(a) Conflict of Interest. No Village official or employee shall use, or attempt to use, his or her official position to secure, request or unreasonably grant any special consideration, privilege, exemption, advantage, contract or preferential treatment for himself, herself, or others, beyond that which is available to every other citizen.
(b) Business Transactions. No Village official or employee, on his or her own behalf or on behalf of another person, shall have any financial or other direct personal interest in any contractual or non-contractual business transaction with the Village unless that official or employee shall first make full public disclosure of the nature of the interest prior to the approval of such transaction.
(c) Confidential Information. Village officials and employees shall respect the confidentiality of information concerning the property, personnel or affairs of the Village. They shall neither disclose nor divulge to an unauthorized person confidential information acquired in the course of their duties in advance of the time prescribed for its authorized release to the public without proper legal authorization, nor use such information to advance their personal, financial or other private interests.
(d) Personal Opinion. A Village official or employee shall not represent his or her personal opinion as that of the Village.
(e) Appearance of Impropriety. An "appearance of impropriety" shall occur when an official or employee is involved in a decision concerning action of a Village body which will affect an immediate family member, even if that official or employee derives no direct or indirect financial benefit from the action. An appearance of impropriety shall be fully disclosed on the official record to the Village Council. After such disclosure, the official or employee may participate in the decision only if he or she has informed the Village Council in advance that he or she will so participate.
(f) Use of Village Property and Resources. An official or employee shall not use, or permit others to use, any property owned by the Village for profit or personal convenience or benefit, except:
(1) When available to the public generally, or to a class of residents, on the same terms and conditions;
(2) When permitted by policies approved by the Village Council; or
(3) When, in the conduct of official business, used in a minor way for personal convenience.
(g) Gifts, Favors and Loans. Except as permitted by this section, no Village official or employee shall intentionally solicit or accept any gift from any prohibited source or any gift that is otherwise prohibited by law or ordinance. This subsection shall not apply to the following:
(1) Opportunities, benefits and services available on the same conditions as for the general public or to participants at any national, state or local conference or trade association meeting.
(2) Anything for which the official or employee pays the fair market value.
(3) Any contribution that is lawfully made under the Campaign Finance Laws of the State of Michigan.
(4) A gift from a relative, meaning those people related to the individual by blood or marriage.
(5) Anything provided by an individual on the basis of a personal friendship unless the recipient has reason to believe that, under the circumstances, the gift was provided because of the official position or employment of the recipient and not because of the personal friendship.
(6) Food or refreshments not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) per person in value on a single calendar day; provided that the food or refreshments are: (i) consumed on the premises from which they were purchased or prepared; or (ii) catered. For the purposes of this section, "catered" means food or refreshments that are purchased ready to consume which are delivered by any means.
(7) Food, refreshments, lodging, transportation and other benefits resulting from outside business or employment activities (or outside activities that are not connected to the official duties of an official or employee), if the benefits have not been offered or enhanced because of the official position or employment of the official or employee, and are customarily provided to others in similar circumstances.
(8) Intra-governmental and inter-governmental gifts. For the purpose of this section, "intra-governmental gift" means any gift given to an official or employee from another official or employee of the Village, and "intergovernmental gift" means any gift given to an official or employee by an official or employee of another governmental entity.
(9) Bequests, inheritances and other transfers at death.
(10) Any item or items from any one prohibited source during any calendar year having a cumulative total value of less than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(h) Respect for Process. Village officials and employees shall perform their duties in accordance with the processes and rules of order established by Village Council governing the deliberation of public policy issues, meaningful involvement of the public, and implementation of policy decisions by Village staff.
(i) Conduct of Public Meetings. Village officials and employees participating in public meetings shall prepare themselves for public issues, listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions before the body, and focus on the business at hand. They shall refrain from interrupting other speakers, making comments not germane to the business of the body, or otherwise interfering with the orderly conduct of meetings.
(j) Nothing in this section shall negate or lessen any other standard, prohibition, or ethics requirement imposed on any Village official or employee by any other law, ordinance or legal requirement. Village officials and employees shall comply with federal, state and local laws in the performance of their public duties.
(Ord. 155. Passed 1-13-16.)