(A) The City/County Ethics Commission shall have the following powers:
(1) To receive and to act as “official custodian” of the filings of financial disclosure statements required by this chapter and determine, as far as possible, their timeliness, their completeness, and their accuracy. Unacceptable filings should be returned to the filer with the reason for their unacceptability. A request for an extension of the filing deadline may be granted for justifiable reasons at the discretion of the Ethics Commission;
(2) To receive, hear, and review complaints and hold hearings regarding possible violations of the city/county ethics code. Complaints to the Board shall be in the form of signed affidavits and may not originate within the Board itself;
(3) To issue subpoenas for the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses;
(4) To forward to appropriate agencies of state and local government information concerning violations which may be used in criminal or other proceedings. However, confidentiality of claims and questions under consideration by the Board should be maintained wherever possible until a determination has been made in regard to the situation;
(5) To render advisory opinions to city/county officers and employees regarding whether a given set of facts and circumstances constitutes a violation of any provisions of the city/county code of ethics;
(6) To enforce the provisions of the local code of ethics with regard to local government officers and employees and to impose penalties for violations as authorized in § 39.99 of this chapter; and
(7) To adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the local ethics code.
(B) The appointed board members shall choose annually one of their number to serve as chairperson. A secretary may be chosen from among the board members or from outside the membership.
(C) Decisions of the City/County Ethics Commission regarding violations shall be appealable to the Circuit Court.
(Prior Code, § 38.41) (Ord. 94-10.1, passed 10-17-1994)