A. Where any city officer or employee has a doubt as to the applicability of any provision of this title to a particular situation, or as to the definition of terms used herein, such person may apply to the city attorney for a written advisory opinion. The city officer or employee shall have the opportunity to present his interpretation of the facts at issue and of the applicability of provisions of the title before such advisory opinion is made. Such opinion, until amended or revoked, shall be binding on the city, the city council, and the city attorney in any subsequent actions concerning the city officer or employee who sought the opinion and acted on it in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or misstated in the request for the advisory opinion.
B. Any written opinion prepared by the city attorney shall be made public. However, the name of the person requesting the opinion and the names of all persons or business entities mentioned in the opinion shall be deemed confidential information and shall not be disclosed unless the city officer or employee waives such confidentiality or where the city attorney deems the city officer or employee to have failed to act in good faith in requesting the opinion or in conforming with the opinion or to have failed to act in conformance with the opinion. (Ord. 785, 7-31-2007, eff. 8-15-2007)
The mission of the city attorney as it relates to this chapter is to encourage each city officer and employee to act ethically at all times. This mission requires the city attorney to not only encourage compliance with various laws but, more importantly, encourage each officer and employee to adhere to the high standards of ethical behavior as set forth in this title. In pursuing that broad mission, the duties of the city attorney in conjunction with the human resources department include:
A. Developing policies, programs and strategies to deal with all ethics related matters;
B. Developing training and education programs;
C. Providing training and education to city officers and employees;
D. Conducting meetings with city officers and employees to discuss or provide advice on ethics issues;
E. Obtaining copies of all reports filed and disclosures made pursuant to this title;
F. Maintaining a directory of all reports and disclosures filed pursuant to this title;
G. Encouraging compliance with the spirit and letter of ethics laws;
H. Periodically reviewing this title and other applicable laws and regulations and recommending amendments hereto;
I. Acting as the ethics liaison between the elected officials and employees of the city; and
J. Fulfilling other duties as requested by the city council. (Ord. 785, 7-31-2007, eff. 8-15-2007)