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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEB Minutes 1994i " Al fly OF IT� TOWN OF ITHACA 126 EAST SENECA STREET, ITHACA, N.Y. 14850 TOWN CLERK78-17 1 HIGHWAY 7 -165 PARKS 273-8035 ENGINEERING 7 -17" 7 PLANNING 273-1747 ZONING 7" -178 1, FAX (607) 78-170 TOWN OF ITHACA ETHICS BOARD MEBTING AGENDA BRUARY 22, 1994 Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Appointment Chair er on Consideration and discussion of 1994 Ethics Disclosure Statements Consider changes to DisclosureStatements,: ► Requesting it ox`mation concerning associations with riot -for profit organizations on Disclosure statements h) Disclaimer on Disclosure Statements New Business Ad -ur1' ment 4 FINAL Town of Ithaca Ethics Board Meeting February 22, 1994 12:00 Noon The Town of Ithaca Ethics Board net at the Town Hall, 126 East Seneca, Street, Ithaca, New York with the following persons present: nDVOVMM _ ALSO PRESENT: U1Vf%TTOLPh Call to Order: 12:09 p.m. Robert Aronson Bonnie Simpson John Taylor Earl Thomas Bogy F . Poole, Deputy Town Clerk John Barney, Esq.; Town Attorney Joan Lent Noteboom, Town Clerk James Byrnes, Ethics Board -Member Mr. Aronson called the meeting to order at Pledge o Alle�ian e: Mr. Aronson led the members in the Pledge, of Allegiance to the American Flag. Agenda Item No. 3 - Appointment of Chairperson Mr. Aronson stated that a new chairperson for the board needs to be elected. He asked for volunteers or nominations. He mentioned that Bonnie Simpson has been vice chair and thought that she might wish to succeed to the prestigious office of chairperson. Ms. Simpson graciously declined saying that she had no ambitions however she would accept if no one else was willing. r. Aronson noted that he would be willing to serve another term .if there is no objection by the board and as long as it doesn't get too cumbersome. Motion made by Mr. Taylor nominating Robert Aronson as Chair of the Town of Ithaca Ethics Board for a term of office from the present until December 31, 1994. Seconded by his. Simpson and the motion carried unanimously. Agenda Item No. 4 - Consideration and discussion of 1994 Ethics Disclosure Statements Mr. Aronson asked his. Poole if there had been any problems or objections in filling out the statements or if theme had been any questions or reservations about completing the forms. Ms. Boole responded saying not that she was aware of. Mr. Aronson asked whether or not there is a mechanism by which we Can be sure that everyone has completed a fora who should' Ms. Poole stated that she Could not answer that as this procedure i V ETHICS MT .- 9 under the direction of the 'down- Clerk, Nis. Noteboom, and she would be the one to address this .issue. She further stated that if there is anyone who has not been sent one who is required to fill one out, then it would be strictly are oversight. Nis. Simpson referred to the minutes of the May 1 ,, 1993 Ethics Board meeting regarding a request they had agreed upon in reference to the disclosure statement. Under section 4. Contracts with Town, she noted that the words oral, written or implied be should be incorporated in the description after the, word contract in the fart line. She did not see that change on- the copy of the disclosure fora she had. Mr. Aronson agreed with his. Simpson that the fora should be changed to conform with their request. Ms. Poole noted the change. Mr. Aronson asked if there were any other changes which should be made to the form that had not been done? Nis. Simpson also asked about whether there is a procedure in place acknowledging the receipt of the Local Law assuring that new persons understand the meaning of the law. She believes this was implied In a subsequent communication from Ms. Noteboom on May 19, 1993 and she questioned how this was handled with persons who have been employed for some time. Nis. Poole responded saying she believed that when the lair was passed, each and every person the law pertained to, i.e. employees, staff, elected officials, hoard members, etc., received a copy o the law and disclosure statement, to be filled out and returned to the Town Clerk, A memo from the Town Clerk stating if there were any questions they were to contact either the Town Clerk or their supervisor was also included, Nis. Poole stated further that it was her understanding, however she could not confirm it, that any subsequent new employees are given the law and are asked to sign a certification indicating they understand the law and have received a► copy. Nis.. Poole offered to check with the personnel department to see if this was the procedure or if a procedure similar to this was id place. She would have Ms-. Noteboom report back to the board as to her findings. Nis. Simpson also asked lbs. Poole if every employee ardor elected official receives the disclosure statement to be filled out. Nis. Poole stated she dick not know however she would follow up on it an have Ms. Noteboom report back to the board. Mr. Aronson asked if this is the procedure, is this the only time they receive a copy of the law and the certification? Ms. Poole replied that it was her understanding that it was however it there were any amendments made to the law, it would be distributed accordingly. dip ETHICS NET .. - 2 Agenda Item No. 5a -Requestincr Inf r tion Concerninq Associations With Not -For -Profit Organizations On.Disclosure Statements Mr. Aronson reported that not -for -profit organizations could conceivably have an. interest in votes by the Town Board or actions by Town officials. Someone who is an officer in such an organization might need to disclose the fact that they have that ]rind of a relationship with the organization. He would like to see non profit organizations incorporated in the wording in iterh no. 2, page 2 on.the disclosure statement. Nis. Sampson suggested listing any office which one might hold and if votes were involved, disclosing the information prior to a vote and them choose not to enter into any dialogue or Mote on the issue. Mr Thous suggested modifying the heading in item no. b deleting the word business. He also suggested modifying item no. 2, page 2 by adding the word organization to the headings and adding "non-profit organization" in column 4, after the word partnership. It was also agreed upon to change the heading on the first page deleting. the ward "Annual" since a change in status letter is sent out annually. The letter is returned, acknowledging receipt at which time it will be filed in the Town Clerk's office with the respective statement already on file. Ms. Simpson noted that Section 3. page 2, second paragraph of Local Law #4-1992, which states "said individuals shall file with the Town Clerk a signed disclosure statement: i within 120 days of the affective date of this law; (ii) by April 30th of each year thereafter; and iii 'within 30 days of a significant change in the information already on file, specifically including, but not limited to, the acquisition of any real property." his. Sampson interprets that to be annual and within 30 days of any significant change. After discussion of the Local Law, Mr. Taylor stated that he believes the status change letter which is seat out and the acknowledgement receipt should meet the letter of the law. It was the consensus of the board to consider Mr. Taylor's statement that rather than a new disclosure statement be completed every year the acknowledgement and return of the letter would be consistent with the language of the law. The Board requested that the Town Attorney review the changes the Board has recommended before they are made permanently to the document to insure legal requirements have been met. Discussion followed regarding the procedure to review the annual statements by the board. It was. determined that the hoard would review the statements annually at their convenience .in the Town Hall. The Town Clerk would then notify each member of the board when the statements are available for their review after the April El ETHICS HTG.-2/22/94 4 30th deadline. IN I q 111111111 111 11 The Board agreed to 'table this item until clarificcItion Could be obtained from the Town, Attorney, as to whalt he met bly a, dis,claimer. There was some conflusion as to, his intent. Ne,.wBusAn,,ess, A's there was no new busi,ness t,he board moved to, adjolurn. 'I No,., 7 Ad, rniment Hr. Aronson made a motion to adjolurn the meeting. Heeting adjourned at 12:55 � m p Respectfully ipgbmittied, B 'tt"Y' Poole Deputy Town Clerk 1 Torn of Ithaca thi s Board Meeting July 1, 199 12 : 00 Noon The Town of Ithaca Ethics Board met at the Town Hall, 16 Bast Seneca Street, Ithaca, New York with. the following persons present D D V w_ M i ALSO PRESENT: EXCUSED: Call to Order: 12:10 p,m. Robert Aronson John Taylor Earl. Thomas James Byrnes ,roan Lent I oteboom, Town Clerk Patricia Pungr, Personnel Manager John Barney, Town Attorney Bonnie Simpson Mr. Aronson called the meeting to order at Pledge of Allegiance: Mr, Aronson. led the members i.n the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. Mr, Aronson welcomed Pat Punger, Personnel Manager to the meeting stated his. Punger had seat a memo expressing concerns regarding the revised disclosure statement. Ms. Purger briefed the .Board stating her concern was with the disclosure of membership in any unincorporated association by an employee or any member of their family. such disclosures are not s ecif ically employment related, and the Town could be subject to law suits by persons who would not like their memberships known. Employees may feel discriminated against because the Town has found out they -belong to a certain organization even though their membership has little to do with their job with the Town. his. Punger further implied the employment field is one that often has lawsuits if one is terminated f or, cause or for poor job erformance . it is difficult to avoid lawsuits in some oases and when someone can pin point a reason for discrimination,, that creates even more of a problem. It .is very unlikely the Town may be discriminating; however, it could give reason for the employee to bring up the fact that their job performance was fine and that the Town is terminating that person because they belong to a certain organization or because they were particular type of person. Hs. Punger felt the Town should try to avoid these scenarios if at all possible. Mr. Aronson questioned whether or not the disclosure statements are a ratter of public record. Mr. Barney responded ,in the affirmative. Mr. Aronson stated it is potentially possible that someone might acquire informati-on that would be to the disadvantage of some employee. He asked lair. Barney whether or not he has reviewed the reprised disclosure statement. Mr. Barney responded that from a Legal standpoint he does not thiftk the Town is off base because it is not a ... pre -a plicationr' or a 11re-employment'' determination. The context in which it is asked is in the context of discio ing any possible conflicts one might have with the governmental authority one works for. On the other hand, he is not quite sure he or the Town Board sees the need for it. Fight now it is part of the ethics legislation, an am-endment would be needed in the legislation it the Board wished to amend the statement. Mr. Thomas asked if this was pant of the Town' s legislation and not the tate's. Mr. Barney replied the Statefs is more rigorous and the Town, with some trepidation and from a legal standpoint, opted to require less than the State. There are some questions as to whether the Town has the authority to do this. The State Legislation is supposed to be superseding legislation. you either adopt their Legislation in full or you ignore it in full, the Town tools the middle wanting some disclosure. The State's disclosure is about a nine page document which seemed rather excessive for a municipality the size of the Town of Ithaca. Mr. Byrnes asked if the State tequired this information of it' employees? Mr. Barney replied he believed the language tracts the State' s legislation, however, he was not positive. r. Aronson stated he reviewed the language from which it was adopted and it seems the language of the State Law and the language which has been incorporated in the Town` s disclosure statements run a very close parallel. Mr, Aronson was not sure whether the Town is obligated to put that language in or not. Mr. Barney maintained the Town has deliberately taken the risk of saying it will not require as much disclosure as the State would have us require. In that context, the Board can consider if it is the appropriate thing for the people employed by the Town of Ithaca to disclose. If so them this Board should not make a recommendation to have the statement changed. Mr. Aronson said it is implied at least, if not spelled out, that the language currently in the disclosure s.tatement is rather broad and uses the term State of New York but the implication in our own case is that it is only those organizations that might have some bind of connection or business with the Town itself. He asked if it is the State as a whole.? s' Ethics Mtg. 7189 Mr. Barney responded by saying the Town did not try to locate affiliations strictly within the Town because you have businesses outside the Town of Ithaca who do business with the Town.+ Therefore, the statement does not want to limit the location of the affiliations to within the Town or County. This is the reason the State was chosen as opposed to local. fir. Barney dial not feel that is the issue as much as the nature of the organization. He does not think that anyone would have a problem with disclosing a commercial affiliation, and that is where the usual concerns arise. It is a question of whether you get in to unincorporated associations which are social, charitable, or politically oriented. The obligation is still there under any circumstance to disclose when you, are involved with the Town. Mr. Barney agreed with his. Punger in that he does not feel that unincorporated associations need to be included in the disclosure. Motion by Mr. Byrnes to delete "unincorporated association"' from OUTSIDE BUSINESS INTERESTS, and acid a sentence at the end of the paragraph as follows: In complying with this paragraph, you may elect not to disclose the names of any not -for -profit associations whether incorporated or unincorporated if your feel they. do not do° substantial business with the Town, and which do not give the appearance of any conflict of interest, fir. Taylor questioned why it would not be sufficient to delete the last two words in the first line of #. Mr, Byrnes responded by saying there might be unincorporated associations that do business with the County. r, Barney stated one could have incorporated associations, such as most churches. If your do not eliminate somehow the corporation aspect of a not -for -profit enterprise, persons would be required to identify their involvement. Mr. Byrnes replied someone might not wart to disclose what religious organization -they are affiliated with or some other group and should not be forced into disclosing that information unless the group .a -some conflict with the Town. r. Taylor. said if the organization has gone so far as to be incorporated such as a church, and if a person is a member of the board of that church, those things are generally publicized, therefore he does not understand the argument. It seems perfectly reasonable to want to know who is a member of the board of are organization in view of the fact thence may be some dealings with the Town at some point. It also seems to him that if a homosexual organization goes so far As to become incorporated and someone on the Town Board is a member of the board, they should be willing to disclose that informationt Ethics Mtg . 7/18/94 4 Mr. Barney remarked he does not see the need as long as you have the disclosure requirement when any event occurs whore that entity would have an interest in what is going on. It is at that point one should disclose the affiliation. He further stated that the disclosure is designed to get at business activities that might pose a conflict. The personal elements of one's life is not what should be asked for in the disclosure statement. Mr. Aronson asked how the proposed "'waiver" or "escape clause" would read? Mr. Barney replied he liked Mr. Byrnes' suggestion to add a sentence, The word corporation would remain and delete not -for - profit. He Mien suggested leaving the form as is andadd the following at the end of the paragraph: In completing this section one can omit reference to any not -for -profit entity that has no business dealings with the Town. Mr. Byrnes suggested leaving the form as is. When he filled the form out for himself, all the ones he had were not -for -profits. The addition as Mr. Barney presented it clarifies what you may or may not disclose. Mr. Aronson stated if someone from such an organization appears before any of the Town Boards and there is a question involving their affiliation, that person might be asked orally whether they are an officer of the organization rather than have them produce a statement in advance. Mr. Barney remarked it would came up the other way around. if someone were to come in from the SPCA for example, and he was sitting here as his role as attorney for the Torn, he would acknowledge and advise the Board at that paint that he is the attorney for the SPCA. The question arose as to whether or not any religious organization should be omitted also. Mr. Barney responded saying the Town has several churches located within the Town that from time to time have come in for one reason or another, such as an easement arrangement. If someone on the Town Board is a member of the church board, that person should disclose that information at that time. The churches are also not -for - profit, so the disclosure statement now would cover then. Mr. Byrnes asked how the Town' s disclosure statements compare with the City's and the County's Mrs. Noteboom stated she did not believe that the City had an Ethics Law however the County did. Ethics Mtg, 71894 5 Mr. Barney went on to say approximately four years ago, the State passed legislation that said any municipality or county with population in excess of 100,000 had to follow the state's rules. It said that any municipality or county with a population of 100,000 or less, which is what the Town fell into, did not have to follow state rules. However ever if you did decide to have any ethics legislation at all. you then had to use the state's version, So the Town adopted a local law which says, notwithstanding, what the State says. The Town is not going to adopt the State's version, there is law which stipulates the Town may do that, s there were no other comments regarding the issue, the motion was seconded by Mr. Taylor. vote to add the last line in paragraph #2 was carried unanimously. r. Aronson reported that the changes made will be recommended to the Town Board for their approval. Mr. Aronson made reference to a letter from Bonnie Simpson in which she believes not all of the changes that were discussed at the February meeting have been made. Mrs. Noteboom stated with the proposed charge made today, all of the necessary changes have been made. Mrs. Noteboom reminded the Board at this time every year the Ethics Board is required to review the annual disclosure statements that have been received for the current year. They are available for review anytime in the Town Clerk's office and should be done n Later than August 15, 1994. If any of the Board members have any questions regarding particular statements after reviewing them, the Chair could then call a special meeting to address the particular concerns. Mrs. Noteboom asked Mr. Barney if a new disclosure statement needs to be filed annually even if there is no change in status? Mr. Barney stated the law implies new statements have to be filed every year. He suggested a rote be attached annually to the forms presently on file, stating that this form is submitted for this year as there has been no change from the prior year. Mrs. Noteboom informed the Board she would prefer to send a blank form out and request they fill it out for the current year as it is their responsibility to return it to the Town Clerk by a certain date. This would eliminate a lot of paper work and would take less time rather than making copies of their statements, attaching the notice, typing envelopes, etc.. 0 Ethics 'Mj, 7/18/94 Mr. Byrnes asked for clarification on the amendment which the Board just acted on. He asked if the words not -for -profit were deleted. Mr. Barney stated that they were not. Mrs. Noteboom informed the Board that she would send a copy of the revised form as amended. Mr. Barney advised the Board the Torn Board must approve the recommendation before. the changes may be made. Mrs. . ote oo iii add it to the agenda for the August 8, 1994 Town Board meeting. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business to come before the Board, fir. Aronson made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by* Mr. Taylor. Motion carried unanimously, LN: bf p Respectfully submitted, Al 3b�n Le nt Note om Town Clerk