(A) Representation of interests before city government.
(1) No officer or employee of the city or any city agency shall represent any person or business, other than the city, in connection with any cause, proceeding, application, or any other matter, before the city or any city agency, board, or commission.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any officer or employee from representing himself or herself in matters concerning his or her own interests,
(3) No elected officer shall be prohibited by this section from making any inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent, if no compensation, reward, or other thing of value is promised to, given to, or accepted by the officer, whether directly or indirectly, in return for the inquiry.
(B) Political solicitation. An officer, employee, or candidate for city office may not knowingly request, or authorize anyone else to request, that any subordinate or political future subordinate participate or not participate in any political activity, including the making of a campaign contribution; nor may an officer or employee engage in any political activity while on duty for the city, with the use of city funds, supplies, vehicles, or facilities, in uniform, or during any period of time during which he or she is normally expected to perform services for the city for which compensation is paid.
(C) Patronage. No officer or employee may promise an appointment or the use of his or her influence to obtain an appointment to any position as a reward for any political activity or contribution.
(D) Outside employment. An officer or employee shall not accept any employment or enter into any contracts that result in a conflict of interest with his or her duties as an officer or employee of the city.
(E) Post-employment restriction. No officer or employee of the city or any city agency shall appear before the city or any city agency or receive compensation for services rendered on behalf of any person in relation to any particular matter with respect to any matter on which the officer or employee personally worked in the service of the city or city agency for a period of one (1) year after the termination of the officer’s or employee’s service with the city or city agency.
(F) Fees and honoraria. An officer or employee shall not accept any compensation or honorarium in consideration for an appearance, speech, or article unless the appearance, speech, or article is both related to the officer’s or employee’s employment activities outside of municipal service and is unrelated to the officer’s or employee’s service with the city.
(G) Endorsements. No officer or employee in his or her official capacity may publicly endorse products or services; provided, however this prohibition does not preclude an officer or employee from answering inquiries by other governmental officials, consumer organizations, or product information services regarding products or services.
(H) Complicity with or knowledge of others’ violations. No officer or employee may, directly or indirectly, induce, encourage, or aid anyone to violate any provision of this ethics code.
(Ord. No. 02-20, 2-18-20)