Okaloosa County BOCC — January 18, 2013 — Escambia County Ethics Policy — reading text

Officer shall ensure that disclosure forms and all necessary instructions for compliance are available and that members of the Senior Executive Service have adequate time to complete the disclosure forms. The County Ethics Officer shall be the custodian of records for any disclosure forms that are not required to be sent to the State of Florida Commission on Ethics. 4. Public Property. No County public officer or employee shall request or permit the unauthorized use of County-owned vehicles, equipment, materials, or property. 5. Special Treatment. No County public officer or employee shall grant any special consideration, treatment, or advantage to any person, group or organization beyond that which is available to every other person, group or organization in the same or similar circumstances. 6. Payment of Debts. All public officers and employees shall settle, in a timely fashion, business accounts between them and the County, including the payment of taxes. 7. Gifts and Gratuities. Appointed public officers and employees shall not directly solicit any gift or accept or receive any gift – whether it be money, services, loans, travel, entertainment, hospitality, a promise, or in any other form – under circumstances where it could be reasonably inferred or expected that the gift was intended to influence them in the performance of their official duties, or the gift was intended to serve as a reward for any official action on their part. Furthermore, no County employee shall receive any gifts from organizations, business concerns, or individuals that are lobbyists or vendors that have a business relationship with the County if such gift has a value over $50.00. The following shall not be deemed a violation of the limitations this Policy imposes as it relates to gifts and gratuities over $50.00: a. Legitimate salary, benefits, fees, commissions, or expenses associated with a public officer’s or employee’s non-public business; b. An award, plaque, certificate, memento, or similar item given in recognition of the public officer’s or employee’s civic, charitable, political, professional, or public service; c. Food, beverages, and registration at group events to which all similarly situated employees or public officers are invited; d. Actual and reasonable expenses, as set out in the County travel policy, for food, beverages, travel, lodging, and registration for a meeting which are provided to a public officer or employee so that he or she may participate in or speak at a meeting or conference or similar event; Page 61S (4 of 11)  e. A commercially reasonable loan offered to the public at large and made in the ordinary course of business; f. Promotional items generally distributed free to public officers or employees by County vendors; g. Gifts from a relative (father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, father- in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law) of the appointed officer or employee. 8. Gift Reports. All reporting individuals, including County Commissioners, County Attorney, County Administrator, Purchasing Manager, the administrator with the power to grant land development permits, i.e., County Engineer, Chief Building Official, County Pollution Control Director and County Environmental Control Director; i.e., Director of Neighborhood and Environmental Services, members of Planning Board and Board of Adjustment, and Fire Chief, who receive a gift shall report that gift in the manner provided by Section 112.3148, Florida Statutes. 9. Outside Employment. County employees may engage in outside employment, subject to the following restrictions: a. County employees may not render services for outside interests or conduct a private business when such employment, service, or business creates a conflict with or impairs the proper discharge of their duties; and b. County employees may not use County property or resources to assist or promote the outside employment, service or business; and c. County employees may not use any portion of time spent working for the County to assist or promote such outside employment, service, or business. Furthermore, all County employees seeking to engage in private employment must complete the certification form (attached to this policy) that: 1) discloses the identity of the private employment, service, or business, 2) discloses the nature of the private employment, service, or business, and the job duties of the position that the County employee seeks, and 3) discloses whether, to the employee’s knowledge, the private employer, service, or business is a vendor or contractor for the County. This certification form, declaring such outside employment, must be filed with and approved by the County Ethics Officer and approved by the County Administrator. A copy of the certification form will be maintained in the employee’s official personnel file. 10. Prohibited Investments. No appointed public officer or employee over the course of his or her employment shall be allowed to have any personal investment which in any way would create a substantial conflict of interest between his or her private interests and the County’s interest. Additionally, no appointed public officer or employee who reviews applications for permits or approvals shall enter into any contractual relationship with a person or entity who must obtain a County permit or approval for the property (real or personal) that is the subject of the contract. However, once the person or entity has obtained a final decision on the permit or approval, the appointed public officer may enter into a contractual relationship for the property, provided: 1) any member of the public has the same opportunity to enter into a contractual relationship for the property with substantially similar terms and conditions, and 2) the contractual relationship does not violate any other provision of this policy. A decision is deemed final after any and all appeals of the decision are final. Page 61S (5 of 11)  Furthermore, no County employee (including the County Administrator and the County Attorney) may enter into any joint business or joint investment with an elected County officer while the officer is serving his or her term of office. If the employee has any joint business or joint investment, with a commissioner that existed prior to the election of the commissioner, the employee must make full disclosure of the business or investment immediately upon the election of the commissioner. 11. Miscellaneous Malfeasance or Misfeasance. Any County public officer or employee, who breaches the public trust for private gain, shall be liable to the County for repayment of all financial benefits obtained by such a breach. It also shall be unlawful and a violation of this policy for any County public officer or employee to threaten or intimidate or otherwise impede any witness, investigation, administration of law, the conduct of any public meeting, or any other act that would interfere with the lawful functioning of County government. 12. Improper Use of Position. No County public officer, employee or County attorney shall use or attempt to use his or her official position or any property or resource which may be within his or her trust, to secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself, or others. 13. Converting County Property. A County public officer or employee is prohibited from converting or embezzling any real or personal property for which that public officer or employee is required to possess or control in the execution of his or her County duties. Upon a conviction and adjudication of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction, whether civil or criminal, the County shall request that the court require proper restitution to the County. 14. Political Activity. Any County public officer or employee (except for the elected members of the Board of County Commissioners) is prohibited from conducting political activities while on County time. No such political activities will be undertaken by any person who disadvantages the functioning of County government. A County public officer or employee is prohibited from using County resources to aid or boost the political campaign of any elected public officer. This policy shall not be interpreted to violate the protected constitutional rights of the First Amendment or the impairment of any public officer or employee’s civil rights to vote and to take part in political campaigns. 15. Professional Services. No County public officer or employee may recommend the services of any lawyer or other professional to assist any person in a transaction involving the County unless such recommendation is a part of that person’s official duties. No attorney employed by the County or other employee shall represent a private individual or entity before the County. Page 61S (6 of 11) 16. Ethics Officer. A County Ethics Officer will be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. Unless another County employee is specifically designated as the County Ethics Officer by the Board of County Commissioners, the employee holding the position of County Human Resources Manager shall be the County Ethics Officer. The County Ethics Officer duties and responsibilities shall be assigned, as a separate responsibility, to the Human Resources Manager. The Ethics Officer may receive complaints from the public or County personnel involving alleged ethical violations by the County’s appointed public officers or employees. The Ethics Officer will review any such allegation to determine whether or not it appears to be factually grounded. The Ethics Officer shall also report the allegation to the Chairman, BCC and the County Administrator and shall review the factual basis for the allegation with the County Attorney. Should the complaint involve the County Administrator, the complaint shall be referred to the Chairman of the Board. Should the complaint involve any Board Member or Ethics Officer the complaint shall be referred to the County Attorney. After such review, the Ethics Officer may initiate an investigation or refer the complainant to the State Commission on Ethics (COE) as appropriate. For purposes of this Policy, the Ethics Officer’s decision to initiate an investigation or to make a referral to the COE is subject to approval by the Chairman of the BCC and the County Administrator. The Ethics Officer’s completed report will be submitted to the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. Removal of the Ethics Officer will require a majority vote of the Board of County Commissioners after a finding of good cause. 17. Disclosure of Criminal Records Required. Any person applying for appointment to a County board or committee or for employment with Escambia County will disclose any criminal convictions and the failure to do so may result in dismissal from any such volunteer, board or committee member, or from