(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, no City officer or employee, or any business in which said officer, employee, or spouse of the officer or employee has a proprietary interest, shall engage in:
1. selling, buying, or leasing property, real or personal, to or from the City;
2. contracting with the City; or
3. buying or bartering for or otherwise engaging in any manner in the acquisition of any bonds, warrants, or other evidence of indebtedness of the City.
(b) For purposes of this section, "employee" means any person who is employed by the City who enters into, recommends or participates in the decision to enter into any transaction described in subsection "a" of this section. Provided that any person who receives wages, reimbursement for expenses, or emoluments of any kind from the City, any spouse of such person, or any business in which such person or spouse has a proprietary interest shall not buy or otherwise become interested in the transfer of any surplus property of the City or a public trust of which the City is beneficiary unless such surplus property is offered for sale to the public after notice of the sale is published.
(c) For purposes of this section, "proprietary interest" means ownership of more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the business or of the stock therein or any percentage which constitutes a controlling interest but shall not include any such interest held by a blind trust.
(d) Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any transaction entered into in violation of the provisions of this section is void. Any member of the City Council who approves any transaction in violation of the provisions of this section shall be held personally liable for the amount of said transaction.
(e) The City Council, by ordinance, or the City Manager, by personnel rules, may further regulate conflict of interest and ethics of officers and employees of the City.