No member of Council, the Mayor or other public official or public employee of the City, whether paid or unpaid, shall engage in any business or transaction or have a financial or personal interest, direct or indirect, which is incompatible with the proper discharge of his official duties in the public interest or which would tend to impair his independence of judgment or action in the performance of his official duties, without first making a public disclosure thereof. Personal interest, as distinguished from financial interest, includes an interest arising from blood, adoption, guardianship or marriage or close business or political association.
Specific conflicts of interest are enumerated herein for the guidance of all public officials and public employees:
(a) Holding, engaging in or accepting private employment or rendering services for or on behalf of private interests where such employment or service is incompatible with the proper discharge of the official public duties of the official or employee or which would tend to impair the independence of judgment or action in the performance of the official duties of the public official or public employee.
(b) Disclose, without appropriate authorization, any information acquired by the public official or public employee in the course of his official duties which is confidential because of statutory or ordinance provisions, or when clearly designated as confidential to him when such confidential designation is warranted because of the status of the proceedings or the circumstances under which the information was received and preserving its confidentiality is clearly necessary to the proper conduct of government business, or use such information to advance the financial or private interest of the public official or public employee or others.
(c) Solicit, receive, accept or agree to receive or accept or use or authorize the use of the authority or influence of his office or employment to secure anything of value or the promise or offer of anything of value for or in connection with his public service or public employment including, but not limited to, any gift, service, loan, gratuity, compensation, favor, thing or promise from any person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association which to the knowledge of the public official or public employee is interested, directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever in business dealings with the City or that may tend to manifest an influence upon the public official or employee in the proper discharge of public duties; nor shall any public official or employee grant in the discharge of public duties any improper favor, service or thing of value.
(d) Engage in the practice of law or represent or otherwise appear in behalf of a person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association before any court or administrative agency in which the City is a party except on behalf of the City as an official or employee; or volunteer opinion evidence against the interests of the City in any litigation or proceeding in which the City is a party; or accept a retainer or other compensation that is contingent upon a specific action by a City agency, including Council, administrative department, division or office, board or commission; or appear before any board, commission or other public body of the City except in the performance of public obligations or official duties.
The provisions of this subsection (d) shall not prohibit:
(1) An appearance at or participation by a public official or employee before any department, division, office, board, commission or other City agency in the discharge of his duties as such public officer or employee and without private compensation for such appearance or participation, including appearance or participation on behalf of constituents as a representative of the electorate.
(2) An appearance at or participation by a public official or employee, on his own behalf, or on behalf of partnership, trust, business trust, corporation, association or business in which he is a proprietor, partner, officer or employee before an agency of the City of which he is not a member, with respect to a matter which is not in conflict with duties as such official or employee of the City.
(e) Acting, directly or indirectly, as attorney, agent, broker or employee or in any other representative capacity on behalf of any private person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association interested, directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever in any contract, work or service, or the sale or acquisition by the City of any property, the cost of which is payable by City funds or to the City, or, directly or indirectly, be interested in the profits of any contract, work or service with the City or in the sale or acquisition by the City of any property, the cost of which is payable by City funds or to the City. No official or employee of the City shall, directly or indirectly, have any interest other than his fixed compensation and reimbursable expenses in any expenditures of funds by the City. A public official or employee shall not be deemed interested in any contract, work or service, or the sale or acquisition by the City of any property, or the profits of any contract, work or service, or the sale or acquisition by the City of any property unless such is approved, authorized, awarded or entered into by the public official or public employee in his official capacity.
(f) Within one year after termination of public service or employment, no public official or employee shall represent a client or act in a representative capacity or accept private employment or receive private compensation for services, whether as attorney, agent, broker or employee with respect to any matter, case, proceeding, application, determination, issue or question in which he personally participated through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation or other substantial exercise of administrative discretion or which was under his charge during the period of his service as such official or employee.
(g) Use of public position for personal gain.
(h) Holding (possession of) investments which interfere with or tend to interfere with the proper discharge of public duty. This shall include participation in transactions as a public representative with a person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association in which the public official or employee has a direct or indirect financial or other personal interest.
(i) Personal interest in legislation to the extent that private interest takes precedence over public interest or duty.
(j) Entering into contracts or other conduct of business by a person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association in which the public official or employee has a controlling or other substantial financial interest and when the public official or employee can influence such contract or business because of his public position. "Substantial financial interest" includes any of the following interests in a business entity: proprietor, member of a partnership, officer or director of a corporation or association, trustee of a trust or a shareholder in a corporation whose shares are not obtainable on a recognized public stock exchange.
(k) Soliciting employment with a person, partnership, trust, business trust, corporation or association doing business with the City over which the public official or employee had some control in his official capacity within one year of the termination of public service.
(l) Promising any person appointment to any municipal position as a reward for any political activity.
(Ord. 91-13. Passed 5-6-91.)