Conflicts of Interest

Accepting fees and honorariums is a minor conflict, but one that occurs a great deal. Please share your thoughts and experiences. 100(15). Fees and Honorariums No official or employee* may accept a fee or honorarium for an article, for an appearance or speech, or for participation at an event, in h…

This provision deals with the potential coercion, or appearance of coercion, that accompanies outside dealings between officials and subordinates. Please share your experiences with this problem and ways to deal with it in ethics codes. 100(14). Transactions with Subordinates No official or employe…

Nepotism seems to be more a matter of taste than other conflict provisions. Everyone knows that it looks bad to hire members of one's own family, but many people feel that government is like business, and in business people do this all the time. What is family for? What are your thoughts on includi…

One conflict of interest is so basic it is sometimes left out of ethics codes: using city property or money for one's own use. Please share your thoughts about this conflict and your experiences with attempts to control it. 100(12). Misuse of City Property and Reimbursements An official or employee…

The revolving door involves movement from city government into business, specifically into businesses that do business with the city or represent people before its boards and agencies. The conflict here involves using information and goodwill obtained during one's public service to immediately bene…

Patronage involves a conflict between one's obligation to the public to hire the most competent person for each job, and one's political obligation to reward those who help oneself or one's colleagues get elected. Most ethics codes ignore this conflict. Please share your thoughts on its inclusion, …

This is the place to discuss how to prevent the conflicts that arise when a city official represents (or appears for) someone before the city or against the interests of the city. The difference between representation and appearance is explained in the comments below. Please comment on this divisio…

This is the place to discuss another basic statement of conflict of interest, relating to how officials act toward city residents. Other codes use the language of "misuse of office." Please state your preferences and your experiences with both approaches. 100(5). Special Consideration An official o…

This is the place to discuss limitations on gifts to officials and employees, and their family members. Probably no other aspect of ethics codes has so many different solutions. Please share your thoughts about and experiences with various attempts at solving this basic problem, and suggest languag…

This is the place to discuss recusal, that is, withdrawal from participation when there appears to be a conflict of interest. Also see Transactional Disclosure, in the "Disclosure" section, where this issue will also be discussed. 100(3). Recusal An official or employee* must refrain from acting on…