City officers and employees are required to disclose all personal, professional, or business relationships they have with any person who is the subject of a governmental decision they are making. Having such relationships does not necessarily create a conflict of interest or require recusal, however it is important for the public to know when any City official is making a decision that may impact someone with whom they have an existing relationship.
When is a government decision being made?
Disclosure of personal, professional, or business relationships is only required when the City officer or employee is making a governmental decision that will impact the person with whom they have the relationship.
A City officer or employee is making a governmental decision, whenever they:
- Vote on a matter;
- Appoint a person;
- Obligate or commit the City to a course of action;
- Enter the City into a contractual agreement; or
- Determine not to do any of the above.
Providing advice or participating in the making of a decision that must ultimately then be approved by another City officer or employee does not constitute making a governmental decision for the purposes of this rule.
What types of relationships must be disclosed?
When making a governmental decision, City officials must disclose if they have a personal, professional, or business relationship with someone who is the subject of that decision, or who owns or has a financial interest in the subject of the decision.
- A personal relationship is a relationship with a family member or friend.
- A professional relationship is a relationship based on regular contact in a professional capacity, including volunteer activities.
- A business relationship includes recent clients, business partners, colleagues, or anyone who did business with the City official or their business in the last two years.
If a relationship arises solely from a City official’s current City duties, that relationship does not need to be disclosed. For example, if a City official is working on a contract renewal with a vendor, they would not need to disclose the relationship between themself and the employees of the vendor that they work with, unless the City official interacts with them outside of their City work in a personal, professional, or business capacity.
When and how is this disclosure made?
Relationships must be disclosed on the public record. The exact method of disclosure depends on if the governmental decision is being made during a public meeting or outside of a public meeting.
If the decision is made at a public meeting of a board or commission, the City official must disclose the relationship on the record during the meeting, so that it will appear in the official meeting minutes.
If the decision is made outside of a public meeting, the City official needs to disclose the relationship in a written memo to be kept on file with the records of the decision. The Ethics Commission provides a template form that City officials can use for the purpose of drafting this memo.
Instead of making the decision and disclosing the relationship, City officials may instead recuse themselves from the decision-making process. If the official recuses and does not make the decision, no relationship disclosure is required.
Applicable Laws and Regulations
Get Advice
If a City official is unsure if they have a relationship that must be disclosed, they should seek advice from the Ethics Commission. City officials can submit advice requests online.