2007-02-14 Board of Ethics Minutes Regular Session

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Board of Ethics Minutes of Regular Session February 14, 2007 WJ: Thank you. Is there any discussion? AL: I think this will give us a chance to really look at it. There will be another set of eyes proofing it. BLT: The only thing that I really didn't put in here was an explanation of how hearings are conducted, what kinds of evidence and stuff. I thought that the more detailed information is available in the code and only an issue if someone actually wants to file. AL: If you have gone that far.... BLT: If you have gone that far. This is more of a "You are a new employee, or you just got elected to office, heads up, there are some things that you cannot do." The only thing that is not inhere is the nepotism issue. It is in the charter, and it just hit me just now, this would apply to people like the mayor and council members. It is not strictly in the Ethics Code. You cannot hire, that might be something that we want to reference even though it is not strictly in the Ethics Code. Just a thought, because it is something has come before the board. I am trying to remember, it was Keiko Bonk. BW: And Dante Carpenter before her. BLT: The question was whether hiring your boyfriend violated the code. The question was posed incorrectly. The questions should have been whether hiring a boyfriend who lives with you and therefore is benefiting the household income is a violation. The real issue was that she hired someone who was living with her and doubled her household income by hiring him. He was actually making more money than she was. That was where the real conflict of interest came in. The issue came under the conflict of interest provisions. You should not do things that benefit you financially. It wasn't posed that way, but that was how it came up. That is why there is a nepotism provision in the charter. We don't want people to use their position to benefit themselves financially. If your kid is living with you and doesn't have a job, then you benefited. You no longer have to support your child. You hire your husband. WJ: But is that to say that if your child is not living with you, and doesn't have a job, is it okay to hire him? BLT: No, you cannot. You can be hired during civil service, but the theory is that if he is living with you and doesn't have a job then you are probably giving him money anyway, or helping him. It is designed to avoid financial benefit. The other reason is to avoid situations in which you supervise a family member. If you hire a family member and they do something wrong, you are less inclined to reprimand them. That is because they are a family member. That's the reason it is there. JW: I, for one, would be a lot harsher on my own family member. BW: Do we have a motion on the floor or not? Nepotism duly noted. I call for the question on the motion.