As provided by statute, no councilmember shall solicit, benefit by, or be interested directly or indirectly in any contract for the purchase of property of any kind to be paid for from the City Treasury, nor shall such councilmember be interested directly or indirectly in any contract for the erection of any structure, or for the supplying of any services to be paid for out of the City Treasury, nor shall such councilmember solicit or recommend the appointment of any person to any position in the civil service, nor shall such councilmember interfere with the performance of the duties of the members of the Philadelphia Police, or of any other employees in any department, board or commission of the City.
ANNOTATION
Sources: Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, Section 682; Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XX, Section 3; A Model State Civil Service Law, Section 19.
Purposes: 1. Ethical standards of conduct preclude one who is a City officer from soliciting in a private capacity or personally profiting or being interested, directly or indirectly, in contracts with the City whose officer he is. See Act of June 24, 1939, P.L. 872, Section 682.
2. An effective civil service regime and principles of employment on merit preclude a legislator from soliciting or recommending the appointment of any person to a civil service position. Councilmen appropriate funds to City agencies and are in a position to affect in that manner and in other ways administrative operations. Officers of such agencies must remain completely free from pressures of legislators, direct or indirect, in staffing their offices with civil service personnel. If a Councilman were permitted to solicit or recommend an appointment, an administrative officer might assume such pressure and might be influenced by it as a matter of protecting the interest of his agency and position, regardless of the motives, integrity and intentions of the Councilman.
3. For comparable reasons, Councilmen are emphatically prohibited from interfering with the performance of the duties of any employees in the executive and administrative branch of the City government. An employee should perform his duties as required by law and by his superiors and not because of a fear of legislative retaliation, whether or not such fear is in fact warranted.
4. For penalties for violating this section, see Section 10-109.
Notes
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