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This is the place to discuss disclosure of possible conflicts of interest at the point where they arise, that is, where an official or employee's continuing participation in a matter becomes a matter of concern because of a conflict between his or her government role and his or her other roles, business, professional, or personal.

Withdrawal (recusal) is the central act in a conflict of interest situation. Important issues include: whom to inform of a potential conflict, when to recuse oneself, when to allow others to insist on recusal, how open and detailed transactional disclosure should be, and how much to take into account the appearance of impropriety.

Please share your experiences with recusal and the failure to recuse.

101. Transactional Disclosure.

1. Whenever an official or employee* has reason to believe that he or she should recuse himself or herself under 100(3) of this code, he or she must:

immediately refrain from participating further in the matter, formally or informally;

promptly inform the appropriate individual or body, pursuant to subsection 3 below, that he or she has a conflict; and

promptly file with the city clerk a signed statement disclosing the reasons for recusal or, if a member of a board or commission, state this information on the public record of that board or commission.

Comment: In subsection 1(c) and in 104(2) there are references to placing information on the public record. This appears to assume that municipal meetings have a published transcript or, at least, a recording, video or aural, that is available to the public. But especially in smaller cities and towns, and in less important meetings, this is not the case. How have cities dealt with this problem of not having a public record to place disclosures on? Is it required that minutes include all disclosures?

2. Whenever someone suggests or requests (privately or publicly) that an official or employee* recuse himself or herself under 100(3) of this code, and he or she chooses not to do so, he or she must promptly file with the city clerk a signed statement disclosing the reasons for refusing to recuse himself or herself or, if a member of a board or commission and if the suggestion was made publicly at a meeting of that board of commission, state this information upon the public record of that board or commission.

Comment: See the comment to 100(3) for more information.

3. An official or employee* is required to inform the appropriate individual or body pursuant to subsection 1b, as follows:

If a member of a board, commission, committee, or authority, inform the chair or the entire body at a public or executive session; if the chair, inform the secretary;

If not on such a body and appointed by the city manager/director of administration/mayor, inform the city manager/director of administration/mayor;

If an employee of the Board of Education, inform the Superintendent of Schools;

If the Superintendent of Schools, inform the chair of the Board of Education;

If an elected official, inform the mayor;

If a consultant,* inform the chair or head of the board, department, or agency that hired the consultant.

4. An official or employee* need not file a disclosure statement pursuant to this section if he or she, with respect to the same matter, has, with respect to an interest in a contract* with the city, filed a disclosure statement pursuant to 100(9)(b) of this code.

Comment: Transactional disclosure provides specific disclosure when a conflict arises, that is, when an official or employee*'s personal relationship or interest actually creates a conflict with the public interest. It is at this point that it is most important that the official or employee* seriously consider the effects of this conflict on his or her actions or judgment, as well as the effects on how his or her involvement would appear to the public if it knew about the conflict.

Subsection 3: These specific guidelines to informing of conflicts should be adapted to each city's particular form and structure.

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This is the place to discuss the protection from mistreatment by superiors of municipal employees who file complaints or act as witnesses in ethics proceedings. Significant issues include the need and effectiveness of such protection, and the language necessary to make it effective as well as to prevent officials and employees from hiding behind it to make political attacks. Please share your experiences with various sorts of whistle-blower protection, as well as with instances where the lack of it has made a serious difference.

110. Whistle-Blower Protection.

1. Neither the city nor any person, including officials and employees*, may take or threaten to take, directly or indirectly, official or personal action, including but not limited to discharge, discipline, personal attack, harassment, intimidation, or change in job, salary, or responsibilities, against any official, employee, or other person (or against any member of their family) because that person, or a person acting on his or her behalf, (a) reports, verbally or in writing, or files a complaint with the Ethics Commission regarding an alleged violation of this code, or (b) is requested by the Ethics Commission to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, or is involved in a court action relating either to the alleged violation or to evidence presented or given as part of an Ethics Commission investigation or hearing. The provisions of this section are not applicable when the complainant, witness, or reporter of a violation made accusations or other statements that were malicious and false. A violation of this section is a violation of this code.

2. Anyone who alleges a violation of subsection 1 may bring a civil action for appropriate injunctive relief, or actual damages, or both within ninety days after the occurrence of the alleged violation. A court may order reinstatement of the plaintiff to such a suit, or the payment of back wages, full reinstatement of fringe benefits and seniority rights, actual damages, or any combination of these remedies. A court may also award the plaintiff all or a portion of the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees and witness fees. The initiation of such litigation is not a violation of the confidentiality provisions in 100(10) or 213(9).

Comments: Without whistle-blower protection, city employees - the people who best know what is going on in the city government - will be unlikely to come forward with reports of ethics code violations. It is difficult enough to betray the strong feelings of loyalty that exist in most workplaces, and almost impossible when speaking out endangers your job and pension. With whistle-blower protection, city officials will know their violations might be reported and, therefore, will be more likely to act consistent with the code (that is, their personal interest in protecting themselves will be closer to the public interest in their acting fairly and impartially).

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Following Mark Davies, I have placed definitions not at the front of the Code, where they usually appear, but at the end of the Ethics Provisions section. The reasoning behind this choice is that definitions should not be as important as they often are. Often, definitions include significant content, so that officials and employees must read the definitions before they can know what they are required to do. It is better to have officials focus on the plain meaning of ethics provisions, knowing that no extra duties will be imposed in the definitions, that there are no traps hidden there. If an official does not read the definitions, the worst that will happen is that he or she will think that the ethics rules are more restrictive than they really are, and will thus be protected from inadvertently violating them.

Please recommend additional or different definitions, and please share your experiences, especially problems arising from wording of definitions, as well as from lack of clear definitions.

111. Definitions.

Unless otherwise stated or unless the context otherwise requires, when used in this code:

1. To "appear" or "appear before" means to communicate in any form, including, without limitation, personally, through another person, by letter, or by telephone. This definition also applies to the noun form, "appearance."

2. "Consultant" means an independent contractor or professional person or entity engaged by the city and in a position to influence a city decision or action, or have access to confidential information.

3. "Customer or client" in 100(1)(e) means (a) any person or entity to which a person or entity has supplied goods or services during the previous twenty-four months, having, in the aggregate, a value greater than $1,000, or (b) any person or entity to which an official or employee's* outside employer or business* has supplied goods or services during the previous twenty-four months, having, in the aggregate, a value greater than $1,000, but only if the official or employee knows or has reason to know the outside employer or business supplied the goods or services.

4. "Domestic partner" is an adult, unrelated by blood, with whom an unmarried or separated official or employee* has an exclusive committed relationship, maintains a mutual residence, and shares basic living expenses.

5. "Financial benefit" includes any money, service, license, permit, contract, authorization, loan, travel, entertainment, hospitality, gratuity, or any promise of any of these, or anything else of value. This term does not include campaign contributions authorized by law. A "financial interest" is a relationship to something such that a direct or indirect financial benefit has been, will be, or might be received as a result of it.

6. A "gift" is a financial benefit* received or given without equivalent compensation. However, a financial benefit* received or given on terms available to the general public is not a gift.

7. "Household" includes anyone whose primary residence is in the official or employee*'s home, including non-relatives* who are not rent payers or servants.

8. An "interest in a contract" is a relationship to a contract such that a direct or indirect financial or other material benefit has been, will be, or might be received as a result of that contract. The official or employee* does not need to be a party to the contract to have an interest in it. Indirect benefit includes a benefit to the official's family or outside business or employer.

9. "Ministerial act" means an action performed in a prescribed manner without the exercise of judgment or discretion as to the propriety of the act. An example of a ministerial act is the granting of a marriage license by a city clerk.

10. "Official or employee" means any official or employee of the city, whether paid or unpaid, and includes all members of an office, board, body, advisory board, council, commission, agency, department, district, administration, division, bureau, committee, or subcommittee of the city. "Official or employee" does not include:

(a) A judge, justice, or official or employee of the court system;

(b) A volunteer fire fighter or civil defense volunteer, except a fire chief or assistant fire chief; or

(c) A member of an advisory board if, but only if, the advisory board has no authority to implement its recommendations or to act on behalf of the city or to restrict the authority of the city to act.

11. "Outside employer or business" includes:

(a) any substantial business activity other than service to the city;

(b) any entity, other than the city, of which the official or employee* is a member, official, director, or employee, and from which he or she receives compensation for services rendered or goods sold or produced;

(c) any entity located in the city or which does business with the city, in which the official or employee* has an ownership interest, except a public corporation in which the official or employee's ownership interest is the lesser of (i) stock valued at less than $50,000 or (ii) five percent of the outstanding stock; and

(d) any entity to which the official or employee* owes, or by which the official or employee is owed, more than $10,000, either in the form of a note, a bond, a loan, or any other financial instrument.

For purposes of this definition, "compensation" does not include reimbursement for necessary expenses, including travel expenses..

12. "Personal benefit" includes benefits other than those that are directly financially advantageous. These include financial benefits* to relatives*, business associates, and others listed in 100(1), as well as non-financial benefits* to these people and to oneself, including such things as reputation and the success of one's career. A "personal interest" means a relationship to something such that a personal benefit has been, will be, or might be obtained by certain action or inaction with respect to it.

13. "Relative" means a spouse, child, step-child, brother, sister, parent or step-parent, or a person claimed as a dependent on the official or employee's* latest individual state income tax return.

14. "Subordinate" means another official or employee* over whose activities an official or employee has direction, supervision. or control.

Comment: Subsection 3 ("customer or client"): An employee of a large corporation may not know many of the customers or clients of his or her employer and should not be penalized for that understandable ignorance. For that reason, the "knows or has reason to know" language is included.

Subsection 6 ("gift"): A "financial transaction ... on terms not available to the general public" includes, for example, a reduced-interest loan to a municipal official. The reduction in interest would constitute a gift.

Subsection 11(c)("outside employer or business"): It is sometimes said that stock ownership in a public company is not relevant to an official's interests, because he or she owns a tiny percentage of the stock and therefore has no control over the entity. But the success of the public company does have special meaning to someone who holds a large dollar amount of that company's stock (even if that amount is large only for the individual, not for the corporation) and, therefore, it does constitute an interest that could get in the way of an official's ability to act impartially (as well as the perception of how the official would benefit from the company's success).

The amount of share holdings will not be disclosed, but since there is a minimum amount, it will be clear that any disclosed share holding is sizeable. Therefore, some cities may want a lower threshold amount, so that it is not clear whether a shareholding is large or small.

Subsection 12 ("personal benefit"): Many ethics codes require the expenditure of funds even with respect to personal benefits. But this requirement allows officials to vote, say, on whether they should have to recuse themselves, when a committee member raises the issue at a meeting. Non-financial interests, such as reputation, are very important to people and have an equally powerful effect on their ability to make impartial decisions. I would like to hear about examples of personal benefits you feel should be included as giving rise to a possible conflict of interest, and how you have seen such personal benefits dealt with when they are and when they are not covered by ethics codes.

Subsection 13: Some cities follow the IMLA Model Code by defining "relatives," generally or in such instances as gift-giving, as anyone within up to the fifth degree of consanguinity. I feel that this term is inappropriate to an ethics code because of its unfamiliarity, its difficulty, and its common usage in law (determining incest). To be in the fifth degree of consanguinity, two individual's first common ancestor must be no more than a total of five generations away. For example, if my grandfather (two degrees) is your great-grandfather (three degrees), there are five degrees of consanguinity between us. In law, because consanguinity is for the purpose of defining incest, it does not include relationship by marriage. However, relationship by marriage is relevant in government ethics.

Throughout this code there are stars next to defined words. If this usage is followed and the code is placed on a city's website, these stars should be turned into links to the Definitions section, so that the definitions can be easily consulted.

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This is the place to discuss the establishment and the role of an Ethics Commission. The most important issue here is an Ethics Commission's independence: how important it is and how best a municipality can achieve it. With respect to EC independence and competence, please share your thoughts or experiences regarding regional and state Ethics Commissions vs. municipal ECs. Other important issues include: who can (or cannot) sit on an EC; what limits should be placed on EC members' political activities; terms of office and term limits; and the removal of EC members for misconduct.

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This is the place to discuss the Ethics Commission's jurisdiction, powers, and duties. The most controversial matter here is over whom an Ethics Commission should have jurisdiction: elected officials, unionized employees, consultants, candidates, people and entities that do business with the city or apply for something from the city, former officials and employees (and if so, for how long?)?

Another important matter here is staffing and, to the extent outside staffing is used, how to do this without compromising confidentiality or, in the case of appointed officials such as the city attorney, without bringing partisan politics into the process.

207. Ethics Commission: Jurisdiction, Powers, and Duties.

1. The Ethics Commission may only act with respect to current and former officials and employees, consultants*, applicants*, candidates, and persons and entities that do business with the city, give gifts* to officials and employees or their families, or are otherwise covered by the provisions of this code.

2. The termination of an official's or employee's term of office or employment with the city does not affect the jurisdiction of the Ethics Commission with respect to the requirements imposed on him or her by this code.

Comment: Jurisdiction over former officials and employees, as well as over those who do business with the city or give gifts, can be controversial. The extent of jurisdiction allowed by courts (when they have had to decide this issue) varies among states, but often it is unclear, and many lawyers, especially those involved politically, will automatically say that there is no such jurisdiction. Nothing makes government officials and employees feel more secure than knowing all they have to do is quit in order to prevent an ethics or corruption matter from being investigated. Therefore, it is important to make it clear in advance to officials and employees that quitting is not an antidote to ethics violations. I would like to hear about the law in various states, and experiences people have had or know about where jurisdiction has been successfully or unsuccessfully challenged, and the effects of such challenges on ethics systems.

3. Unless otherwise stated, the Ethics Commission must send all official correspondence by registered or certified mail, or by personal service.

4. Unless otherwise stated, all Ethics Commission decisions or determinations must be made by the affirmative vote of three sitting members.

5. The Ethics Commission has the following powers and duties:

(a) To prescribe and promulgate rules and regulations governing its own internal organization and procedures in a manner consistent with this code;

(b) To appoint hearing officials, an executive director, if necessary, and such other staff as are necessary to carry out its duties under this code, and to delegate authority to the executive director, if any, to act in the name of the Commission between meetings of the Commission, provided that the delegation is in writing and the specific powers to be delegated are enumerated, and further provided that the Commission may not delegate the power to render a formal advisory opinion, determine a violation, impose a penalty, seek any remedy not otherwise delegated in this code to the legislative body, or refer a matter to a prosecutor. An executive director must meet the qualifications of an Ethics Commission member as specified in 203 of this code;

(c) To prepare and provide forms for complaints and for annual, applicant, and transactional disclosure statements, pursuant to section 208;

(d) To review, index, and maintain on file disclosure statements filed with the Commission, pursuant to sections 202 and 208 of this code;

(e) To render, index, and maintain on file advisory opinions pursuant to section 209;

(f) To review, index, maintain on file, and dispose of sworn complaints, and to make notifications and conduct investigations pursuant to section 213;

(g) To conduct hearings, apply and recommend disciplinary action, assess penalties, make referrals, and initiate appropriate actions and proceedings pursuant to sections 214 and 215;

(h) To dispose of waiver requests pursuant to section 210;

(i) To provide training and education to officials, employees, and those doing business with the city pursuant to section 211;

(j) To prepare an annual report and recommend changes to this code pursuant to section 212;

(k) To provide for public inspection of certain records pursuant to section 217; and

(l) To make this code and explanations of it available for reproduction and distribution pursuant to section 219.

Comment: Subsection 4: "Sitting members" means those members, regular or alternate, who are sitting to make a determination about the relevant matter. This could mean a panel made up of members, or simply the members who hear a case (with one or more alternates sitting for regular members) and who can, therefore, be the only ones able to decide it.

Subsection 5: This model code is intended to minimize the administrative burden on municipalities. For that reason, only sizeable cities will find it necessary to hire an executive director and staff for their ethics commissions. In such instances, the code should specify the powers and duties of the executive director, for example, carrying out investigations or overseeing ethics officers. All other municipalities can rely upon other municipal staff members for the occasional secretarial services or legal advice the enforcement of the law will require.

However, care must be taken that any municipal staff used by the ethics commission maintain the confidentiality of commission actions and remain free from conflicts of interest and political and other pressures from superiors and peers. In particular, where the city attorney is a political appointee or is otherwise beholden to the chief elective official or a majority of the governing body, the commission must have the authority, when necessary, to obtain independent counsel. For that reason, some municipalities may wish to require, in their ethics code, funding for such counsel.

This raises the general issue of funding. One of the most popular ways to prevent an ethics commission from doing too good a job investigating alleged violations of the ethics code is to restrict its budget. With a small budget, it will be forced to depend on the city attorney and will have to cut corners and delay investigations. If it is possible, a city seeking to improve its ethical environment should set a healthy budget for the next few years, with minimum increases tied to inflation.

How do people feel about ex parte communications? Generally, they should not be allowed, but since ethics commissions do not meet very often (unlike courts), often have no staff, and have an interest in resolving disputes quickly and through settlement, restricting ex parte communications can make the process slower and more difficult for everyone. What approaches have worked or been problematic?

208. Lists, Complaint Forms, and Disclosure Statements.

1. The Ethics Commission will annually review the list of officials and employees required to file annual disclosure statements, to determine whether the lists are complete and accurate. Within ninety days after it has been formed, and by February 1 each year thereafter, the Ethics Commission must (a) cause to be filed with the City Clerk a list of the names and offices, or positions, of all officials and employees* and others required to file annual disclosure statements pursuant to 103 of this code; and (b) notify all such persons of their obligation to file an annual disclosure statement.

2. The Ethics Commission will prepare forms for complaints and for annual, applicant, and transactional disclosure statements, and will make these forms available at the City Clerk's office and on the city's website, for easy downloading.

3. By June 15 of each year, the Ethics Commission must review all annual disclosure statements filed with it to determine whether any person required to file such a statement has failed to file it, has filed a deficient statement, or has filed a statement that reveals a possible or potential violation of this code.

4. The Ethics Commission must review all transactional disclosure statements filed with it.

5. If the Commission determines that an annual or transactional disclosure statement is deficient or reveals a possible or potential violation of this code, the Commission will notify the person in writing of the deficiency or possible or potential violation, and of the penalties for failure to comply with this code.

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Often referred to as "Financial Disclosure," a term that makes it seem more invasive than it actually is, annual disclosure is an important, but controversial way to get officials and employees to consider their potential conflicts of interest on an annual basis, and to let the public know about such potential conflicts.

This is the place to share your opinions and experiences with annual disclosure. Experiences with attempts to require annual disclosure are as important as experiences with its use, both in terms of its usefulness to officials and its usefulness to the public.

The extent of information required is an important topic for discussion. Other topics include who should file annual disclosure forms, and what to do when officials fail to file.

A sample disclosure form appears as an appendix to the Model Code, as well as below.

103. Annual Disclosure.

1. Officials, Employees, and Others Who Are Required to File.

Those holding the following job titles or positions are required to file a signed annual disclosure statement:

Elected officials;
Department heads and those authorized to act on their behalf (e.g., first deputies);
Officials and employees who hold policymaking positions, including members of municipal boards, such as ethics commissions, finance boards, planning and zoning boards, boards of zoning, buildings, and assessment appeals, wetlands and conservation boards, economic development boards, and parks and recreation boards;
Officials whose job descriptions or whose actual duties involve:

The negotiation, authorization, or approval of contracts, leases, franchises, revocable consents, concessions, variances, special permits, or licenses;
The purchase, sale, rental, or lease of real property, personal property, or services, or a contract for any of these;
The obtaining of grants of money or loans; or
The adoption or repeal of any rule or regulation having the force and effect of law;
candidates for elected office;
political party committee officers; and
relatives of officials and employees who, pursuant to subsection 5(d) of this section, are required to file because they are employed by the city, but who would not otherwise be required to file.

2. Time and Place for Filing.
a. Annual disclosure statements (for the calendar year) are to be filed with the Ethics Commission:

(i) Within one-hundred-and-twenty days after the effective date of this section;

(ii) Within thirty days after taking one of the job titles or positions listed in subsection 1 of this section; and

(iii) No later than May 15 of each year thereafter.

b. For candidates for elected office:

(i) With the filing of the certificate of candidacy or declaration of intent.

(ii) No later than May 15 of each year thereafter. If an annual disclosure statement is overdue and is not filed within 20 days after the candidate receives from the Ethics Commission written notice of the failure to file, the candidate is considered to have withdrawn his or her candidacy.

3. Changes in Disclosed Information.
Within thirty days after a change in the information contained in his or her most recently filed annual disclosure statement, an official, employee, or candidate must file a signed amendment to the statement (as in subsection 2), indicating the change.

4. Contents of Annual Disclosure Statement.

The annual disclosure statement will include:
a. The location of any real property in the city, or within one mile of the boundary of the city, in which the person disclosing, or his or her relative*, has a financial interest*, and the type of financial interest.

b. With respect to each outside employer or business* of the person disclosing:

(i) Its name (if any);

(ii) The nature of its business;

(iii) If it is an entity, the type of entity;

(iv) The person disclosing's relationship to it, such as sole proprietor, owner, partner, official, director, member, employee, bondholder, or shareholder.

c. With respect to each outside employer or business* of the person disclosing's spouse or domestic partner*, the information required by paragraph (b) of this subsection.

d. The names and addresses of all relatives* employed by the city as employees, contractors, or consultants, including relatives* who work for or are subcontractors of contractors, consultants, or subcontractors.

e. Failure to disclose the information required by subsection 4 of this section with respect to a person disclosing's spouse or other relative* does not constitute a violation of that subsection if the person disclosing made a good faith effort to obtain the information and if he or she also sets forth those efforts in his or her disclosure statement.

5. Any person who is subject to the disclosure provisions of this and the following subsection is required to obtain and preserve, for a period of three years following the date of the relevant disclosure statement, all accounts, bills, receipts, and other documents necessary to complete and substantiate such disclosure statement. These documents will be made available for inspection upon request by the Ethics Commission or its agent after reasonable notice.

6. The Director of Finance must certify to the Ethics Commission, no later than May 15 of each year, a list of all business entities doing business with the city, currently bidding for business with the city, or that have done business with the city over the prior three years. This list will be made available to the public at no cost.

Comment: While less significant than transactional disclosure, annual disclosure does fill an important role in an ethics program. In particular, annual disclosure reveals potential conflicts of interest before they arise and thus alerts the official - and the citizenry - to those potential conflicts. Annual disclosure thereby provides a check on transactional disclosure and protects officials by identifying potential ethical pitfalls, which the official can then take steps to avoid.

Politicians often focus their condemnation of ethics codes on annual disclosure statements. They insist that forcing people to disclose their interests will prevent people from getting involved in city government. But the disclosure statements in this model code are far from what, say, U.S. Senators are required to file. No one is being asked to disclose how wealthy or poor they are. They are only being asked to say who their employer is (not what they're paid), what local companies they have financial interests in (not how big their interest is), what land they own in the municipality, and which of their relatives work for the city. The only people who will truly mind disclosing this information are those who have so many interests or involved relatives, or so much land in town, that they probably would face many conflicts of interest and, therefore, should probably not be involved in city government, except in areas that do not deal with businesses, developers, or contractors. After all, the biggest complaint people have about municipal governments is that they're run by local businessmen, developers, and contractors, those who represent them, and their relatives. This problem is only compounded when officials do not want to admit publicly what they do for a living.

Some cities will want to go beyond these minimal disclosure requirements, especially for senior officials. Such cities will want annual disclosure of all information directly relevant to the ethics code, including all interests, direct and indirect, that might conflict with government responsibilities (see 100(1) above). Major debtors and creditors may also be listed, as well as any applications made to the city during the year. It may be specified that the disclosure statement is being filed under oath.

Subsection 1: For the sake of clarity, each municipality should list the job titles or positions of the persons required to file annual disclosure statements.

Subsection 2: May 15 was chosen because it is one month after personal income tax returns are due, providing them with both fresh information and the time to prepare the disclosure statement.

Subsection 4: In the event a person disclosing, after a good faith effort, is unable to obtain the required information from an estranged spouse or from a relative, he or she need only set forth his or her efforts in the disclosure statement; there is no need to review land records.

Subsection 6: Information in disclosure statements is useful only if it can be checked against information. That is the purpose of this subsection: to allow the comparison of an official's business connections with a list of businesses that do business with the city.

Should failure to file a disclosure statement be a violation requiring a complaint to be filed, placing the burden on citizens or the ethics commission and requiring an investigation and hearing for a clear-cut violation? Or should the burden be on the person disclosing to file (at least a request for a 30-day extension), requiring from the ethics commission only a notice and a reasonable length of time before a stated penalty is automatically due?

There have been cases, such as in Rhode Island, where a large number of officials did not file disclosure statements, making it almost impossible for the ethics commission to take action against them all (it is my understanding that they chose to go after the governor first). A late fee and serious penalty for not filing would require officials to take the requirement seriously. I would like to know others' experiences with enforcement of annual disclosure.

APPENDIX A: Sample Annual Disclosure Statement

Annual Disclosure Statement for 2007

___________________________________________________________

Last Name First Name Initial

___________________________________________________________

Title Department, Agency, or Body

___________________________________________________________

Work Address Phone No.

___________________________________________________________

Home Address Phone No.

If the answer to any of the following questions is "none," please so indicate. If you have more than one entry for any of the sections, please fill out separate sheets and attach to these sheets. If you could not obtain the required information from a spouse or other relative, set forth your efforts to obtain information on a separate sheet attached to this statement.

1. REAL ESTATE.
List the address or, if there is no address or if the address provides insufficient information to describe a large piece of property, description of each piece of real property in this city, or within one mile outside its boundaries, that you, your spouse, or other relative own or have a financial interest in. "Relative" means your spouse, child, step-child, brother, sister, parent or step-parent, or a person you claimed as a dependent on your latest state income tax return.

____________________________________________________________________

Name of Relative and Relationship to You

____________________________________________________________________

Address or Description of Real Estate

____________________________________________________________________

Type of Financial Interest (e.g., owns or partnership)

2. YOUR OUTSIDE EMPLOYERS OR BUSINESSES.
List the names and address of the principal or local office of any outside employers or businesses from which you receive compensation for services rendered or goods sold or produced, or of which you are a member, official, or employee. Also include any entity in which you have an ownership interest, except a public corporation of which you own less than five percent of the outstanding stock or stock valued at less than $50,000, whichever is less (such a public corporation need be listed only if it does business with or in the city). Identify the type of entity (e.g., partnership, corporation, self-employment, or sole proprietorship), and list your relationship to the employer or business (e.g., employee, owner, partner, official, director, member, or shareholder).

____________________________________________________________________

Name of Employer or Business

____________________________________________________________________

Nature of Business

____________________________________________________________________

Type of Entity

____________________________________________________________________

Your Relationship to Employer or Business

3. YOUR SPOUSE'S OR DOMESTIC PARTNER'S EMPLOYER OR BUSINESS.

List the information in question 2 for your spouse or domestic partner.

____________________________________________________________________

Name of Employer or Business

____________________________________________________________________

Nature of Business

____________________________________________________________________

Type of Entity

____________________________________________________________________

Relationship to Employer or Business

4. EMPLOYED RELATIVES*.
List the names and addresses of all relatives* employed, directly or indirectly, as employees, contractors, or consultants, by the city during the prior year.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________________________

Signed: _____________________________________________________________

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