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HomeMy WebLinkAbout80-743 PasserottiTracy Passerotti 8980 Rohl Road North East, PA 16428 RE: Contract, Vote Dear Mr. Passerotti: C C nom,: o STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 December 24, 1980 Advice of Counsel Advice No. 80 -5.&1. 743 This responds to your letter of November 24, 1980. Issue: May you vote on an agreement to be made between your employer (Walter Kuhl) and Harborcreek Township, where you serve as an elected Supervisor? Facts: You are employed, on a regular basis, by Walter Kuhl (hereinafter "Kuhl "). You serve as an elected Supervisor in Harborcreek Township. Kuhl has proposed to open a landfill in the Township. This would require an agreement between Kuhl and the Township which might be presented to the Supervisors for approval. Discussion: There is no dispute or doubt that, as an elected Supervisor you are a "public official" as that term is defined in the Ethics Act. As such, you must comply with the require- ments of the Act to aviod actual conflicts of interest and the appearance of a conflict of interest. Your question as to voting on an agreement between your employer and the Township you serve falls, at least, into this latter category. In fact, the State Ethics Commission has had the occas- sion to review a similar question in Sowers, 80 -050. In Sowers, the question was whether a Township Supervisor could or should vote to approve or disapprove a developer's project where he planned to work for that developer. The Commission concluded that the Supervisor who may obtain work on the project, contract, or agreement which is subject to the approval of the Township, must: Tracy Passerot December 24, 1 k Page 2 C (1) Not use his official position to obtain such employment; (2) Not utilize confidential information gained in his official capacity, to secure such employment; (3) Refrain from voting on a developer's /contractor's plans where the Supervisor will seek, has been asked, or can reasonably and legitimately anticipate being asked to perform work for developer /contractor; (4) Refrain from voting on matters related to a developer /contractor from whom such work is obtained /secured where the Supervisor may be asked to vote on these matters which arise after he has obtained /secured such work; (5) Make public the relationship with the developer /contractor or acquired with the developer /contractor and the reasons for abstention as required by (3) and (4), immediately above These same criteria apply to your situation and your relationship with the. employer -Kuhl in regard to any landfill agreement between Kuhl and Harborcreek Township. In the same view, you may not accept or be offered anything of value, including the promise of future employment on the under- standing that your official action or judgment would be influenced thereby. See Section 3(b), 65 P.s. 403(b). Conclusion: Your conduct in relation to voting on the potential agreement between Kuhl, your employer, and Harborcreek Township should conform to the criteria outlined in Items 1 through 5 above. Pursuant to Section 7(9)(ii), this Advice is a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or criminal proceeding, providing the requestor has disclosed truthfully all the material facts and committed the acts complained of in reliance on the Advice given. This letter is a public record and will be made avail- able as such. Tracy Passerot December 24, 19, , Page 3 Finally, if you disagree with this Advice or if you have any reason to challenge same, you may request that the full Commission review this Advice. A personal appearance before the Commission may be scheduled and a formal Opinion from the Commission will be issued. You should make such a request or indicate your disapproval of this Advice within the next 30 days. SSC /rdp Sincerely, Sandra S. Christianson General Counsel i1