ORD 97-1397-13
ORDINANCE
CITY OF OTSEGO
COUNTY OF WRIGHT
STATE OF MINNESOTA
CODE OF ETHICS
Section 1. Policy and Purpose. It is imperative that all persons acting in the public service
not only maintain the highest possible standards of ethical conduct in their transaction of
public business, and that such standards be clearly defined and known to the public as well as
to the persons acting in public service.
The proper operation of a democratic government requires that public officials be
independent, impartial, and responsible to the people. Governmental decisions and policies
must be made in the proper channels of the governmental structure. Public office may not be
used for personal gain. Citizens must have confidence in the integrity of their government
officials.
Employees and contracted staff of the City must also be held to the highest ethical standards,
but the standards established for them should be contained within the City's employee manual
and/or individual contracts.
In recognition of these goals, there is hereby established a Code of Ethics for the City's
elected and appointed public officials. The purpose of this Code is to establish ethical
standards of conduct for such persons by prohibiting acts which are incompatible with the
City's best interests, and to demonstrate to the public the City's commitment to hold said
public officials to the highest possible standard of conduct. The provisions and purpose of this
Code are declared to be in the best interests of the City of Otsego.
Section 2. Responsibilities of Public Office. Public officials hold office on behalf of the
public. They are bound to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the
Constitution of the State of Minnesota. Public officials must carry out impartially the laws of
the nation, state, and City in fostering respect for all governments They are bound in their
official acts to the highest standards of morality, and to discharge faithfully the duties of their
office. Public officials shall be dedicated to fulfilling the responsibilities of their office. They
shall be dedicated to the public purpose and all programs developed by them shall be in the
community interests Public officials shall not exceed their authority or breach the law or ask
others to do so. They shall work in full cooperation with other public officials and employees
unless prohibited from doing so by law.
Section 3. Scope of Persons Covered.
Subdivision 1. The provisions of this Code of Ethics are applicable to the Mayor, all
members of the City Council, and all appointed City Officials. It shall not include City
employees who are not otherwise appointed officials, contracted City staff, nor citizen
volunteers.
Subdivision 2. The Disclosure provisions of Section 5 are applicable only to elected
public officials, and members of the following Boards and Commissions: Planning and
Zoning Commission, Economic Development Authority Advisory Commission,
Heritage Preservation Commission, and Park and Recreation Commission.
Section 4. Conflict of Interest.
Subdivision 1. No person covered by this Code shall knowingly engage in any conflict
of interest, or knowingly engage in any business or transaction, or shall have a direct
or indirect financial or other personal interest which is incompatible with the proper
discharge of the person's official duties or would tend to impair the person's
independent judgment or action in the performance of his official duties. -
In determining whether or not a conflict of interest exists, factors to be considered
include, the nature of the matter before the City, the affect or potential affect of the
actions taken by the public officials, and the need for action on the matter in question.
While a conflict of interest could conceivably exist in many instances, a conflict only
falls within the scope of this policy when it arises to the level of a disqualifying
conflict of interest. A disqualifying conflict of interest is a conflict which rises to such
a level that a reasonable person viewing the matter in an objective fashion would
conclude that the apparent or real conflict would not allow the involved official to
make an unbiased decision in the matter.
In the case of a proposal of general application throughout the City, the issue as to
whether or not a conflict of interest exists is not as closely scrutinized as when a
conflict of interest exists regarding an application for action regarding a defined
specific parcel of property, or in a case where the action affects a particular individual
or a narrowly defined class of individuals rather than the public in general. In the case
of a specific application, a disqualifying conflict of interest exists when their is a
reasonable perception (whether it actually exists or not) of a conflict of interest. In the
case of an ordinance or decision of general application, the standard shall be an actual
conflict of interest, since it is in the nature of the system of City government that
various conflicting views and interests be represented in any vote on an ordinance or
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policy of general application.
Conflict of interest shall include both personal and financial conflicts. A "personal
interest" is an interest arising from blood or marriage relationships, or from close
business or political association. A "financial interest" means any monetary interest in
a contract before the City, or a direct financial interest in the matter through the
ownership of stocks, bonds, notes, or other securities.
Subdivision 2. If a public official determines that they have a disqualifying conflict
of interest, they shall bring it to the attention of the Council, Board, or Commission at
the time that consideration of the matter is before that body. The public official shall
then recuse themselves from any fiuther discussion or action regarding that matter. If
they so choose, they may leave the table and be seated in the audience, where they
have the same rights as any other citizen.
In the event that the chair, or any other member of the Council, Board, or Commission,
reasonably believes that another member has a disqualifying conflict of interest, they
may raise the matter with the member who has a perceived conflict of interest. In the
event that the member does not believe that a conflict exists, and will not voluntarily
recuse themselves, the matter may be called to a vote of the affected body.
Notwithstanding that vote, it will still be up to the affected member to voluntarily
recuse themselves or not recuse themselves.
With the understanding that a failure to recuse may have legal implications in a matter
where the vote directly affects the rights of an individual in a matter before the City
Council, in such a case, the Council may request that the City Attorney render an
opinion as to whether or not the conflict of interest alleged exists, and whether or not
it is a disqualifying conflict of interest.
Subdivision 3. A conflict of interest shall include, but shall not be necessarily limited
to the following:
A. Holding a private or other public position in addition to the person's primary
public position which interferes with the proper discharge of public duty.
B. Use of confidential information, obtained as a result of public position, for
personal gain.
C. Soliciting of personal gifts and favors.
D. Use of official position for personal gain.
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E. Holding investments which will interfere with the proper discharge of public
duty.
F. Representation for profit of private interests before City governmental
agencies.
G. Participation as a public representative in a business transaction in which the
person has a direct or indirect financial or other personal interest, without full
disclosure.
H. Personal interest in any matter which prevents the person from properly
fulfilling their public duty.
Subdivision 4. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, no
person subject to this chapter shall directly or indirectly solicit any gift or accept or
receive any gift of substance whether in the form of money, services, loan, travel,
entertainment, hospitality, promise, or any other form, under circumstance in which it
could reasonably be expected to influence him or her in the performance of his or her
official duties or was intended as a reward for any official action on his or her parr~
Section 5. Disclosure. Any Council member, Board member, or Commission member, prior
to consideration of any matter affected by this section, shall disclose to the body on which he
serves any fact or circumstance constituting a conflict of interest as set forth in this Ordinance.
If the matter is of such a nature that the member does not wish to specifically state the facts or
circumstances of the conflict, they may state simply that they have a conflict.
In the event that the conflict of interest is a disqualifying conflict of interest, the member shall
recuse themselves from any discussion or action regarding the issue in front of the body.
All Council members, board members, or commission members are encouraged to recuse
themselves in any situation where facts and circumstances would lead an objective observer to
the reasonable conclusion that a conflict of interest may exist.
Section 6. City Council Enforcement. Failure of any Commission or Board member to
properly recuse themselves in a conflict of interest situation, may result in City Council
initiated removal from the public body.
Section 7. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect after its passage
and publication.
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ADOPTED BY THE OTSEGO CITY COUNCIL this 13TH day of october, 1997.
IN FAVOR: Mayor Larry Fournier, Council Members Vern Heidner, Suzanne Ackerman,
Virginia Wendel and Mark Berning
OPPOSED:
No One
CITY OF OTSEGO
Fo or
CITY OF OTSEGO
COUNTY OF WRIGHT
STATE OF MINNESOTA
SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE N0.97-11, CODE OF ETHICS
The following is an official summary of Ordinance No. 9-3establishing a Code
of Ethics for elected and appointed officials of the City of Otsego. This official
summary clearly informs the public of the intent and affect of the ordinance:
The ordinance sets forth a statement of purpose and addresses the responsibilities
of public office in order to establish guidelines for officials regarding ethics and
conflict of interest. It also sets forth the various rationales for the ordinance,
including the goal of establishing a measure of accountability to the public in the
government decision making process.
The ordinance sets forth various conflict of interest situations, identifies particular
conflicts of interest, and prohibits certain activities which would impair the ability
of an official to objectively and fairly make a decision regarding a particular
matter. It encourages individuals to recuse themselves from situations where an
actual or apparent conflict of interest exists. The ordinance also provides that any
other member of a council, board or commission may raise the issue of a conflict
of interest as to any other member and bring the issue to a vote. The ultimate
decision as to whether or not to participate in the matter is left to the official.
The ordinance prohibits the receipt of gifts, or any other inducement from
individuals, in circumstances where receipt of such gifts or inducements could be
reasonably expected to either influence an action or serve as a reward for any
action taken.
The ordinance requires disclosure of conflicts of interest and encourages recusal
when even only the appearance of a conflict of interest exists. The ordinance
allows the City Council to remove any member of an appointed Commission or
Board for violation of the ordinance.
A printed copy of the ordinance is available for inspection at the Otsego City Hall.
This summary approved by the Otsego City Council this 15'' day of October,
1997.
IN FAVOR: Mayor Larry Fournier, Councilmembers Vern Heidner, Suzanne
Ackerman, Virginia Wendel and Mark Berning.
OPPOSED: No ONE
CF OTS
MW 94 Z= ZE-4 9.2�
Larry F 'e , Mayor
Posted: 10/16/97 -City Hall Both Boards
Published: 10/22/97 Elk River Star News