(a) Any person who is a resident of the city or is doing or attempting to do business with the city may file a complaint with the board. The complaint shall be in writing, signed and dated, and include an address and telephone number. All complaints shall be sworn to by a notary public and filed with the office of the city attorney, except for any referral from the fraud coordination committee pursuant to the city’s fraud control policy. Complaints shall describe in detail the act or acts complained of and the specific section(s) of the respective subchapter in this chapter that have been allegedly violated.
(b) All complaints, and any subsequent filings and proceedings before the board, shall remain confidential unless the accused elects to make the complaint public or the board has issued its report pursuant to §§ 35.050 through 35.059. If the board determines that the complainant (the person who filed the complaint) has violated any confidentiality provisions under this chapter, or in any way prejudiced the accused through any disclosures or other violations of confidentiality, then the board may immediately dismiss the complaint. Dismissal under this section does not affect the right of the board or any person other than the complainant to initiate a complaint based on the same factual allegations, though, in such event, the board shall consider the facts and circumstances surrounding the violation resulting in said dismissal when considering any related subsequent complaints.
(c) Complaints alleging violations of any of the provisions of §§ 35.025 through 35.036 naming a city employee are personnel matters subject to the jurisdiction of Human Resources. All other complaints alleging violations of any of the provisions §§ 35.025 through 35.036 are to be investigated by the city attorney's office. The board of ethics shall not have jurisdiction to review, investigate, or adjudicate a complaint alleging violations of §§ 35.025 through 35.036.
(d) After an initial review of the complaint pursuant to §§ 35.050 through 35.056, the board may dismiss any complaint that it finds to be frivolous, illegible, too indefinite, does not identify the accused, is unsigned or is not verified by an oath of affirmation. A "frivolous" complaint is one which lacks a rational basis in fact or law, and/or is intended merely to harass or embarrass the accused. No investigation is required if the board determines that a complaint is frivolous on its face, illegible, too indefinite, does not identify the accused, is unsigned or is not verified by an oath of affirmation. Except for the fraud coordination committee, any person who files a frivolous complaint with the board shall be civilly liable to the person charged for all costs incurred in defending the charge, including, but not limited to, costs and attorney's fees. In determining if a complaint is frivolous, the board may consider the following:
(1) The timing of the complaint with respect to when the facts supporting the alleged violation became known to the complainant, and with respect to the date of any pending election in which the accused is a candidate or is otherwise involved with that election in any manner, if any;
(2) The nature and type of publicity surrounding the filing of the complaint, and the degree of participation by the complainant in publicizing the fact that a complaint was filed with the board;
(3) The existence and nature of any relationship between the accused and the complainant before the complaint was filed;
(4) If the accused is a candidate for any elected public office at the time of the filing of the complaint, the existence and nature of any relationship between the complainant and any candidate or group opposing the accused;
(5) Any evidence that the complainant knew or reasonably should have known that the allegations in the complaint were groundless; and
(6) Any evidence of the complainant’s motives in filing the complaint.
(e) The board shall hold in abeyance any complaint filed against a candidate, as defined by SDCL 12-27-1(4) for any elected public office within 90 days of the election for such office, unless the accused candidate requests the board to expedite its handling of the complaint or unless the complaint involves the alleged conduct of a municipal election for such office pursuant to City Charter Section 6.01(c).
(1992 Code, § 12.5-9) (Ord. 24-09, passed 3-16-2009; Ord. 57-12, passed 8-7-2012; Ord. 116-23, passed 12-5-2023)