(a) Gift, Compensation or Economic Interest. No official or employee of the City shall solicit, accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any gift, compensation or anything of an economic interest, whether in the form of money, service, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, thing or promise, or in any other form, under any circumstance in which it can reasonably be inferred that any of the foregoing is intended to influence him or her in the performance of his or her official duties or is intended as a reward for any official action on his or her part.
(b) Preferential Treatment. No official or employee of the City shall use, or attempt to use, his or her position to unreasonably secure, request or grant, any privileges, exemptions, advantages, contracts, or preferential treatment for himself or herself, a relative or any other person.
(c) Use of Information. No official or employee of the City who acquires information in the course of his or her official duties, which information by law or policy is not available at the time to the general public, shall use such information to further the private economic interests of himself or herself, a relative or any other person.
(d) Full Disclosure.
(1) No official or employee of the City shall participate, as an agent or representative of the City, in approving, disapproving, voting, abstaining from voting, recommending or otherwise acting upon any matter in which he or she or a relative has a direct or indirect economic interest without disclosing the full nature and extent of the interest. Such a disclosure must be made before the time to perform his or her duty or concurrently with the performance of the duty. If the official or employee is a member of a decision-making or advising body, he or she must make disclosure to other members of the body on the official record. Otherwise, a disclosure will be appropriately addressed by an appointed official or employee to the City Manager or by an elected official to the general public. In the case of the City Manager and the City Attorney, he or she shall make such a disclosure to the Mayor.
(2) No official or employee or relative shall engage in any business transaction whereby the official or employee or relative may benefit financially from confidential information which the official or employee has obtained or may obtain by reason of that position or authority.
(e) Doing Business with the City. No official, employee or relative shall engage in any business with the City, directly or indirectly, without filing a complete written disclosure statement for each business activity having an economic interest to any of the foregoing. Such a disclosure shall be made on an annual basis or prior to any decision making not previously disclosed by an annual disclosure.
(f) Use of City Property. No official or employee of the City shall directly or indirectly, use or permit a relative or other persons to use City property of any kind for his or her private economic interest or that of a relative or other person. City officials or employees shall strive to protect and conserve all City property including equipment and supplies entrusted or issued to them.
(g) Exceptions.
(1) Employees of the City Police Department shall be regulated by the City Police Department policies as approved by the City Council and are not subject to this chapter. Food or drink provided on City property shall be exempt from this chapter. This chapter is not intended to prevent any gift other than food or drink, with a value of less than five dollars ($5.00), such as promotional items or trinkets.
(2) Food or drink provided outside of City property in conjunction with City business shall be reported to the City Council in writing within ten days of acceptance.
(3) In addition, this chapter is not intended to prevent any official or employee of the City from receiving compensation for work performed on his or her own time as a private citizen which does not involve City business, nor is it intended to apply to contributions to political campaigns which are governed by State or Federal Law.
(Ord. 310. Passed 1-5-10.)