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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-OR-3093-OR-a~ ] AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A CODE OF ETHICS FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS IN THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA WHEREAS, the City of Jeffersonville has previously established certain unwritten policies, standards of conduct and expectations with regard to its elected officials, employees, contractors and political appointees; and WHEREAS, it is prudent to codify the previously unwritten standards and practices in order to allow those who are protected by them and those who are judged by those standards know what conduct is expected of all Cfty elected officials, employees, contractors and political appointees; and WHEREAS, a system for addressing violations of the policies and standards of conduct and ethics already exists by virtue of having been created and set in place by State statute; NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA that the following standards shall be adopted as a Code of Ethics for all persons acting on behalf of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and that the City of Jeffersonville Board of Public Works and Safety shall function in upholding the standards herein codified: Definitions Agency. Means any department, office, board, commission or committee of the City of Jeffersonville, indiana. Board. Means the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana Board of Public Works and Safety. City. The City of Jeffersonville, Indiana. Code. The Code of ethics contained in this ordinance. Person. Means any person, corporation, business or other legal entity recognized by law. Public Servant. Any employee, appointee, elected official, or volunteer who is employed by, performs services for, acts or make official decisions on behalf of, or holds an official position arising out of their election, employ or appointment by the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana or any of its legally authorized subdivisions. Code of Ethics I. A public servant should perform his or her official responsibilities fairly, impartially, honestly and in such a manner as to attempt and avoid any reasonable appearance of impropriety. II. A public servant should perform his or her official responsibilities diligently and should follow alt reasonable and lawful directives of the public servant's supervisor(s) promptly, faithfully and in such a manner as to accomplish all tasks assigned. III. A public servant should not make a false statement (or withhold relevant information with the intent of creating a false impression) in the performance of the public servant's official functions. IV. A public servant should strive to protect and preserve the property. of the City and its subdivisions. V. No public servant should, in the course of their official function, knowingly violate or participate in the violation of any Statute, law or ordinance. Vi. Any violation of statute, law or ordinance committed by a person in the course of their work, transactions, duty or dealings with the City, which comes to the attention of a public servant, should be reported immediately to the Board. VII. A public servant who has reason to believe that another person or entity has violated this code of ethics should report his reason for believing so to the Board. VIII. No public servant should use an official position for individual benefit or preferential benefit of a family member, when such use of the public servants position is, or would appear to be, unwarranted. IX. A public servant should publicly disclose any transactions involving the City or its subdivisions if the public servant exercises official discretion in the transaction and the public servant or a member of the public servants family has a pecuniary interest or would derive a profit from the transaction. Regular compensation for services performed and which are a matter of public record do not require additional disclosure. X. No public servant should receive anything of value from a person when it would reasonably appear to be given or received with the intent to give or obtain special consideration or influence from or for that public servant or person. Xl. A public servant should refrain from wrongfully disclosing or using confidential or privileged information received in the course of the public servant's official duties when disclosure would result in, or would reasonably appear to result in, personal gain for the public servant or his family members. ×11. A public servant should not receive any gift or honoraria if accepting it would, or would reasonably appear to, cause the public servant to be unable to render decisions fairly and impartially. This section does not intend to prohibit campaign contributions properly received and reported. Investigations. The Board shall, in a timely manner, conduct an investigation into any alleged violation of this code. If a violation is found to have occurred that violation should be documented and be made a matter of public record. Violations of the code which appear to be a violation of public law should be reported to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. Advisory Opinions. The Board, when requested, should issue advisory opinions to any person having an inquiry regarding matters of governmental ethics. Penalties. Violation of this ordinance, or any provision of this ordinance, shall be deemed reason for disciplinary action or dismissal, or removal (if an appointment). Effective date. This ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days after its passage and approval. Each Section Adopted Separately. Each provision of this ordinance is adopted separately. In the event that any part or section of this ordinance is deemed to be illegal or invalid only that part or section shall be repealed. The remaining parts or sections of the ordinance shall remain in effect. Passed and adopted by the Common Council of City of Jeffersonville, Clark County, State of Indiana, on the __ day of ,1993. ROBERT POTTER PRESIDENT, COMMON COUNCIL ATTEST: c. ~,c~^~ s~,~c'~, ~.~ KER, JR., 4