(A) Code of ethics.
(1) Every elected municipal official shall exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the performance of his or her duties, exhibiting honest and good faith, and using the care, skill, common sense and informed judgment that a reasonably prudent person would use in a similar situation.
(2) Every elected municipal official is elected to a position of public trust toward the city, its taxpayers, residents, and employees. Thus, when conducting the business of the city, every elected municipal official must avoid and disclose all conflicts of interest and potential conflicts of interest, especially those potential conflicts of interest described in SDCL §§ 6-1-1 and 6-1-2. In that regard:
(a) An elected municipal official shall not perform any labor, or furnish equipment or supplies to the city for compensation. He or she shall not be interested directly in any contract with the city which may have remunerative awards to the elected official.
(b) 1. No elected municipal official may participate in discussing or vote on any issue in which the elected official has a conflict of interest. Each elected official shall decide if any potential conflict of interest requires such member to be disqualified from participating in discussion or voting. However, no elected official may participate in discussing or voting on an issue if the following circumstances apply:
a. The elected official has a direct pecuniary interest in the matter before the City Council; or
b. At least two-thirds of the City Council votes that an elected official has an identifiable conflict of interest that should prohibit the member from discussing and voting on a specific matter.
2. If an elected municipal official with a direct pecuniary interest participates in discussion or votes on a matter before the City Council, that official's vote will be invalidated.
(3) Every elected municipal official shall maintain the confidentiality of all matters pertaining to the city in accordance with the South Dakota open meetings laws, executive session laws, and other related laws and regulations.
(4) Recognizing that honest differences of opinion are natural and healthy, every elected municipal official shall work with other elected officials in a spirit of harmony and cooperation and in the best interest of the city, in spite of differences that may arise during the resolution of issues before the Council. Every elected official shall respect and abide by the decisions of the Council and shall not undermine or diminish decisions reached by a majority of the Council.
(5) Every elected municipal official shall confine his or her official efforts to those that apply to his or her office. Specifically, Council members shall confine their actions in the form of policy making, ordinance enacting, authorizing action by city officers and employees, and evaluation; and the Mayor is the executive elected official who is to confine his or her actions to those of conducting meetings, executing decisions and agreements of the Council, and overseeing the general administration of the city's affairs through cooperation with and assistance to the City Finance Officer. Every elected municipal official shall recognize that it is his or her responsibility not to run the day-to-day affairs of the city, but to work collectively with all other elected officials in cooperation with the Finance Officer to ensure that the city is well run by the implementation of proper policies, procedures and decision-making.
(6) Every elected municipal official shall recognize and adhere to the tenet that authority rests only with the City Council assembled in a meeting, and not with any individual elected official. Each elected official shall make no personal promise nor take any individual action which may compromise the Council or the city. Each decision rendered by the City Council shall be reached after discussing all relevant aspects of the issue with the other elected officials in a meeting in compliance with the South Dakota open meetings laws in effect at the time of the meeting. Individual members of the City Council, outside of regularly constituted meetings of the City Council shall have no authority to make decisions, to commit the Council to actions, to inquire into issues beyond those of which any member of the public may properly inquire, or to supervise or direct day-to-day city activities.
(7) Every elected municipal official shall strive to work collectively with the other elected officials to operate the city in the best interests of the city, its residents, its taxpayers, and its employees.
(8) Every elected municipal official shall uphold and enforce all applicable laws, rules, regulations, and court orders affecting the city, including the ordinances and policies of the city.
(9) Every elected municipal official shall refer all complaints through the proper "chain of command" within the city to determine if an informal and/or administrative solution can be obtained. In the event an informal and/or administrative solution is not obtained, then the issue may be brought before the City Council for resolution after consideration by the appropriate committee, but no individual elected official should otherwise become involved in the resolution of any matter that may thereafter come before the entire City Council for official action.
(10) Every elected municipal official shall respect and treat professionally all officers and employees of the city. No individual elected official shall pressure, threaten, or intimidate, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee, or any other elected official to do a certain thing or act a certain way.
(11) Every elected municipal official shall comply with this code of ethics. Failure to abide by this code of ethics is a breach of the public trust.
(B) Sanctions.
(1) If an elected municipal official is accused of violating this code of ethics, the City Council may investigate the allegation. If the investigation reveals a possible violation, the Council may conduct a hearing in executive session after giving notice to the elected official accused of violating the code of ethics. If, after such hearing, the Council determines that a violation has occurred, the City Council shall have the authority to impose one of the following sanctions:
(a) With the concurrence of a majority of the City Council, to privately reprimand, in executive session, the elected official who violates the code of ethics, in which case no official record of the matter will be kept;
(b) With the concurrence of a majority of the City Council, to privately reprimand, in executive session, the elected official who violates the code of ethics, but to maintain an official written record of the matter;
(c) With the concurrence of a majority of the City Council, to issue a public censure, in open session following the hearing, to the elected official who violates the code of ethics, which shall be made a part of the minutes of the City Council; or
(d) With regard only to a member of the City Council, pursuant to SDCL § 9-8-5, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the City Council, the Council may expel the Council member and declare a vacancy in that office. The City Council does not, however, have the statutory authority to expel the elected Mayor from office.
(2) In any case, if the City Council determines it to be appropriate, in addition to and apart from any one of the foregoing sanctions, the City Council shall have the authority to disavow by official resolution the improper acts or statements by an individual elected municipal official, the action to be taken in open session and placed upon the minutes of the City Council.
(3) The City Council recognizes that outside the scope of this section, removal of an elected municipal official may only be done for a reason provided by law, and only through such process as the law defines, including particularly cases of misfeasance or other applicable violations of South Dakota law.
(Ord. 830, passed 3-18-2013)