Commission Handbook2017 mid pages

Home

15City of Roseville y Commissioner’s Handbook I. Giving Anything of Value. No elected Public Official shall give anything of value to potential voters in return for their votes, promises, or financial considerations which would be prohibited by the State Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices statute. J. Public Funds, etc. No Public Official shall use public funds, personnel, facilities, or equipment for private gain or political cam- paign activities, except as may be authorized by law. K. Expenses. Public Officials shall provide complete documentation to support requests for expense reimbursement. Expense reimbursement shall be made in accordance with City policy. L. Donations. No Public Official shall take an official action which will benefit any person or entity because of a donation of Any- thing of Value to the City by such person or entity. M. Official Action. No Public Official shall take an official action or attempt to influence any process which will benefit any person or entity where such Public Official would not have otherwise have taken such action but for the Public Official’s family relation- ship, friendship, or business relationship with such person or entity. N. Compliance with Laws. Public Officials shall comply with all local ordinances and State and Federal Statutes including, but not limited to, the Criminal Code, Fair Campaign Practices Act, and laws governing the functioning of municipalities, their elected and appointed officials, and employees. O. Cooperation with Ethics Committee Investigations. Public Officials shall cooperate with ethics investigations and shall re- spond in good faith to reasonable requests for information. P. Resolution of Ethics Complaints. The Ethics Commission, City Attorney, or City Manager, as the case may be, shall promptly attend to all ethics complaints in the manner provided in this Code. It is expected that most complaints will be investigated as necessary and presented to the City Council for consideration within 45 days of submission of the complaint. SECTION 4. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Situations can arise where a member of a commission, a board, or the City Council abstains from voting because of a conflict of inter- est, but his or her abstention becomes a vote either for or against the matter because a majority are required to pass or reject that matter. This can happen where four-fifths vote is needed to pass an issue, or the vote has to be a clear majority and a split vote does not pass or reject. When this happens, the City Attorney must be consulted and the final vote should carry a public notice explaining what took place, and how it was resolved. SECTION 5. HANDLING ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF CODE OF ETHICS A. Complaints alleging ethical violations by Public Officials must be submitted in written form to the City Attorney. Complaints alleging ethical violations by City employee Public Officials shall be submitted in written form to the City Manager. B. The City Attorney shall investigate all ethics complaints pertaining to non- employee Public Officials unless the City Attorney has a conflict, in which case outside counsel will be assigned the complaint. The City Manager will investigate complaints per- taining to employee Public Officials. C. If the City Attorney or City Manager determines that the subject of the complaint may have committed a crime, the City Attor- ney and City Manager shall refer the matter to the appropriate criminal authority. D. If the criminal proceeding ends with a sentencing, said sentencing shall be considered to be the final disposition of the com- plaint. E. If there has been no violation of a criminal law, the City Attorney or City Manager, as the case may be, shall issue a report that documents the results of the City Attorney’s or City Manager’s investigation(s). 1. The report shall be sent directly to the City Council if the complaint involves an Ethics Commission member. The Council shall have the authority to dismiss any Ethics Commission member found to have violated the Ethics Code. 2. The report shall be sent to the Ethics Commission if the complaint involves other Public Officials. The Ethics Commission shall have the authority to convene and issue it’s own report and recommendation to the City Council. Thereafter, the City Council shall take action as the Council deems appropriate.