(a) Personal benefits to others. To avoid the appearance and risk of a conflict of interest, a city official or employee shall not use his or her official position or office, to take or refrain from taking, official action that he or she knows will result in a personal benefit for any of the following persons or entities:
(1) a relative of the city official or employee;
(2) a person with whom the city official or employee has a financial or business relationship, including but not limited to:
(A) an outside employer business of the city official, employee, or their relative, or someone who works for such outside employer of business;
(B) a client or substantial customer of the city official, employee, or their relative (SUBSTANTIAL means an amount exceeding 10 percent of the city official, employee, or their relative's income for the previous year);
(C) a debtor or creditor of the city official, employee, or their relative; or
(D) a person or business entity with whom the city official or employee, has, directly or indirectly, within the past 12 months,
(i) engaged in negotiations pertaining to a business opportunity, or
(ii) solicited an offer of employment, received, and not rejected an offer of employment, or accepted an offer of employment.
(b) Recusal and disclosure. A city official or employee whose conduct would violate Subsection (a) shall follow the recusal and disclosure requirements in Section 12A-24
of this chapter.
(c) Exceptions. A personal benefit does not include:
(1) salaries, compensation, or employee benefits when the salaries, compensation, or employee benefits are not given in exchange for a city employee's or city official's official action or lack of action;
(2) campaign or political contributions that are made and reported in accordance with state law;
(3) hospitality extended for a purpose unrelated to the official business of the city;
(4) a public award or reward in recognition of public service or professional achievement, if the award or reward is reasonable in light of the occasion;
(5) gifts or other ceremonial symbols of recognition presented by representatives of governmental bodies or political subdivisions who are acting in their official capacities;
(6) a loan from a lending institution made in its regular course of business on the same terms generally available to the public;
(7) complimentary copies of trade publications; and
(8) anything of value received as a devise, bequest, or inheritance.
(d) Municipal management district boards. The restrictions and requirements of this section do not apply to a member of a municipal management district board. (Ord. Nos. 32072; 32472
)