For the purpose of this chapter, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
GIFT.
(1) A rendering of money, property, services, granting a discount, loan forgiveness, payment of indebtedness or anything else of value in return for which legal consideration of equal or greater value is not given and received, if the donor is in any of the following categories:
(a) The donor is doing or seeking to do business of any kind with the city. For the purpose of this definition,
DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY means being a party to any one or any combination of sales, purchases, leases or contracts to, from or with the city;
(b) The donor is engaged in activities which are regulated or controlled by the city;
(c) The donor has interests which may be substantially and materially affected in a manner distinguishable from the public generally by the performance or nonperformance of the donee’s official duty; or
(d) The donor is a lobbyist with respect to matters within the donee’s jurisdiction.
(2) However,
GIFT does not mean any of the following:
(a) Campaign contributions;
(b) Informational material relevant to a public servant’s official functions, such as books, pamphlets, reports, documents or periodicals and registration fees or tuition, not including travel or lodging, for not more than three days at seminars or other public meetings conducted in this state, at which the public servant receives information relevant to the public servant’s official functions. Information or participation received under the exclusion of this division (2)(b) may be applied to satisfy a continuing education requirement of the donee’s regulated occupation or profession if the donee pays any registration costs exceeding the amount that shall be set by the City Council from time to time;
(c) Anything received from a person related within the fourth degree by kinship or marriage unless the donor is acting as an agent or intermediary for another person not so related;
(d) Any inheritance;
(e) Anything available to or distributed to the public generally, without regard to official status of the recipient;
(f) Food, beverages, registration and scheduled entertainment at group events to which all members of either house or both houses of the general assembly are invited. For the purpose of this definition,
MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY means an individual duly elected to the Senate or House of Representatives of the state;
(g) Actual expenses for food, beverages, travel, lodging, registration and scheduled entertainment of the donee for a meeting, which is given in return for participation in a panel or speaking engagement at the meeting; and/or
(h) Plaques or items of negligible resale value given as recognition for public services.
(3) The value of the
GIFT is determined as follows:
(a) An individual making a gift on behalf of more than one person shall not divide the value of the gift by the number of persons on whose behalf the gift is made;
(b) The value of a gift to the donee is the value actually received; and
(c) For the purposes of the reporting requirements of this chapter, a donor of a gift made by more than one individual to one or more donees shall report the gift if the total value of the gift to the donee exceeds the amount that shall be set by the City Council from time to time.
(Ord. 123-4.12, passed 1-9-1989)