A. Conflict Of Interest:
1. Conflict Of Interest Generally: No public servant or volunteer public servant shall participate directly or indirectly in making, recommending, preparing, or performing a discretionary function with respect to any contract with the city, including, without limitation, a procurement contract, when the public servant or volunteer public servant has actual knowledge that:
a. The public servant or volunteer public servant or a relative of the public servant or volunteer public servant has a financial interest pertaining to such contract;
b. The public servant or volunteer public servant or a relative of the public servant or volunteer public servant has a financial interest in a business entity that has a financial interest pertaining to such contract; or
c. Any other person or business entity with whom the public servant or volunteer public servant or any relative of the public servant or volunteer public servant is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment is involved in such contract.
2. Financial Interest In A Blind Trust: A public servant or volunteer public servant or any relative of the public servant or volunteer public servant who holds a financial interest in a blind trust and its corpus shall not be deemed to have a conflict of interest with regard to matters pertaining to that "financial interest" as defined herein, provided that disclosure of the existence of the blind trust has been made affirmatively in writing to the: a) city council, in the case of the mayor; b) mayor, in the case of city council members and department heads; or c) applicable department head, in the case of any other public servant or volunteer public servant.
3. Bidding And Procurement:
a. Any elected officer, and any business entity in which such elected officer has a financial interest, may not submit a bid or proposal regarding, or renew the term of, a contract within the official responsibility of that elected officer. A member of a city board, commission, committee, authority, or agency, and any business entity in which such member has a financial interest, may not submit a bid or proposal regarding, or renew the term of, a contract within the official responsibility of that board, commission, committee, authority, or agency.
b. Any public servant or volunteer public servant who serves on a city procurement committee must cease to serve on such committee if he or she has, or within the past year had, a financial interest in an entity that submits a bid or proposal that will be evaluated by that committee.
c. No public servant or volunteer public servant who serves on a city procurement committee may, during the two (2) years immediately following the date the related contract is awarded by the city, seek or accept employment or remuneration of any kind from a person or entity that submitted a bid or proposal that was evaluated by that committee.
4. Discovery Of Actual Or Potential Conflict Of Interest; Disqualification And Waiver: Upon discovery of an actual or potential conflict of interest, any public servant or volunteer public servant shall promptly file a written statement of disqualification and shall withdraw from further participation in the transaction or matter involved. The public servant or volunteer public servant may, at the same time, apply to the city attorney for an advisory opinion as to what further participation, if any, the public servant or volunteer public servant may have in the transaction or matter.
B. Public Servant Or Volunteer Public Servant Disclosure Requirements:
1. Disclosure Of Benefit Received From Contract: Any public servant or volunteer public servant who has or obtains any benefit from any city contract with a business entity in which the public servant or volunteer public servant has a financial interest, shall report such benefit to the: a) city council, in the case of the mayor; b) mayor, in the case of city council members and department heads; or c) applicable department head, in the case of any other public servant or volunteer public servant, within thirty (30) days after the public servant or volunteer public servant has actual or constructive knowledge of a benefit received or to be received. However, this subsection shall not apply to a contract with a business entity in which the public servant's or volunteer public servant's interest in the business entity has been placed in a disclosed blind trust. Disclosure pursuant to this subsection shall not exonerate any public servant or volunteer public servant from any violation of this chapter.
2. Failure To Disclose Benefit Received: Any public servant or volunteer public servant who knows or should have known of such benefit, and fails to report such benefit as provided in subsection B1 of this section, is in breach of the ethical standards of this chapter.
C. Gifts And Payoffs Related To Procurement:
1. Gifts: It shall be illegal for any person to offer, give, or agree to give to any public servant or volunteer public servant or former public servant or former volunteer public servant, or for any public servant or volunteer public servant or former public servant or former volunteer public servant to solicit, demand, accept, or agree to accept from another person, a gift or an offer of employment in connection with any decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a procurement requirement or a purchase request, action to influence the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, request for ruling, determination, claim or controversy, or other particular matter, pertaining to any procurement requirement or a contract or subcontract, or to any solicitation or proposal therefor.
2. Payoffs: It shall be illegal for any payment, gift, or offer of employment to be made by or on behalf of a subcontractor under a contract to the prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor or any person associated therewith, as an inducement for the award of a subcontract or order. This prohibition applies whether a payment, gift, or offer is made before or after the award of a city contract or order.
D. Prohibition Against Contingent Fees: It shall be illegal for a person to be retained, or to retain a person, to solicit or secure a city contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, or brokerage or contingent fee, except for retention of bona fide employees or bona fide established commercial selling agencies for the purpose of securing business. (Ord. 11-11, 2011)