Any purchase order or contract within the purview of this subchapter in which any city officer, elected or appointed, has a financial interest, shall be void provided that before the execution of a purchase order or contract, the Board of Public Works and Safety shall have the authority to waive compliance with this section when it finds such action to be in the best interests of the city, upon the filing of a written statement of such interest with the Board of Public Works and Safety and the Common Council. The Board of Sanitary Commissioners shall likewise have authority, with respect to its officers, employees, agents and its purchases, to waive compliance with this section when it finds such action to be in the best interests of the operation of the Sanitary District and upon filing of a written statement of such interest with the Board of Sanitary Commissioners and the Common Council. Such Boards shall have no authority to waive compliance with this section with regard to federal grants.
(A) Gifts and rebates. Every officer, employee and agent of the city, including the members of all boards, commissions and other appointed bodies, is expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person, company, firm or corporation to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded, any gift, rebate of money or entertainment having a value in excess of $50 per day or $250 per year, except where given for the use and benefit of the city and is reported in writing to the City Attorney within seven calendar days after the occurrence.
(B) Loans. No officer, employee or agent of the city, including the members of all boards, commissions and other appointed bodies, shall accept loans from an individual or organization having prospective or actual dealings with the city or using departments unless such individual or organization is in the business of making loans in the ordinary course of business.
(C) Avoidance of appearance of impropriety. Every officer, employee or agent of the city, including the members of all boards, commissions and other appointed bodies, shall make every effort, in his or her contact with individuals or organizations having prospective or actual dealings with the city, to conduct themselves in such a manner as to not allow themselves to be put into a position where their judgments can be influenced, and so as to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
(D) Code of conduct. No employee, officer or agent of the city, including the members of all boards, commissions or other appointed bodies, shall participate in the selection, award or administration of a contract if a conflict of interest, real or apparent, would be involved. Such a conflict would arise when such person, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner or an organization which employs, or is about to employ, any of the above, has a financial or other interest in the firm selected for the award.
(E) Financial conflicts of interests and permits.
(1) The purpose of this division (E) is to comply with the requirements of I.C. 36-1-27-1 et seq., as may be amended from time to time, and to establish a process in the event a conflict of interest occurs in connection with the issuance of a permit.
(2) As used in this division (E), a CONFLICT OF INTEREST means a direct or indirect financial interest in the issuance of a permit, pursuant to I.C. 36-1-27-1.
(3) As used in this division (E), PERMIT has the meaning set forth in I.C. 36-7-4-1109 as currently written or as may be amended from time to time. At the time of the adoption of this section, the state legislature definition includes and means any of the following:
(a) An improvement location permit;
(b) A building permit;
(c) A certificate of occupancy;
(d) Approval of a site-specific development plan;
(e) Approval of a primary or secondary plat;
(f) Approval of a contingent use, conditional use, special exception or special use; or
(g) Approval of a planned unit development.
(4) Subject to division (E)(7) below, whenever the city’s Building Commissioner has a financial conflict of interest in the issuance of a permit, the Building Commissioner shall issue a written explanation of said conflict and shall deliver it with the files to the city’s Zoning Administrator as the Commissioner’s direct supervisor, and the city’s Zoning Administrator shall oversee the approval or denial of the issuance of the requested permit.
(5) Subject to division (E)(7) below, whenever the city’s Zoning Administrator has a financial conflict of interest in the issuance of a permit, the Zoning Administrator shall issue a written explanation of said conflict and shall deliver it with the files to the city’s Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Development as the Zoning Administrator’s direct supervisor, and the city’s Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Development shall oversee the approval or denial of the issuance of the requested permit.
(6) Subject to division (E)(7) below, whenever a Building Code Official, Inspector, Planning Technician or other employee of the Department of Infrastructure and Development, other than the Building Commissioner or Zoning Administrator, has a financial conflict of interest in the issuance of a permit, such individual shall issue a written explanation of said conflict and shall deliver it with the files to the Zoning Administrator, and said Zoning Administrator shall oversee the approval or denial of the issuance of the requested permit.
(7) In the event a city official is authorized pursuant to divisions (E)(4), (E)(5) or (E)(6) above to oversee the approval or denial of the issuance of a requested permit, but is unavailable or unqualified, such individual shall recuse himself or herself from the permitting process, shall issue a written explanation and shall deliver it with the files to the Director of the Department of Infrastructure and Development who shall appoint a temporary replacement to oversee the approval or denial of the issuance of the requested permit. Said replacement may be pursuant to a contractual relationship with the administration of the county government or pursuant to a contractual relationship with a qualified individual from the private sector.
(F) Disciplinary action. Any person found by the Board of Public Works and Safety or the Board of Sanitary Commissioners to have violated the prohibitions of divisions (A), (B) or (E) above shall, in addition to and independently of the prosecution or results of any civil or criminal investigation or suit, be subject to appropriate disciplinary action including suspension or dismissal. Any person found to have violated the prohibitions of divisions (C) or (D) above shall be subject to such lesser disciplinary action, including temporary suspension without pay, as deemed warranted.
(Prior Code, § 41.09) (Ord. 51-2019, passed 12-16-2019)