1. The following classes of public officials and employees of the City shall file an annual statement of financial interests with the Board of Ethics:
A. Elected City Officials.
B. City Manager and Department Heads.
C. Assistant Chief Financial Officer(s).
D. Internal Auditor.
E. Candidates for elected office.
2. Members of the board of the appropriate city agencies, as defined in Section 25-2 above, and members of the boards of any other entity that receives State or Federal money through the City of Bowling Green will be required to sign a sworn Conflict of Interest Statement. This statement will note that some board members, because of their interest in that particular board, property of ownership, business interests and other reasons may gain personal or professional benefits from their service to that board. The statement will also require the board member to state that neither they nor any member of their family shall derive any benefit or profit from inside information obtained in closed sessions of that board. The board member shall further be required to disclose in open session meetings any potential conflict of interest regarding an issue before the board, abstain from any discussion on that issue, leave the meeting room prior to any closed session on that issue and shall abstain from voting on that issue.
3. The initial statement of financial interests required by this section shall be filed with the City Clerk no later than January 31, 1995. All subsequent statements of financial interests shall be filed no later than January 31 each year, provided that a public official or employee newly- appointed to fill an office or position of employment with the City shall file his or her initial statement no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the appointment and a candidate for City office, who is not a public official or employee already required to file a statement of financial interest, shall file his or her initial statement no later than thirty (30) days after the filing deadline for that office.
4. The Board of Ethics may grant a reasonable extension of time for filing a statement of financial interests for good cause shown.
5. In the event there is a material change in any information contained in a financial statement that has been filed with the Board, the public official or employee shall, no later than thirty (30) days after becoming aware of the material change, file an amended statement with the City Clerk.
6. The statement of financial interests shall be filed on a form prescribed by the Board of Ethics. The Board shall deliver a copy of the form to each public official and employee required to file the statement, by first class mail or hand delivery, no later than January 1 of each year. The failure of the Board to deliver a copy of the form to any public official or employee shall not relieve the public official or employee of the obligation to file the statement.
7. The Board of Ethics shall be the “official custodian” of the statements of financial interests and shall have control over the maintenance of the statements of financial interests. The statements of financial interests shall be maintained by the Board of Ethics, or the administrative official designated by the Board of Ethics as the “custodian,” as public documents, available for public inspection immediately upon filing.
8. A statement of financial interests shall be retained by the Board, or the designated administrative official, for a period as determined by the Board.
9. The statement of financial interests shall include the following information for the preceding calendar year:
(a) The name, current business address, business telephone number, and home address of the filer.
(b) The title of the filer’s office, office sought, or position of employment.
(c) The occupation of the filer and the filer’s spouse or domestic partner.
(d) Information that identifies each source of income of the filer and the filer’s immediate family members exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) during the preceding calendar year, and the nature of the income (e.g., salary, commission, dividends, retirement fund distribution, etc.).
(e) The name and address of any business located within the state in which the filer or any member of the filer’s immediate family had at any time during the preceding calendar year an interest of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) at fair market value or five percent (5%) ownership interest or more.
(f) The name and address of any business located outside of the state, if the business has engaged in any business transactions with the City during the past three (3) years, or which is anticipated to engage in any business transactions with the City, in which the filer or any member of the filer’s immediate family had at any time during the preceding calendar year an interest of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) at fair market value or five percent (5%) ownership interest or more.
(g) A designation as commercial, residential, or rural, and the location of all real property within the county, other than the filer’s primary residence, in which the filer or any member of the filer’s immediate family had during the preceding calendar year an interest of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or more.
(h) The name and address of any creditor owed more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), if the creditor has engaged in any business transaction with the City during the past three (3) years, or is anticipated to engage in any business transaction with the City excluding debts arising from the purchase of a primary residence or the purchase of consumer goods which are bought or used primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
(i) The name and address of any non-governmental organization, association or other business entity (excluding social, religious, trade or professional associations) in which the position of officer, board member or member is held, whether or not any income is derived from such position.
(j) The name and address of any governmental board and commission which the officer or employee is a member.
(k) A sworn statement that the filer has read the Code of Ethics, will abide by the Code requirements and that the information being provided is true.
10. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to require any public official or employee to disclose any specific dollar amounts nor the names of individual clients or customers of businesses listed as sources of income.
11. The Board of Ethics, or the designated administrative official, shall notify by certified mail each person required to file a statement of financial interests who fails to file the statement by the due date, files an incomplete statement, or files a statement in a form other than that prescribed by the Board. The notice shall specify the type of failure or delinquency, shall establish a date by which the failure or delinquency shall be remedied, and shall advise the person of the penalties for a violation.
12. Any person who fails or refuses to file the statement or who fails or refuses to remedy a deficiency in the filing identified in the notice under Subsection (11) within the time period established in the notice shall be guilty of a civil offense and shall be subject to a civil fine imposed by the Board in an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per day, up to a maximum total civil fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00). Any civil fine imposed by the Board under this section may be recovered by the City in a civil action in the nature of debt if the offender fails or refuses to pay the penalty within a prescribed period of time.
13. Any person who intentionally files a statement of financial interests which he or she knows to contain false information or intentionally omits required information shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(Ord. BG94-52, 12/13/94; Ord. BG96-5, 2/20/96; Ord. BG96-31, 9/3/96; Ord. BG99-53, 10/19/99; Ord. BG2002-3, 1/15/2002; BG2006-20, 6/26/2006; Ord. BG2008-9, 3/4/2008; Ord. BG2015-11, 5/5/2015; Ord. BG2016-13, 1/19/2016; Ord. BG2018-40, 9/26/2018; Ord. BG2019- 18, 5/7/2019; Ord. BG2020-31, 10/20/2020)
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* Editor’s Note: Reference Municipal Order No. 2008-301 which authorizes dissolution of the Depot Development Authority updating changes made in Ord. No. BG2008-9 which included language of the Depot Development Authority under paragraph 2 above in Section 25-12.