HomeMy WebLinkAbout82-526 FinkMr. Richard R. Fink, Esquire
Lower Bucks Realty Building
8021 Route 13, P.O. Box 123
Levittown, PA 19059
Dear Mr. Fink:
Mailing Address:
STATE ETHICS COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 1179
HARRISBURG, PA 17108
TELEPHONE: (717) 783 -1610
March 9, 1982
ADVICE OF COUNSEL
82 -526
RE: Council member's spouse is nominee for Joint Municipal
Authority
This responds to your letter of January 29, 1982 in
which you, as Solicitor Of Tullytown Borough, requested an
advisory opinion from the State Ethics Commission.
Issue: Does the Ethics Act require a Tullytown Borough
Council member to abstain from voting to appoint a member of
the Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority, when the Council
member's spouse is one of the nominees?
Facts: You are a Solicitor... for Tullytown Borough, which is
a member of the Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority.
Members of the Tullytown Borough Council will be appointing
a member of the authority at the next meeting. One of the
nominees for this appointment is the spouse of an incumbent
Council member. The position on the Joint Municipal
Authority is a compensated one. Absent any conflict, each
incumbent Council member votes in the selection of the
appointee to the Authority.
Discussion: The Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 401 et seq. recognizes
that public office is a public trust and that the financial
interests of public officials should present neither a
conflict nor the appearance of a conflict with the trust. A
Borough Council member is a "public official" subject to the
provisions of the Ethics Act. See definitions, 65 P.S. 402.
State Ethics Commission • 308 Finance Building • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Mr. Richard R. Fink, Esquire
March 9, 1982
Page 2
Section 3(a) of the Act also states that no public
official shall use his public office to obtain financial
gain for a ir1ewber of his immediate family other than that
provided by law. The Ethics Act defines "immediate family"
to include spouse. See 65 P.S. 402 and 51 Pa. Code 1.1.
Thus, a Council member may not, consistently with Section 1
of the Ethics Act, participate in the selection of an
appointee to the Joint Authority described above especially
where the position is a compensated one. In order to avoid
the appearance of a conflict of interest, the Council member
should abstain from voting in the instance when her spouse
is one of the nominees. See Kilmer, 79 -037 and Motto, 80-
021.
Conclusion: To avoid the appearance of a conflict of
interest, and to comply with the spirit of the Ethics Act, a
Tullytown Borough Council member must abstain from voting on
the appointment of a person to the Lower Bucks County Joint
Municipal Authority when her spouse is one of the nominees
for that appointment.
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
available as such.
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.
BF /rdp
Sincerely,
ndra iristianson
General C. nsel