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2. Ethics PolicyTO: Mayor Fisher and Kalispell City Council FROM: Doug Russell, City Manager MEETING DATE: January 14, 2013 SUBJECT: Ethics Policy Discussion At a meeting in the fall of 2012, the request for a local ethics policy was made of staff. Discussion at that time included examples of what was desired in a potential ethics policy, what makes sense, and what would be useful long term. I discussed, and am attaching, a sample policy and procedures document that includes an ethics policy interwoven into the document. I have used this previously as an orientation document that provides a baseline for incoming elected officials regarding the government structure, general information related to meetings, communications, and ethics. Inclusions that were made to this document from previous productions are based upon discussion from that original request, including; a) financial disclosure statements, b) ex-parte communications, and c) enforcement. This is considered to be a draft document with the expectation that it will be modified at the work session, or over a series of work sessions. The recommended action for this work session is to review the document, discuss sections that may be desired to be removed, added to, or otherwise modified. www.kalispell.com City of Kalispell Council Policies & Procedures CHAPTER 1-MUNICIPAL POWERS 1.1 State Statutes CHAPTER 2-FORM OF GOVERNM 2.1 City Council 2.2 Mayor 2.3 President of Council 2.4 City Manager CHAPTER 3-LEGAL AN S DARDS 3.1 Preamble 3.2 Public Interest 3.3 3.4 ct of Interest 3.5 Appea of Improp 3.6 Implementa 3.7 Financial Disclosu atement CHAPTER 4-COMMUNICATIONS 4.1 Ex-parte Communications 4.2 Communications with Staff 4.3 Handling of Litigation and Other Confidential Information 4.4 Representing an Official City Position 1 4.5 Communications with Each Other 4.6 E-Mail Communications 4.7 Unofficial Settings CHAPTER 5-CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS 5.1 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Regular Meetings Special Meetings Work Sessions Public Access to Meetings Voting Procedure Placing Items on the Agenda Rules of Procedure 5.9 Agenda CHAPTER 6.1 CI 2 L MATTERS PREAMBLE The residents and businesses of the City of Kalispell are entitled to have fair, ethical and accountable local government. Such a government requires that public officials: ■ Comply with both the letter and the spirit of the laws and policies affecting operations of the government. ■ Be independent, impartial and fair in their judAnotsonal me nd actions. ■ Use their public office for the public goodgain. Conduct public deliberations and processeless legally confidential, in an atmosphere of respect and civility. To this end, the City of Kalispell City Cc Procedures (Code of Conduct) document of local government and its fair and effec "Nothing within this document the Code of Ethics for obligation. Policies and ce in the integrity any State Statute (including e, or other regulatory CHAPTER 1- MUNICIPAL POWERS 1.1 Municipal powers, as outlined in State Statues 7-1-4122(MCA). Distribution of powers. (1) A municipality has legislative, 11 (2) All legislative powers are ve the municipality. (3) Executive powers are veste ovide adopted by the municipality. (4) The judicial pow municipa 7-1-4123(MCA). Legislati o A municipality with general p rs h ef provisions of to adop , end required to (1) presery cer and e'tis 0"se d pr he a icial powers. dy of the the form in the mulWiDal court. , subject to the ;s and resolutions freedom from dangerous or noxious lic health and welfare; function authorized or required by state law; (4) ercise any er gr d by state law; (5) ect to 15- 20, levy any tax authorized by state law for public or go ental oses as described in 7-6-2527; (6) appr e c funds; (7) impose 1 assessment reasonably related to the cost of any special service or ecial benefit provided by the municipality or impose a fee for the provision of a service; (8) grant franchises; and (9) provide for its own organization and the management of its affairs. 7-1-4124(MCA). Powers. A municipality with general powers has the power, subject to the provisions of state law, to: 4 (1) enact ordinances and resolutions; (2) sue and be sued; (3) buy, sell, mortgage, rent, lease, hold, manage, or dispose of any interest in real or personal property; (4) contract with persons, corporations, or any other governmental entity; (5) pay debts and expenses; (6) borrow money; (7) solicit and accept bequests, donations, or grants of money, property, services, or other advantages and comply with any condition that is not contrary to the public interest; (8) execute documents necessary to receive in , property, services, or other advantages from the state govern e federal government, or any other source; (9) make grants and loans of money, p services for public purposes; (10) require the attendance of wit and produc f documents relevant to matters being considere e governing bod (11) hire, direct, and discharge a ees and point an ove members of boards; (12) ratify any action unicipali officers or emp es that could have been approve ce; (13) have a corporate sea d (14) acquire b eminent do 'n, as ed in 70, chapter 30, any intere y for a lic ize law; (15) init' civi n to re njoi tion of an ordinance; (16) ente ate pro , obtai warrants w en necessary, for the purpose of enfo ord' s that a t the general welfare and public safety; Q,jjfUIg&ct a ve s of p o rty and preparatory studies; conde d de h hazar s structures; purchase i ance establish self-insurance plans; (21 pound an s and r private property creating a nuisance or ructing a et or highway; (22) es h quar nes; (23) class 1 ions of city ordinances as civil infractions, with civil pen lie ovided in 7-1-4150; and (24) exercise p ers not inconsistent with law necessary for effective administration of authorized services and functions. CHAPTER 2- FORM OF GOVERNMENT The City of City of Kalispell municipal government operates under a Council -Manager form of government as established in 1989 by a vote of the people. 2.1 City Council 5 Under this form of government, the Council provides legislative direction, sets City policy and monitors its execution by City staff through the City Manager. The City Manager serves as the City's chief administrative officer and is responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of the City. State Statute 7-5-4101(MCA). General powers of municipal council. The city or town council has power to make and pass all bylaws, ordinances, orders, and resolutions not repugnant to the constitution of the United States or of the state of Montana or to the provisions of this ecessary for the government or management of the affairs of or town, for the execution of the powers vested in the body corporate, a ing into effect the provisions of this title. Municipal Code 2-1 City Council (Kalispell Munic The commission shall be referred to a (8) members serving to our (4) 2.2 Maw approval; cil and A 1166 § 2-1) of eight as the Mayor, shall be elected at the Council. (Ord. 1166 § 2-2) Municipal Code). of the City Council, all members of advisory boards and resolutions on behalf of the City after Council D. Perform ceremonial functions as Mayor of the City of Kalispell; E. Perform any other duties specifically designated by ordinance or resolution. Except for the above, the Mayor shall have no other executive or administrative duties, those being the responsibility of the City Manager. (Ord. 1398, 9-17-2001; amd. Ord. 1680, 10-18-2010) 2.3 President of the Council Municipal Code 2-4 President of the Council (Kalispell Municipal Code). A. Election: At its first meeting of each even numbered year, the Council shall elect, by nomination and roll call, a president from its membership. In the Mayor's absence from Council meetings, the president shall preside over the meeting. Whenever the Mayor is unable to perform the functions of his or her office, the president shall act as Mayor. B. Successor: In the event the president of thetH resigns or becomes ineligible to serve, the Council shall electsor from its membership. (Ord. 1166 § 2-4; amd. Ord. 1680, 10-1 2.4 Ci , Manager The provisions that outline the City otl government are found in Gibiwter 7-3-3 Kalispell Municipal Code, utlir Manager. 2-29 Statut The City M A. Enforce B. Perform the Direct, E. Mk out Doli and ' uncil-Ma form of tatutes and s n 2-29 of ges and responsibilities of the City by law, ordinances or resolutions; of 10 e ent; mister epartments, agencies and offices of the t as otherwise provided by law or ordinance; blis by the City Council; F. Prep e City cil agenda; G. Recom me s to the City Council; H. Report to th Council on affairs and financial condition of the City; I. Execute bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations of the City Council, subject to the following limitations: 1. All bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations, including accumulated contract change orders in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) must have prior written approval of the City Council regardless whether or not previously approved in the annual City budget, 2. Any bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) may be executed by the City Manager 7 without prior written approval of the City Council only if such amount was previously approved by City Council in the annual City budget; J. Report to the City Council as the Council may require; K. Attend City Council meetings and may take part in the discussion, but shall have no vote; L. Prepare and present the budget to the City Council for its approval and execute the budget adopted by the City Council; M. Appoint, suspend and remove all employees of the local government except as otherwise provided by law or ordinance; Appoint members of temporary advisory Manager. (Ord. 1166 § 2-29; amd. OrdA CHAPTER 3—LEGAL AND 3.1 Preamble The residents and busin ethical and accountable officials: 3.2 Public Interest es established by the 8-2010) are entitled to have fair, iernment requires that public and policies affecting constructive environment for fair in their judgment and actions; for the public good, not for personal gain; and erations and processes openly, unless legally atmosphere of respect and civility. 3.2.1 Recognizing that stewardship of the public interest must be their primary concern, City Councilors shall work for the common good of the people of the City of Kalispell and not for any private or personal interest. City Councilors must endeavor to treat all members of the public and issues before them in a fair and equitable manner. 8 3.2.2 City Councilors shall comply with the laws of the nation, the State of Montana and the City of Kalispell in the performance of their public duties. These laws include, but are not limited to: the United States and Montana constitutions; laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, election campaigns, financial disclosures, employer responsibilities and open meeting acts; and policies of the City of Kalispell. 3.3.1 Conduct City Councilors shall refrain from abusive conduct toward other members of the City Council, boards, commissions, committees, stj4f or the public. Council member duties shall be performed i rules of order established by the City Couig In order to best accomplish City b themselves on public issues, lister body and focus on the business at Council decisions shall hand. with the processes and inform ►ns before the matter at re substantive e n that they have pinaking process with all action on the matter. ence and impartiality on behalf of the public Oted from using their official positions to in which they have a financial interest. take advantage of services or opportunities for personal blic office that are not available to the public in general. 3.4.3 City Councilors shall respect and preserve the confidentiality of information provided to them concerning the confidential matters of the City. They must neither disclose confidential information without proper legal authorization nor use such information to advance the personal, financial or private interests of themselves or others. 3.4.4 City Councilors should avoid any action that could be construed as, or create the appearance of, using public office for personal gain, including use of City stationery or other City resources to obtain or promote personal business. 3.4.5 Public resources not available to the general public (e.g., City staff time, equipment, supplies or facilities) shall not be used by City Councilors for private gain or personal purposes. 3.4.6 To the best of their ability, City Councilors shall represent the official policies and positions of the City Council. When presenting their personal opinions or positions publicly, members shall explicitly state they do not represent the Council or the City. 3.5 Appearance of Impropriety When participation in action or decision-m, implicate the specific statutory criteria for participation still does not "look" or 'fie ' r encountered the appearance of imp r For the public to have faith and con] implemented in an even-handed and step aside even though n ical term non -financial affiliate 1 the applicant is related by b o community, members who en to aside. 3.6.1 3. 3.7.1 FinOW disclosure a public official does not I i�lic erest; however, official has probably that government ority will be n public of eNsere may need to An example a long- ublic official and an applicant or to fecial. For the good of the Learan impropriety should step orientations for City Council. Members o Cit ncil shall file with the City Clerk, by January 31st of each year, a fin enclosure statement that will be considered a public document. The financial statement must include the following information: A. The name and address of the Councilmember and describe any current employment in addition to the elected position with the city; B. Each present or past employing entity from which benefits, including retirement benefits, are currently received by the individual; 10 C. Each business, firm, corporation, partnership or other business or professional entity or trust in which the individual holds an equity interest of ten percent or more of the entity; 1. Each entity not listed under subsection A. through C. in which the individual is an officer, director or registered agent, regardless of whether or not the entity is engaged for profit; and All real property, other than a holds an equity interest of ten property may be described b highway location. CHAPTER 4.1 Ex-parte Communication , in which the individual 'the real property. Real buich as street address or to a party or a few shoddiscuss the parameters of the person who is requesting affirmance Council proceedings. Examples of imited to, the following: Each of these ex pies is similar. First, only specific persons are immediately impacted by your decision — the persons living near the conditional use, variance or vacation, persons who obtain the license, and persons who will be assessed. Second, each instance requires the Council to take a legal standard and apply it to the set of facts in order to arrive at a factual determination. Therefore, in instances where the Council will be making an adjudicatory decision each Council member should refrain from discussing the merits of that decision outside of the Council chambers at an officially called public meeting. 11 If any person attempts to communicate with a board member regarding the topic, the council member shall report the substance of the communication to the council on the public record at the next regular meeting. 4.2 Communications with Staff 4.2.2 A Council member shall not direct staff to initiate any action, change a course of action or prepare any report, nor shall a Council member initiate any project or study without the approval of the majority of the cil. 4.2.3 City Councilors shall not attempt to pressurM ence discussions, recommendations, workloads, schedules o priorities absent the approval of a majority of the Council. 4.2.4 Any concerns by a member of the Council regarding havior or work of a City employee should be directed t City ger priv to ensure the concern is resolved. Ahl 4.3 Handling of Litigation and In ation 4.3.1 All written verbal ed City Councilors on matters tha confid 1 under w sha kept in complete confidence to ensure tha ity's ition is n ompromised. 4.4 RAWANhhan O ' n 4.4.1Xexpecarefully m rs mNpes, eir tale only when conducting official City info 'oor as an indication of background and hether they are exceeding or appearing to authori 4.4.2 In most insta ouncil will authorize the Mayor to send letters stating the City's official po to appropriate legislators. 4.4.3 If a member of the City Council appears before another governmental agency organization to give a statement on an issue affecting the City, the Council member should indicate the majority position and opinion of the Council. 4.5 Communications with each other 4.5.1 Council members meeting together as a quorum outside of a publicly announced meeting maybe in jeopardy of violating respective open meeting acts. Should the 12 occasion arise, when a quorum is gathered unexpectedly, city business should not be discussed. 4.6 Email Communication 4.6.1 Email communications have in many cases been considered public documents and are requested as such under respective open record acts. Both public and private computers that contain public records are subject to subpoena. 4.7 Unofficial Settings 4.7.1 It is appropriate that Council members re( conversations when out in public will be ( should take care to be aware of what they public conversations. CHAPTER 5-CITY COUNCIL 5.1 Regular Meetings Fas elected officials, their Members of the Council gc, whether in private or 5.1.1 The City Council shall ho meeting e first and third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in t 1 cil cha s or any other location or time they so designate. The C oun mber cated in City Hall, 201 First Avenue ell, na. 6 § , amd. Ord. 1680, 10-18- 2010) 5.2 S ecial Meetin 5.2.1 ity ctio Spec t s may be called by the Mayor, or in or her abse he ent of t ouncil. A special meeting may also be c at the requ thr members of the Council. When Vmee ng shall be called, a notice in writing signed by the Mayor orsident shall be served upon each member of the Council either in pice left at their place of residence, stating the date and hour of th Notice of a special meeting must be served upon the Council at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting and the public media shall be notified as soon as practical prior to such meeting. 5.3 Work Sessions 5.3.1 Work Sessions are conducted as a public meeting which the Council may set from time to time to allow for a detailed review of important matters. All study session meetings are open to the public. 13 5.4 Public Access to meetings 5.4.1 5.5 Under state law, MCA 2-3-203, all meetings of the council or city committees must be open to the public. Exceptions: A. A meeting may be closed when discussion relates to a matter of individual privacy if and only if the presiding officer determines that the demands of the individual privacy exceeds the merits of public disclosure. B. A meeting may also be closed to discuss a strategy for litigation when open discussion would have a detrimental effect on the position of the public agency, unless litigation is between two public agencies. \T! a. Affirmative Vote Required: In orde Council, the motion ceive an Council present at the S ordinance. b. Roll Call : Votes eso roll cal each ber's v 14 ANIL Nfromthe y the lepvote jority of the 'se provided by State law or nces shall be taken by in the minutes. c. Viva Voce : V motio ther than resolutions and ordinances ken1% e of the Council requests, or if the ayor ine cessar , of hands may be used to verify a vote. -r Vote uireNeptions: When a question is stated upon any th unry member of the Council present shall vote 1. Excu jority vote of the Council present; 2. Directly sted in the question; or 3. Prohibited y State law; in which case the Council member shall not vote. 5.6 Placing Items on Agendas An adopted agenda setting policy facilitates a consistent process for staff to research and provide equal and thorough information to the entire council. 5.6.1 Per City Code, 2-29 (F) One of the duties of the City manager is to "Prepare the City Council Agenda" 14 5.6.2 To place an item on an agenda, a Council member can either request that an item be introduced during the "Mayor/Council/City Manager's Report" section of the meeting, or by contacting the City Manager's office with the request by noon on the Wednesday preceding the meeting. The item will be placed as a discussion item at a future work session for the Council deliberation. 5.6.3 Any person may request placement of a matter on the Council agenda by providing a written request to the City Manager's office. If the matter is of an operational or managerial nature, staff will address the concern without placing the item on the agenda. A copy of the letter and stag response will be provided to the Council. If the item is of a policy related m e item will be distributed to the Council. If a Council member desires is to be placed on a future agenda, the process outlined in Section 5. ollowed. 5.6.4 Nothing in this section prohibits or from approaching the Council dur� 5.7 Rules of Procedure 5.7.1 5.8 Decorum 5.8.1 5.8.2 ber of the public ion of the will be conducted using erence and/or guidance. shall conduct themselves with i nlWer or members of the Police Department as the be the sergeant -at -arms of the Council meetings. he sergeant -at -arms shall carry out all orders and ,y the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining at the Council meetings. 2. Arrest: Upon instructions of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the sergeant -at -arms, or such other members of the Police Department present, to place any person who violates the order of decorum of the meeting under arrest, and subject to the discretion of the presiding officer to cite such violator into Kalispell Municipal Court for the violation of MCA 45-8-101(g), Disturbing or Disrupting Any Lawful Assembly or Public Meeting. (Ord. 1166 § 2-22; amd. Ord. 1680, 10-18-2010) (Kalispell Municipal Code: 2-22). 15 5.9 Agenda Packets 5.9.1 Agenda packets are to be made available for council members the Mayor's office, the City's web site (www.kalispell.com). 5.9.2 Agenda packets are to be prepared for pickup Council members on the Friday prior to (Monday) Council meetings. CHAPTER 6—COUNCIL FINANCIAL MATTERS 6.1 City Council Budget and Expenses 6.1.1 On an annual basis, the City Council pas expenditures for the upcoming year for routine expenses and budgeted item Council. These expenditures may d conference registrations, travel expe Expenditures that cannot be pre-appro reimbursable. that includes anticipated ouncil.N res outside of e pre-appeeded by the City but are not: seminar and and Co cipurchases. ue e v not be ion of the Code isalleged, the affected of the alleged violation(s) and a n(s). of this Code of Conduct shall be made in writing A'Wey. The City Attorney or his or her designee .aint and shall also review any signed written n(s) or entity(ies) that are directly involved. Upon v, the City Attorney's Office shall submit an unbiased report to the Council at a hearing during a scheduled 1. At least ten days prior to the scheduled hearing, any affected elected official(s) shall be notified in writing of the complaint and the scheduled date of the hearing, and shall be provided copies of the materials reviewed by the City Attorney, or his or her designee. i. This provision of notice shall be required, except in cases in which the affected elected official has been accused of criminal wrong doing, or incases in which notice to the affected elected official(s) would jeopardize an on -going criminal investigation by any local, state, or federal law enforcement agency. ii. The City Attorney shall make the determination as to whether the above -enumerated notice exception applies, and shall document the file as to the reason(s) therefore. iii. In cases of alleged criminal wrong doing or on -going criminal investigation, the subject complaint of violation of the Code shall be suspended until such time as the City Attorney deems the criminal allegation and/or criminal 'inwestigation has been resolved, either by prosecution, or a deter ' n that no criminal charge(s) are warranted against the affe ected official(s). 2. In the event the notice exceptio a does pply, the matter shall proceed and any affected ele ficial(s) sha ve an opportunity to respond and be heard duri scheduled hearin 3. The City Council will utilize th ed e to: of this Code; sanction if any may be most appropriate. mplaint of violation of this Code may choosing at the scheduled hearing. ;u ce of two-thirds of the elected body shall be tion that a violation of this Code occurred, and of two-thirds of the elected body shall be required to A. Neither an alleged nor confirmed violation of this Code of Conduct by itself provides a basis for challenging the validity of any final action, enactment, ordinance, resolution, decision, determination, or recommendation of the Council. B. Under MCA 7-5-4103, the council may adopt procedures for addressing improper conduct of its members. 17 Such actions may include but are not limited to a public reprimand or public censure. 1. Public reprimand as used in this Code means a public declaration made by resolution at a Council meeting announcing that an elected official's conduct was improper and describing the impropriety under this Code. 2. Public Censure as used in the Code means an official public condemnation made by resolution at a Council meeting denouncing an elected official's conduct as a violation of this Code and the reasons therefore. 18