HomeMy Public PortalAbout2008-021 ORDINANCE NO. 21 -2008
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
TO ESTABLISH AN ETHICS ORDINANCE
FOR THE CITY OF TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA
WHEREAS, the City of Tybee Island has determined it to be in the best interest of the
citizens of Tybee Island to establish permissible and impermissible activities of elected officials
and provide due process for violations; and
WHEREAS, the City of Tybee Island previously followed appropriate procedures to
achieve the status of a certified city of ethics; and
WHEREAS, the City of Tybee Island has previously adopted a comprehensive ethics
ordinance; and
WHEREAS, after conferring with experts in the field it has been determined to be in the
best interest of the City that the existing ethics ordinance (ordinance no. 6 -2007) should be
repealed in its entirety and the following ordinance substituted in its place.
NOW THEREFORE, be it ordained and established by the City of Tybee Island and by
authority of said body, hereby establishes as follows:
Code of Ethics for City Officials
ARTICLE A
General Provisions
Section 1. Definitions
(a) City official shall be any person who is an elected official of the City of Tybee Island and
any one appointed by the Mayor and Council of the City to any board, commission, authority, or
position of the City.
(b) Government or city shall be construed to mean the City of Tybee Island, Georgia
government.
(c) Immediate family shall apply to blood or marital relationships of the City official, including a
City official's spouse, children, parents and siblings and shall further include any member of an
official's household.
Section 2. Acceptance of gifts
With exception of campaign contributions which shall be reported in accordance with Georgia
Laws, no city official shall solicit or accept directly or indirectly anything of value from any
person, corporation, or group which has, or is seeking:
(1) to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relationships with the City of Tybee
Island; or (2) where in exchange for the thing of value one seeks to have a city official exercise a
matter of discretion in his or her favor; or (3) where in exchange for the thing of value one seeks
to have or has interests which may be affected by the performance or nonperformance of the
official duty of the city official, accomplished, defeated, deferred or otherwise acted upon.
Section 3. Intent
It is the intent of this section that city officials avoid any action whether or not specifically
prohibited by section 2 which might result in, or create the appearance of, the following:
(1) using public office for private gain;
(2) impeding government efficiency or economy; or
(3) affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the government; or
(4) purposefully or intentionally violating laws involving moral turpitude as defined by
Georgia law.
Section 4. Financial interests of members
City officials may not:
(1) have direct or indirect financial interests that conflict substantially with their
responsibilities and duties as government servants; or
(2) engage in, directly or indirectly, financial transactions as a result of, or primarily
relying upon, information obtained from their office. Aside from these restrictions,
city officials are free to engage in lawful financial transactions to the same extent as
private citizens.
Section S. Use of public property
A city official shall not use city government property of any kind for other than officially
approved activities, nor direct employees to use such property for the personal purposes of such
official.
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Section 6. Use of confidential information
A city official shall not directly or indirectly, make use of, or permit others to make use of, for
the purpose of furthering a private interest, official information not made available to the general
public.
Section 7. Coercion by City Official
A city official shall not use his or her position in any way to coerce, or give the appearance of
coercing, another person to provide any financial benefit to him or her or persons within his or
her immediate family, or those with whom an official has business or financial ties.
Section 8. Voting in matters of personal interest
A city official shall not participate in any matter and shall recuse him/herself on an ordinance or
amendment in a meeting that would directly affect his or her private business, business interests,
property; nor such interests of his or her immediate family.
Section 9. Unauthorized purchases
A city official shall not order any goods and services for the City of Tybee Island, nor obligate
the city funds for any payment, without prior official authorization for such an expenditure.
Section 10. Meetings of the Council
Meetings of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 14, as amended, and Title 36, Chapter 80, Section 1, as amended, as
it applies to municipalities.
Section 11. City Attorneys used for private business
A city official shall not use the attorney or attorneys who are under retainer by the City of Tybee
Island for personal or private business without paying just compensation.
Section 12. Unauthorized use of public employees
A city official shall not use his or her superior position to request or require an employee to:
(1) do clerical work on behalf of his or her family, business, social, church or fraternal
interests;
(2) purchase goods and services to be used for personal, business, or political purposes;
(3) work for him or her personally without offering just compensation; and/or
(4) perform work allegedly for the benefit of the City without prior official authorization.
Section 13. Travel expenses
A city official shall not draw per diem or expense monies from the City of Tybee Island to attend
a seminar, convention, or conference and then fail to attend the seminar, convention, or
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conference without refunding the pro -rata unused per diem or expense monies of the city. This
not to include cancellation fee(s) for good cause.
Section 14. Presumption
In reference to acts or omissions on which the City Attorney has given an opinion, an official
acting consistently with the opinion shall be presumed to be acting in accordance with the
obligations imposed under the ethics ordinance and not in violation thereof, however the final
determination as to whether or not a violation has occurred is to be determined by the Ethics
Commission and/or City Council as otherwise provided.
Section 15. Penalties
The code of ethics to be observed by city officials are set forth herein, and any violation thereof,
shall subject the offender to disciplinary action which may include censure and either public or
private reprimand. Power to administer a greater punishment shall include power to administer
the lesser. Further, in cases involving intentional acts, the general penalties of the Code of Tybee
Island may be used as disciplinary action for violations of the Code of Ethics.
ARTICLE B
Ethics Commission
Section 1. Creation and Composition
1) There is hereby created the Ethics Commission, an agency of the City of Tybee Island. By
creating the Commission, Council intends to:
a) Enhance the public's confidence in the integrity of City government and management;
and
b) Provide a facilitative and advisory resource that assists the City Council, the City
Manager and others to leverage, implement, administer and enforce This Code.
2) The Commission is to be composed of seven Principal Members and three Auxiliary
Members who participate in Commission matters on an as- needed basis. Members of the
Commission are to be appointed by City Council as set forth in this Article.
3) As used within this article, "Commission" means "the Ethics Commission" or any subset of
the Ethics Commission acting on behalf of the whole Commission.
Section 2. Duties and Powers
The Ethics Commission has the duty and authority to:
a) Establish (and amend as needed) bylaws, policies and procedures consistent with this
Code that govern internal organization and conduct of Commission affairs;
b) Schedule and hold Commission meetings as needed to discharge duties;
c) Receive and consider complaints that this code was violated;
d) Interpret This Code as it applies to complaints of violation and other issues in order to
reach opinions as to whether certain actions, behaviors, or conduct constitute violation of
this code;
e) Formally present or deliver the Commission's opinions to Council;
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f) Make proposals or recommendations to the City Council for the adoption of any revisions
or amendments to this Ethics Code;
g) Publish opinions and other documents related to this code;
h) Engage in training activities;
i) Issue advisory opinions as provided in this Article;
j) Initiate any investigation or perform any other function determined by the Commission to
be essential to fulfilling its purpose or discharging duties established within this Code.
2) Members of the Commission are subject to this Code. Each has special responsibility to
identify and acknowledge any conflict of interest in Commission matters and abide by the
rules of recusal when he /she has a conflict of interest in a pending commission decision.
Section 3. Member Qualifications
1) Upon appointment to The Commission, a person must have resided in the City for at least
one year, be registered to vote in City Elections and have signed a Statement of
Qualification.
2) For the duration of service on the Commission a Member must:
a) Reside in the City of Tybee Island; and
b) Be registered to vote in City Elections; and
c) Not hold any other elected office or become a candidate for elected office of the United
States, this state, this county, or the City;
d) Not be a City Employee;
e) Exhibit strong moral character and good citizenship;
3) Statement of Qualification:
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATION: I, , have interest in serving on the
Tybee Island Ethics Commission. I meet the qualifications set forth in the Ethics Code.
I have resided in the City of Tybee Island for at least one year.
I am registered to vote in City elections.
I do not hold elected City office.
I am not a candidate for elected office of the United States, this state, this county, or this City
Signed Date
4) Statements of Qualification are to be retained by the Clerk of Council as official City records.
5) As a member of a City Agency having semi judicial function, a person is to take an oath of
office before each term of service as a Commission member. The Mayor is to administer the
oath. A written representation of the oath is to be signed by the appointee and retained by the
Clerk of Council as an official City record.
6) If Member becomes disqualified, he or she must resign from the Commission.
Section 4. Terms of Service
1) Those members of the Commission currently serving as of the adoption of this ordinance
shall continue to serve under their original appointment and for the full term thereof.
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2) Council intends for Commission members to serve two -year "staggered" terms so that 5
member terms expire during odd - numbered years and 5 member terms expire during even -
numbered years. To that end, there is to be associated with each of the ten Commission
positions a permanent position number. Principal Member positions are to be numbered 4
through 10. Auxiliary Member positions are to be numbered 1 through 3.
3) Members having odd position numbers are to serve terms expiring on the day before the
annual meeting in odd - numbered years. Members having even numbers are to serve two
year terms expiring on the day before the annual meeting in even - numbered years.
4) Council may remove a member at any time, at will, with or without cause.
Section 5. Voting and Auxiliary Members
1) The essential purpose for having Auxiliary Members is to alleviate problems caused by
vacated, unfilled principal positions, absences giving rise to the potential for tie votes or
quorum deficiencies and recusals.
2) Auxiliary Members are to attend Commission meetings and receive any materials or
correspondence distributed to Principal Members.
3) Whenever an auxiliary commission member is selected to assume the rights and
responsibilities associated with a vacant Principal position, the member is to exercise such
rights and discharges such duties and be a vacancy - related member of the Voting Panel {see
item 7) below} until the until the principal position is filled by Council appointment.
4) Whenever an auxiliary commission member is selected to assume the rights and
responsibilities associated with a Voting Panel member's absence from a meeting or part of a
meeting, he or she exercises such rights and discharges duties and becomes an absence -
related member of the Voting Panel for the duration of the absence (but not between
meetings).
5) A recused Voting Panel member will be considered absent throughout any consideration of
the recusal matter at a commission meeting or hearing. Accordingly, an available auxiliary
may be selected to join the Voting Panel during such consideration.
6) An Auxiliary Member serving on a Voting Panel does not assume the position number or
associated term of the absent member or vacated position.
7) "Voting Panel" means the group of commission members entitled to participate in a
Commission matter.
a) When the Commission is not in session (Le., meeting), the Voting Panel is composed of
Principal Members and any Auxiliary Members serving in vacant principal positions.
b) During a commission meeting or hearing and for a particular matter, the Voting Panel is
composed of persons in attendance as follows:
i) Principal Members; and
ii) Vacancy - related Auxiliary Members; and
iii) Absence - related Auxiliary Members.
8) Commission bylaws and policies are to provide a fair process for selecting Auxiliary
Members to vacancy - related and absence - related Voting Panel members and to give
guidance to situations and circumstances that are not covered in preceding items of this
section.
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Section 6. Meetings
I) Except as allowed or required by state law, all meetings of the Ethics Commission are to be
open to the public, publicized as required by state law and compliant with all requirements
imposed by the Georgia open records and meetings laws.
2) The Ethics Commission is to hold an annual meeting in February.
3) The presiding Officer or a majority of the Voting Panel may call additional meetings on an
as- needed basis.
Section 7. Appointments and Nominations
(A) APPOINTMENTS TO FILL VACANCIES
1) Each vacated commission position is to be filled by Council appointment based on majority
vote or other method adopted by Council.
2) No person appointed to serve on the first commission or any commission thereafter is to be
considered "the appointee" of a particular Council member.
ANNUAL APPOINTMENTS - This topic does not encompass mid -term vacancies.
1) On the day before the annual meeting in 2009 and on each such day thereafter, the terms of
five members expire. At the last regular Council meeting in January of each year after 2008,
Council is to appoint five members to fill the positions with expiring terms.
2) Members associated with expiring terms may be reappointed, and Members serving as
Auxiliary Members may be appointed to Principal Positions
3) The Mayor is to assign odd position numbers to the members appointed during odd -
numbered years. Likewise, the Mayor is to assign even position numbers to members
appointed during even numbered years.
4) Commission bylaws or policies are to give guidance to situations and circumstances that are
not covered in preceding items of this topic.
MID -TERM VACANCIES
1) When any Member vacates or announces intention to vacate a Commission position before
the associated term of service expires, the presiding officer is to request Council to appoint a
member to the position. The request may be accompanied by nominations from the Voting
Panel.
2) After Council has been requested to appoint a person to fill a Primary vacancy, the Voting
Panel may select an Auxiliary Member to assume the responsibilities and rights of the
resigned member from the time the primary position becomes vacant until it is filled by
Council.
3) Council may appoint an Auxiliary Member to a vacated principal position or appoint a new
member to the position. Appointing an Auxiliary Member to a Principal position creates an
auxiliary vacancy which Council must fill. If the vacant position is an auxiliary position,
Council is to appoint a new member.
4) A person appointed by Council to fill a vacated position assumes the status (principal or
auxiliary), position number and the unexpired portion of the term associated with the former
member.
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(B) NOMINATIONS
1) Any person interested in serving on the Commission may nominate themselves by submitting
a completed qualification form to the Clerk of Council. This applies to incumbent members
occupying Commission positions with approaching term expiration dates.
2) Council may solicit additional nominations for Commission membership from the general
public, from Council Members or from the Ethics Commission. The Clerk of Council is to
contact such nominees for the purpose of determining their interest and/or to have them sign
a statement of qualification.
3) Council intends that the appointment process not interfere with the effectiveness of the
Commission. Ideally, at any point in time, there will be several nominees so that, when
necessary, the appointment process will be expedited.
Section 8. Officers
1) At each annual meeting after February 2009, the Voting Panel is to elect 2 Principal
Members to serve as chairperson and vice chairperson of the Commission. These officers are
to serve as such until the next annual meeting. If for some reason the Voting Panel fails to
elect a Chair or Vice Chair at an annual meeting, the incumbent may remain in office until a
successor is properly elected by the Principal Members.
2) An incumbent may be re- elected to serve as an officer.
3) If the Chair or Vice -Chair leaves office before the term of office expires but remains on the
Commission, the Voting Panel is to elect a Principal Member to serve in the office until the
next annual meeting.
4) If an office becomes vacant because of a principal position vacancy, the Voting Panel is to
elect a replacement officer after the principal position is filled by Council appointment.
Section 9. Compensation, Expenses and Staffing
1) Members of the Ethics Commission are not to be compensated.
2) A member may request the City for reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred as a
direct result of performing Commission duties.
3) The City Manager is to assign a capable staff member to serve as recording secretary and to
make available appropriate and sufficient meeting space.
4) The Clerk of Council or designee is to serve as the filing clerk for the Commission, receive
complaints and to publish notices of Ethics Commission meetings upon request of the
Commission's presiding officer.
5) The Clerk of Council and the City Manager are to provide other support requested by the
Commission and approved by Council.
Section 10. Counsel
1) The City Attorney is to be the legal advisor for the Ethics Commission except in
circumstances where -doing so would result in the City Attorney's conflict of interest in a
complaint involving a Council member as respondent, complainant, or otherwise.
2) If the Commission requires legal services that the City Attorney cannot provide or is not
available to provide, the Commission is to be represented and assisted in carrying out its
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responsibilities by an attorney appointed by the Ethics Commission and confirmed by
Council. A person serving as Commission attorney is subject to This Code.
Section 11. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, no member of the Ethics Commission, or any person
acting on behalf of the Ethics Commission, is to be liable to any person for any damages arising
out of the enforcement or operation of this ethics code except in the case of willful or wanton
misconduct. This limitation of liability is to apply to the City, the members of the Ethics
Commission and any person acting under the direction of the Ethics Commission.
Section 12. Advisory Opinions
1) The Commission may render an advisory opinion based on a real or hypothetical set of
circumstances and the Commission's interpretation of this Code as it applies to the
circumstances.
2) An advisory opinion is to be rendered only in response to a written request (from a City
Official) that fully describes the circumstances and the question to be answered. The request
must be signed.
3) A member of the Commission may submit a request for an advisory opinion.
4) Such advisory opinions are to be formulated during formal commission meetings and are to
be made part of the Commission's open records.
Section 13. Complaints
(A) IN GENERAL
I) For This Code to be most effective, the public and City Officials must have access to a fair,
expedient, effective and evolving complaint process that is not encumbered by the need to
amend This Code. To that end, the Commission is to develop, publish and maintain a
Complaint Policy that explains procedures to be followed, timeframes to be honored and the
roles, responsibilities and rights of the complainant, City Official alleged to have violated
this code and members of the Commission.
2) The policy may include steps, options or requirements beyond the general provisions
contained in this article. If, at any point in time, such policy does not address the
requirements of a particular complaint, the Commission is to make formal adjustment to the
policy to ensure the fair and appropriate handling of the complaint and such complaints
thereafter. As the Complaint Policy evolves, revisions are subject to the approval of the City
Attorney and /or City Council. The essential components of the Complaint Policy are
outlined in the following provisions of this section.
(B) RESTRAINTS
The policy is to specify the restraints, if any, that apply to the Commission, the complainant
and/or the person against whom a complaint is filed (the respondent).
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(C) SUBMISSION AND QUALIFICATION
1) A person (complainant) alleging that a City Official (respondent) violated any provision of
this Code may submit a written and signed complaint declaration to the Clerk of Council.
The declaration, a written statement made under penalty for false swearing, must meet the
qualifications described in the Complaint Policy.
2) The Clerk of Council's office is to deliver the declaration of complaint to the presiding
Commission officer who thereafter communicates the complaint to commission members.
3) Subsequently Commission members, in a manner consistent with the Complaint Policy, are
to determine if the complaint qualifies for further action
4) A disqualified complaint declaration is to be returned to the complainant and otherwise dealt
with in a manner consistent with the Complaint Policy.
5) A disqualified declaration may be corrected by the complainant and resubmitted as de novo
• declaration.
(D) QUALIFIED COMPLAINTS AGAINST CITY OFFICIALS
1) The Commission has the responsibility to investigate, hear, validate, and dispose of
complaints against City Officials in a manner consistent with this Code and the Complaint
Policy.
2) The Commission is to inform (by registered mail) the respondent of the complaint and of a
reply due date and a case review date. The complaint and other pertinent documents are to
be attached to this correspondence.
3) The Complaint Policy is to provide details for handling a case for which the respondent
agrees that he or she has violated this code.
4) Unless the respondent's reply agrees that a violation occurred, there is to be a case review to
determine whether specific substantiated evidence from a credible source(s) exists to support
a reasonable belief that there was a violation of this Code. The case is to be dismissed unless
a majority of the voting panel agrees that such evidence exists. The complaint policy is to
provide details for closing a dismissal.
5) If the case is not dismissed, the Commission is to hold a hearing at a public meeting for the
purpose of reaching a complaint opinion (decision) as to whether or not the respondent
violated this code. The hearing is to be conducted in accordance with those conventionally
associated with hearings at public meetings. The complainant and the respondent are to have
the opportunity to be heard and to have witnesses at the hearing.
6) After the hearing, Voting Panel members are to reach a decision (complaint opinion) as to
whether or not the respondent violated This Code. Such decision is to be based on
a) Preponderance or greater weight of the evidence presented at the hearing; and
b) The declarations submitted by the complainant and respondent; and
c) Panel member's conscientious and compliant interpretation and application of This Code -
to the evidence.
7) The complaint opinion is to be documented, consistent with the Complaint Policy. This
documentation is to include a statement of remedial or consequential actions that the
Commission deems appropriate. Such actions may be applicable to the respondent or to the
complainant. Consequences for a City Official may include, but are not limited to, private
warning; training on the subject of the violation; public warning or reprimand; public censure
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and/or apology and/or restitution. Consequences for a malicious or frivolous complaint from
a person other than a City Official may include misdemeanor charges.
8) The documented opinion is to be forwarded to Clerk of Council who will distribute the
opinion to council members, the complainant, the respondent and the City Attorney in
preparation for a final and concluding action on the part of council.
Section 14. Final and Concluding Action on Complaint Cases
Final and concluding decisions for complaint cases are to be made at the final Council Meeting
of each month. Advisory opinions related to such decisions are to be listed as main agenda items
for this meeting. The City Attorney is to develop and implement a process for Council to
consider the opinions.
Section 15. Right to Appeal
Any final decision by the city council pursuant to this code of ethics shall be reviewable by the
Superior Court of Chatham County. The review by the Superior Court shall be limited to an
inquiry to whether there was any evidence before the city council which supported the decision
of the city council. Provided however, no action of the city council refusing or failing to take
action pursuant to this code of ethics shall be reviewable by the Superior Court.
It is the intention of the governing body, and it is hereby ordained, that the provisions of this
ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances, City of Tybee Island,
Georgia, and the sections of this ordinance may be renumbered if necessary to accomplish such
intention.
This Ordinance shall become effective on
day of (J t? c-em6 Cr" 2008.
ADOPTED THIS 1/ DAY OF 17ccerrior✓ 2008
'! YOR
ATTEST:
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CLERK OF COUNCIL
FIRST READING: // 1/ 3 /0 $
SECOND READING: 14 !dog
ENACTED: / Z//r/0 8
G:/EMHITYBEE/ ORDINANCES /2008/Ethics.12/11/2008 Articles A & B
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