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Ethics Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Page 5 1 Chair Cihacek commented there is also a series of controls in place and a Commissioner 2 Member does not have a lot of power. They could discuss if there are experiences in 3 which they should have asked for an advisory opinion. 4 5 Mr. Gaughan stated he does not have a view on whether suspicion arises on having too 6 few or too many requests for an advisory opinion. He is not surprised they have so few 7 because there are not a ton of scenarios that arise where a concern could be raised about 8 particular City business. 9 10 Member Bull stated he would expect more requests regarding a potential conflict of 11 interest on something versus ethics. The Planning Commission has a Member that serves 12 on another Board and he recuses himself from certain discussions due to potential 13 conflicts of interest. 14 15 Mr. Gaughan commented often times a person involved with a potential conflict of 16 interest will ask the staff liaison about it and it results in a recusal. It is resolved at that 17 level without having to seek a City Attorney or an advisory opinion. 18 19 stated that she was encouraged to hear that Commission members were 20 talking about these issues and recusing themselves from voting when appropriate on an 21 informal basis without asking for a formal advisory opinion. This indicates they are 22 getting the point of the issue and that a robust discussion is taking place. 23 24 Mr. Trudgeon advised it does not happen at every single meeting, but may happen a 25 couple of times a year. 26 27 Member Hodder stated he has seen colleagues recuse themselves due to a conflict of 28 interest when they have grant reviews. 29 30 y pass along the topic of recusal to show that it is not 31 uncommon, and encourage people to talk to staff about it. 32 33 Chair Cihacek suggested they talk about the process of recusal and how it needs to be 34 identified in advance and accurately recoded in the minutes to make it effective. 35 36 Mr. Gaughan stated they also discuss how the appearance of ethical violations are just as 37 important as the actual ones, and in many situations, it can be even more complicated. 38 39 Chair Cihacek inquired if they need to check in earlier than just one time per year. 40 41 42 passes before they are available and approved. 43 44 Chair Cihacek suggested they consider shifting their schedule so that everyone is going 45 on or off the Commissions at the same time.