(A) General rule. It is unlawful for a city official or employee to take any official action that he or she knows is likely to:
(1) Affect an economic interest of:
(a) The official or employee;
(b) His or her immediate family member;
(c) A member of his or her household;
(d) An outside employer of the official or employee or of his or her immediate family member;
(e) A business entity in which the official or employee or his or her immediate family member holds an economic interest;
(f) A business entity for which the city official or employee serves as an officer or director or in any other policy making position; or
(g) A person or business entity from whom the official or employee, or his or her immediate family member, has solicited, received and not rejected, or accepted any benefit or an offer of employment within the past 24 months; or
(2) Confer a benefit on the official or employee, or deprive the official or employee of a benefit, where the effect of the action on the official or employee is distinguishable from the effect of the action on members of the public in general or a substantial segment of the public.
(B) Meaning of AFFECT.
(1) In division (A)(1) above, an action is likely to affect an official's or employee's economic interest if it meets all of the following:
(a) The action is likely to have an effect on that interest, either positive or negative, that is distinguishable from its effect on members of the public in general or a substantial segment of the public.
(b) The effect of the action on that interest is direct, and not secondary or indirect. However, the action need not be the only producing cause of the effect in order for the effect to be direct.
(c) The effect on the interest must be more than insignificant or de minimis in nature or value.
(2) In determining whether a person, entity or property is or was affected by a vote or decision, it will not be necessary to prove the actual existence or occurrence of an economic effect or consequence if the effect or consequence would be reasonably expected to exist or occur.
(C) Recusal and disclosure. A city official or employee whose conduct would otherwise violate division (A) above, or a state conflict of interest law, if he or she took an action must abstain from participation in the action in accordance with the following:
(1) Immediately refrain from further participation in the matter, including communications with any persons likely to consider the matter, such as any department, agency, commission or board of the city, from the time he or she discovers or reasonably should have discovered the matter triggering the recusal and until a decision regarding the matter has been made by the council, board or commission having final approval authority;
(2) Promptly file a form for disclosing the nature and extent of the interest triggering the recusal with the City Clerk, if the person is an official, or with the person's supervisor, if the person is an employee;
(3) Promptly notify the person's supervisor of the nature and extent of the interest triggering the recusal, if the person is a city employee, so that the supervisor can reassign responsibility for handling the matter to another person; and
(4) Promptly disclose the interest triggering the recusal, if the person is a member of a city board or commission, to other members of the board or commission, and leave the room in which the board or commission is meeting during the board or commission's discussion of, or voting on, the matter.
(Ord. 2019-01-O, passed 1-15-2019)