SectDraftImpartialityRequiredD061229

1Article 3
1

2Section ? REQUIREMENT FOR IMPARTIALITY

3See footnotes 1 & 2
4(A) GENERAL RULES
51) City matters and activities must be conducted fairly and impartially. 3A Public Servant must not use
6 his or her City position for private gain or show favoritism by giving preferential treatment in City
7 matters.
82) It is a violation of this code for a Public Servant to grant or promise to any party4 5special
9 consideration, privilege, treatment, favor or advantage in City matters beyond that which is
10 generally available to every party in similar circumstance or need.
113) 6A Public Servant must not acquire, initiate, receive or retain any direct or indirect business,
12 employment or other financial interest that might reasonably and consistently cause the public to
13 question his or her impartiality in City matters.
144) 7A City Official or Supervisor having a family or other personal relationship with a City Employee or
15 Employee Applicant must not cause or attempt to cause undeserved favorable treatment of such
16 employee or applicant.
175) 8The moderator of a City meeting must apply meeting rules and time limits consistently and fairly,
18 without showing bias or favor for any party.
19(B) 9APPEARANCE OF PARTIALITY TO BE PREVENTED
201) 10A City Official must not create the impression that any party:
21 a) Improperly influences him or her; or
22 b) Enjoys his or her unwarranted favor in the performance of City action or duties.
232) A City Official must not create the appearance that he or she has violated this Section. Failing to
24 prevent the appearance of partiality is a violation of Section ? (Appearance of Impropriety to be
25 Prevented).
26(C) CONFLICT OF INTEREST
27A Public Servant has a conflict of interest in a City matter11 if his or her official action in such matter
28would violate the Requirements of Impartiality stated in this section. See Section ? (Conflict of
29Interests).
30(D) POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND GIFTS
31Having received (or been offered) a political contribution, gift12 or other benefit13 from a party does not
32provide reason for a Public Servant to favor that party in a City matter. 14Similarly, having been denied
33a request by a party does not provide a reason for a Public Servant to show disfavor towards that party
34in a City matter.

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35FOOTNOTES (TO BE REMOVED AT END OF EDITING PROCESS)

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51 C061107: Document “names” revised. First Draft (A061026) to be renamed A061026, Second Draft (B061101)
6to be renamed B061101, Third draft reflecting changes to draft to be named C061107. Footnotes changed to
7reflect new document naming scheme.
82 B061101: Member comment: “We haven’t mentioned in the impartiality document the need to recuse one’s
9self from voting in a situation where there is a real or perceived conflict of interest. Shouldn’t this be included?”
10Linda’s response: There will be a section that covers conflict of interest, disclosure and recusal. After we draft
11that section, we can make a decision to more the recusal part to this or another section.
123 A061026 Moved from item 2 for readability.
134 A061026 Changed from “person” to party. “Party” to be defined in Definition Section and to include “person”
14and “entity” and group. City is not included in “party”.
155 B061101: EAB Member comments that there should be a comma after the word “party”. If we diagram this
16sentence, it turns out to have the same basic form as “It is wrong for Joe to give Jane a present that is not
17available to Judy (where “Jane” is the equivalent of “party”). There should not be a comma after Jane. If the
18length of the sentence is too long it should be restructured. Defer to Lynn Hamilton.
196 A061026 Edited to address Paul’s concerns. Changed from “A Public Servant must not participate in any
20personal, business, employment or professional activity or receive or retain any direct or indirect financial
21interest that might reasonably and consistently cause the public to question his or her impartiality.”
227 D061229: Added, per direction from EAB, November meeting to address nepotism.
238 B061107: Member comment: “Is this covered under Robert’s Rules”. Linda: I don’t know. Even if it is, we’ve
24had public meeting moderators be blatantly partial to certain individuals. One recent mayor, for example, would
25let certain people ramble on forever – And immediately gavel another speaker in opposition of what ever was
26going on.
279 B061101: Item numbers (1) and (2) added and sentence(s) restructured to accommodate members’
28suggestions as to use of “him or her”.
2910 C061107: changed from “A Public Servant must not create the impression that any party” to restrict
30applicability to exclude employees who exercise no discretion in performing their jobs.
3111 B061101: EAB Member comments that there should be a comma after the word “party”. If we diagram this
32sentence, it turns out to have the same basic form as “Jack has a job if he is getting paid”. There should not be
33a comma before the word “if”… If the length of the sentence is too long, it should be restructured. Defer to Lynn
34Hamilton.
3512 A061026 “Gift” to be defined in Definition Section.
3613 A061026 “Benefit” to be defined in Definition Section.
3714 A061026. Added. Purpose is to address situation where public servant solicits something – if donor refuses to
38make the gift or contribution, the PServant may not use this denial to affect his or her City Actions.