of Trustees of the Village recognizes that, in furtherance of
this fundamental principle, there is a need for clear and reasonable
standards of ethical conduct. This code of ethics is designed to establish
those standards, while recognizing that many persons serving the Village
serve as volunteers to the Village in various capacities and maintain
private employment with third parties not affiliated with the Village.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The Board of Trustees of the Village, inclusive of the Mayor
of the Village ("Board of Trustees"), and any municipal administrative
board, commission, agency or body of the Village, the membership of
which is subject to approval by the Board of Trustees, including,
without limitation, those board and commissions listed on the Village
website or established under Village law, from time to time.
This Code of Ethics.
An officer or employee shall be deemed to have an "interest"
in any entity or organization, when he or she, his or her spouse,
or a member of his or her household, is an owner, partner, member,
director, officer, employee, or directly or indirectly owns or controls,
any of the organization's outstanding stock or membership interests
or is entitled to any portion of the profits or losses of any such
entity.
A paid or unpaid officer or employee of the Village including,
but not limited to, the members of any Board, whether paid or unpaid,
but shall not include professionals and consultants retained by the
Village or third parties retained through public bidding contracts
or other contracts which may be entered into by the Village.
A spouse, parent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, sibling's
spouse, child, step-child, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin,
or household member of a municipal officer or employee, and individuals
having any of these relationships to the spouse of the officer or
employee.
The Village Administrator; Secretary to the Board of Trustees;
Village Clerk; Village Treasurer; Village Auditor; Chairman, Board
of Police Commissioners; Fire Chief; Chairman of the Board of the
Recreation and Cultural Affairs; Superintendent of Building Department;
and Superintendent of Public Works, Library Director, or any comparable
senior staff position reporting to the Village Administrator, and
such other titles as may be established from time to time by the Board
of Trustees.
This code applies to the officers and employees of the Village,
and, effective on the date of its adoption by the Board of Trustees,
shall supersede any prior Village Code of Ethics. The provisions of
this code shall apply in addition to all applicable state and local
laws relating to conflicts of interest and ethics, including, but
not limited to, Article 18 of the New York General Municipal Law,
and all rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the Village.
No officer or employee shall use his or her Village position
or official powers, duties and discretion to secure a material financial
or other benefit, directly or indirectly, for himself or herself,
a relative, or any organization or entity in which he or she or a
relative is deemed to have an interest. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
it is not the intention of this section to prohibit any officer or
employee (or any relative of an officer or employee) who is a resident
and/or taxpayer of the Village from receiving any goods, services
or other benefit available generally to residents and/or taxpayers
of the Village, provided that such are made available to such officer
or employee in amounts and on terms comparable to residents and/or
taxpayers generally. For purpose of this section and of this code
generally, "material" means any benefit other than one which is so
trivial or de minimus as not to raise the reasonable prospect that
it would affect the judgment, decision-making or advocacy of the officer
or employee.
A.
Whenever a matter requiring the exercise of discretion comes before a Village officer or employee, either individually or as a member of a Board, and disposition of the matter could result in a violation of § 12-4, the officer or employee shall disclose in writing the nature of the interest.
B.
The disclosure shall be made when the matter requiring disclosure
first comes before the officer or employee, or when the officer or
employee first acquires knowledge of the interest requiring disclosure,
whichever is earlier.
C.
In the case of a person serving in an elective office, the disclosure
shall be filed with the Board of Trustees and the Village Administrator.
In all other cases, the disclosure shall be provided to the person's
supervisor (with a copy provided by the officer or employee to the
Village Clerk) or, if the person does not have a supervisor, the disclosure
shall be filed with the officer, employee or board having the power
to appoint to the person's position. In addition, in the case of a
person serving on a board, a copy of the disclosure shall be filed
with such board. Any disclosure made to a board or the Public Administrator
shall be made publicly at a meeting of the board prior to the taking
of any action and must be included in the minutes of the meeting and
shall be deemed proper notice under this code.
A.
No officer or employee shall participate in any decision or take (or forbear from taking) any official action with respect to any matter or proceeding requiring the exercise of discretion, including discussing the matter and voting on it, if he or she knows or has reason to know that the action or forbearance could confer a benefit prohibited by § 12-4 (an "offending officer or employee").
B.
In the event that this section prohibits an officer or employee from
acting or forbearing:
(1)
If the action or forbearance is vested in an officer as a member
of a board, then it shall be exercised or performed by the other members
of the board without the participation of the offending officer or
employee; or
(2)
Other than as provided in Subsection B(1) above, if the action or forbearance is vested in an officer or employee individually, he or she must refer the matter to his or her immediate supervisor, and the immediate supervisor shall designate another person to act or forbear as appropriate. In the case of the Village Administrator, the referral shall be made to the Village Mayor ("Mayor") who shall act or forbear as appropriate or designate another person to do so.
C.
In the event that a member of the senior staff is subject to a prohibition under this § 12-6, the Village Administrator shall promptly report this matter to the Mayor, and shall report it to the Board of Trustees at the next Board of Trustees meeting, and such report shall be recorded in the minutes of such meeting. Such report shall be in addition to the obligations imposed by Subsection B.
A.
Subject to state or federal laws and regulations stating otherwise, the provisions of §§ 12-4, 12-5 and 12-6 of this code shall not apply to the Board of Trustees with respect to the following matters:
(1)
Adoption of the Village's annual budget;
(3)
Any matter that does not require the exercise of discretion; or
(4)
Any matter related to general tax laws, zoning laws or building laws
or other regulations or policies or the approval or expenditure of
funds which affect all residents or taxpayers of the Village or an
area of the Village.
B.
C.
Matters which are acted upon pursuant to the exemptions of Subsection B of this § 12-7 shall be promptly reported to the Board of Trustees and shall be voidable by the majority vote of the Board of Trustees within 60 days of such notice or at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees, whichever shall be later.
A.
No officer or employee, during his or her tenure as an officer or
employee, may engage in any private employment, including the rendition
of any business, commercial, professional or other types of services,
when the employment:
(1)
Can be reasonably expected to require more than sporadic recusal and abstention pursuant to § 12-6 of this code;
(2)
Can be reasonably expected to require disclosure or use of confidential
information gained by reason of serving as an officer or employee;
(3)
Violates any applicable law, regulation or rule, including without
limitation, § 805-a(1)(c) or (d) of the New York General
Municipal Law; or
(4)
Requires representation of a person or organization other than the
Village in connection with litigation, arbitrations, negotiations
or any other matter or proceeding in which the Village is also a party.
B.
The Village recognizes under this code that § 805-a(1)(c) of the New York State General Municipal Law prohibits any municipal officer or employee from, among other things, receiving or entering into any agreement, express or implied, for compensation for services to be rendered in relation to any matter before any municipal agency of which he is an officer, member or employee or of any municipal agency over which he has jurisdiction or to which he has the power to appoint any member, officer or employee. Therefore, notwithstanding anything to the contrary appearing elsewhere in this code, including, without limitation § 12-6B(1) above, no member of the Architectural Design Review Board, Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals may serve on such boards or commissions, or continue to serve on such boards or commission if such person would be required to recuse themselves, from acting on matters to be considered by, or in proceedings before, such board or commission on which such person then is serving, or if appointed, would serve.
A.
No officer or employee may ask for, pursue or accept a private post-government
employment opportunity with any person or organization that has a
matter requiring the exercise of discretion pending before the officer
or employee, either individually or as a member of a board, while
the matter is pending or within the one year following final disposition
of the matter.
B.
No officer or employee, for the one-year period after serving as
an officer or employee, may represent or render services to a private
person or organization in connection with any matter involving the
exercise of discretion before the municipal office, board, department
or comparable Village organizational unit for which he or she serves.
C.
No officer or employee, at any time after serving as such, may represent
or render services to a private person or organization in connection
with any particular transaction in which he or she personally and
substantially participated while serving as an officer or employee.
This code shall not be construed as prohibiting an officer or
employee from:
A.
Village resources shall be used only for lawful Village purposes.
Village resources include, but are not limited to, Village personnel,
Village funds, vehicles, equipment, materials, supplies, real property
or other property. Village resources shall also be deemed to include
access to and the ability to utilize the sanitation and/or refuse
disposal facilities of the Village.
B.
No officer or employee may use or permit the use of Village resources
for personal or private purposes or the personal or private purposes
of a relative, nor may an officer or employee allow any unauthorized
party to use Village resources, but this provision shall not be construed
as prohibiting:
(1)
Any use of Village resources authorized by law or written Village
policy established by the Board and evidenced by resolutions duly
adopted by the Board;
(2)
The use of Village resources for personal or private purposes when
expressly provided to an officer or employee as part of his or her
compensation provided that such use has been expressly approved by
the Board of Trustees and evidenced by resolutions duly adopted by
the Board or in conformity with policies established by the Board
of Trustees from time to time in connection with terms of employment
or general employee policies.
(3)
The occasional and incidental use during the work day of Village
telephones and computers for necessary personal matters such as family
care, medical reasons and changes in work schedule.
C.
No Village officer or employee shall cause the Village to spend more
than is reasonably necessary for transportation, meals or lodging
in connection with official travel.
Except as otherwise required by law:
A.
No officer or employee, either individually or as a member of a Board,
may participate in any decision specifically to appoint, hire, promote,
discipline or discharge a relative for any position at, for or within
the control of the Village or a Board.
B.
No officer or employee may supervise a relative in the performance
of the relative's official powers or duties.
C.
No relative shall be hired or retained as an employee of the Village, and no entity controlled by a relative shall be hired or retained as a contract party or consultant or perform services for monetary gain for the Village unless such relationship is disclosed to the Board of Trustees prior to any such employment or retention, and such employment or retention is approved in writing by the Board of Trustees. For purposes of this § 12-14C, the term "control' shall mean that such relative (or such relative's relatives as defined above) beneficially owns more than 5% of the equity interests or the right to receive more than 5% of the profits or losses of any such entity and evidenced by resolutions duly adopted by the Board or is a partner, officer, manager or director of any such entity.
A.
No officer or employee shall directly or indirectly to compel or
induce a subordinate officer or employee to make, or promise to make,
any political contribution, whether by gift of money, service or other
thing of value.
B.
No officer or employee may act or decline to act in relation to appointing,
hiring or promoting, discharging, disciplining, or in any manner changing
the official rank, status or compensation of any officer or employee,
or an applicant for a position as an officer or employee, on the basis
of the giving or withholding or failing to make any contribution of
money or service or any other valuable thing for any political purpose.
C.
No member of the Board shall coerce, or conspire with, third parties
or any business(es) to promise the grant of gifts, favors, special
treatment or similar entitlements not available to the public at large;
or without disclosure in writing to the Board or in publicly disseminated
speeches or campaign materials available to the public at large, promise
changes or promise to seek changes in Village laws or policies which
changes in Village policies or laws are intended to benefit either
a specific interest group or class of residents of the Village, or
customers or recipients of services from any third party or business
in the Village, or a particular business or entity providing products
or services in the Village, in order to induce or influence the vote
of residents in connection with the election of Board members.
No officer or employee who acquires confidential information
in the course of exercising or performing his or her Village powers
or duties may disclose or use such information unless the disclosure
or use is required by law or in the course of exercising or performing
in good faith his or her powers and duties. All confidential information
so obtained is the property of the Village.
A.
No officer or employee shall solicit, accept or receive a gift in
violation of § 805-a(1)(a) of the New York General Municipal
Law as interpreted in this section.
B.
No officer or employee may directly or indirectly solicit any gift.
C.
No officer or employee may accept or receive any gift or multiple
gifts from the same donor which exceed the limit when:
(1)
The gift reasonably appears to be intended to influence the officer
or employee in the exercise or performance of his or her powers or
duties (including forbearance from action);
(2)
The gift could reasonably be expected to influence the officer or
employee in the exercise or performance of his or her powers or duties
(or forbearance from action); or
(3)
The gift is intended as a reward for any action or forbearance on
the part of the officer or employee.
D.
For purposes of this section, a "gift" includes anything of value,
whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment,
hospitality, thing or promise, or in any other form. The value of
a gift is the gift's fair market value, determined by the retail cost
of the item or a comparable item. The fair market value of a ticket
entitling the holder to food, refreshments, entertainment, or any
other benefit is the face value of the ticket, or the actual cost
to the donor, whichever is greater. A gift or gifts may not exceed
an annual aggregate value of $75 or more, or such amount as the Board
of Trustees may reasonably determine ("limit"). Determination of whether
multiple gifts from a single donor exceeds the limit must be made
by adding together the value of all gifts received from the donor
by an officer or employee during the twelve-month period preceding
the receipt of the most recent gift.
E.
Presumption of influence; reward.
(1)
A gift to an officer or employee is presumed to be intended to influence
the exercise, performance or forbearance of his or her powers or duties
when the gift is from a private person or organization that seeks
Village action involving the exercise of discretion by or with the
participation of the officer or employee or in exchange for information,
treatment or opportunities that otherwise would not be given;
(2)
A gift to an officer or employee is presumed to be intended as a
reward for official action when the gift is from a private person
or organization that has obtained or is about to obtain Village action
or forbearance involving the exercise of discretion by or with the
participation of the officer or employee during the preceding 12 months,
including, without limitation, action or forbearance that violates
Village policy or and law or regulation.
F.
This section does not prohibit any other gift, including:
(1)
Gifts made to the Village;
(2)
Gifts from a person with a family or personal relationship with the
officer or employee when the circumstances make it clear that the
personal relationship, rather than the recipient's status as a Village
officer or employee, is the primary motivating factor for the gift;
(3)
Gifts given on special occasions, such as marriage, illness, death
of a relative, or retirement, which are modest, reasonable and customary;
(4)
Unsolicited advertising or promotional material of little intrinsic
value, such as pens, pencils, note pads, and calendars;
(5)
Awards and plaques having a value not in excess of $300 which are
publicly presented in recognition of service as an officer or employee,
or other service to the community;
(6)
Meals and refreshments provided when an officer or employee is a
speaker or participant at a job-related professional or educational
conference or program and the meals and refreshments are made available
to all participants; an attendee with one or more members of the Board
for a meeting at which Village business is being discussed; or such
other Village or Village-related functions including those sponsored
by volunteer, charitable or benevolent organizations;
(7)
Gifts made by the Village to the officer or employee which are evidenced
by resolutions duly adopted by the Board and otherwise allowed under
law; or
(8)
Subject to federal and state laws providing for more limited amounts,
pledges or donations not to exceed the sum of $250 per pledgee or
donor made as political contributions in connection with the recipient's
election campaign for public office.
[Amended 5-21-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020]
A.
The Village has established a Board of Ethics for the Village. The
Board of Ethics shall consist of three members, none of whom shall
be officers or employees of the Village, provided, however, that one
member of the Board of Ethics may also be a Garden City Village Justice.
The members of the Board of Ethics shall be appointed by the Mayor,
subject to approval by a majority of the Board of Trustees, to serve
at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees for a term of three years,
and shall receive no salary or compensation for their service. In
the event that one or more vacancies occur, and the Mayor fails to
nominate one or more persons to fill such vacancies within 90 days
of any such vacancy, then the Board of Trustees, acting by majority,
may appoint one or more persons to fill such vacancies. For the avoidance
of doubt, members of the Board of Ethics may be removed solely upon
the vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees.
B.
The Board of Ethics shall render advisory opinions to the officers
and employees of the Village with respect to Article 18 of the New
York General Municipal Law and this code. Such advisory opinions must
be rendered pursuant to the written request of any such officer or
employee or the Village Board of Trustees under such rules and regulations
as the Board of Ethics may prescribe. The Board of Ethics shall have
the ability to obtain advice of legal counsel which, in the discretion
of the Board of Ethics, may include Village Counsel, at the cost of
the Village. In addition, the Board of Ethics may make recommendations
with respect to the amendment of this code upon the request of the
Mayor and/or Board of Trustees.
C.
The Board of Ethics shall also be deemed an appropriate party to
receive whistleblower complaints on behalf of the Village.
A.
The Village Clerk must promptly cause a copy of this code, and a
copy of any amendment to this code, to be posted publicly and conspicuously
in each Village building at which any Village officer or employee
regularly performs the majority of his or her duties. The code must
be posted within 10 days following the date on which the code takes
effect. An amendment to the code must be posted within 10 days following
the date on which the amendment takes effect.
B.
The Village Clerk must promptly cause a copy of this code, including
any amendments to the code, to be distributed to every person who
is or becomes an officer or employee.
C.
Every officer or employee who receives a copy of this code or an
amendment to the code must acknowledge such receipt in writing. Such
acknowledgments must be filed with the Village Clerk who must maintain
such acknowledgments as a public record.
D.
The failure to post this code or an amendment to the code does not
affect either the applicability or enforcability of the code or the
amendment. The failure of an officer or employee to receive a copy
of this code or an amendment to the code, or to acknowledge receipt
thereof in writing, does not affect either the applicability or enforceability
of the code or amendment to the code.
A.
Subject to the provisions and procedures contained in any federal
or state law or contractual agreement stating otherwise, any Village
officer or employee or member of the Board who violates this code
may be censured, fined, suspended or removed from office or employment
in the manner provided by law or as determined by the Board of Trustees.
Violations of this Code of Ethics may be deemed, in the opinion of
the Board of Trustees acting upon majority vote, sufficient "cause"
to require removal from a Board or employment by the Village. The
Board of Trustees may, in its discretion, require, in order to ensure
compliance with this code, annual or other periodic certifications
of compliance from members of any board, senior staff, officers or
employees or third party vendors.
B.
Upon request of the Village Board of Trustees, the Board of Ethics
may render opinions to the Village Board of Trustees regarding the
applicability of, violations of, or interpretations of matters contained
within, this code.
