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HomeMy WebLinkAbout81-009 KnoxWallace J. Knox, Esq. 120 West Tenth Street Erie, PA 16501 STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 June 24, 1981 OPINION OF THE COMMISSION II. Factual Basis for Determination: RE: Section 1, Section 3(a), Township Commissioners Dear Mr. Knox: I. Issue: You request advice as to whether: 1. A former employee of a corporation may_vote as a Township Commissioner to accept a settlement of a tax dispute between the Township and the corporation? 81 -009 2. Two current employees of a corporation may vote as f Township Commissioners to accept a settlement of a tax dispute between the Township and the corporation? The General Electric Company (GE) owns 345 acres of land in Erie County; the builidings on this land are devoted to various industrial uses. GE has appealed its tax assessment on the property. The taxing bodies affected by the appeal are Erie County, Irogois School District and Lawrence Park Township. The real estate tax paid by GE accounts for 60% of the real estate tax revenue collected by the Township.- In pre -trial proceedings expert appraisal witnesses indicated that the result of a trial would be unfavorable to the Township and the other taxing bodies. Therefore, the taxing bodies and GE have proposed an agreement to settle the tax assessment dispute. This agreement must be adopted by the Lawrence Park Township Commissioners. There are five Commissioners: two are not employed by GE, one is a retired GE employee and two are currently employed by GE in middle- management posts. Wallace J. Knox, Esq. June 24, 1981 Page 2 II1. Applicable Law: Section 1. Purpose. The Legislature hereby declares that public office is a public trust and that any effort to realize personal financial gain through public office other than compensation provided by law is a violation of that trust. In order to strengthen the faith and confidence of the people of the State in their government, the Legislature further declares that the people have a right to be assured that the financial interests of holders of or candidates for public office present neither a conflict of nor the appearance of a conflict with the public trust. Because public confidence in government can best be sustained by assuring the people of the impartiality and honesty of public_officials, this act shall be liberally construed to promote complete disclosure. Section 2 "public official" Any elected or appointed official in the Executive, Legislative_or Judicial Branch of the State or any political subdivision thereof, provided that it shall not include members of advisory boards that have no authority to expend public funds other than reimbursement for personal expense, or to otherwise exercise the power of the State or any political subdivision thereof. "Public official" shall not include any appointed official who receives no compensation other than reimbursement for actual expenses. 1V. Discussion: There can be no doubt that the Township Commissioners are "public officials" within the meaning of the Ethics Act, 65 Y.S. 401 et. seq., and must conform their conduct to the requirements of the statute. The purpose of the statutory standards of conduct is to insure the integrity of public servants by eliminating even the appearance of a conflict of interest. The Ethics Commission has said that a conflict of interest exists when an individual represents two or more persons whose interest is adverse to each other. Alfano, 80 -007. In this Wallace J. Knox, Esq. June 24, 1981 Page 3 matter, the Township and GE have adverse interets. The Township's interest is in maximizing GE's assessment and its own tax bill. A Commissioner may not represent both interests. Two of the Commissioners are not employed by GE and therefore are free to vote on the agreement. The former GE employee has no present connection with the company and may vote on the controversy. The two Commissioners who now work for GE must, however, abstain from voting on this matter. In Coughlin, 79 -063 the Ethics Commission held that "It is the duty of any member of the Township Council... to abstain from participation in a matter submitted by an employer.of that public official," because such participation presents an appearance of a conflict with tie public trust._ Similarly, in Stewart, 79 -070 the opinion of the Commission allowed public officials to vote on routine bills submitted by the officials' employers because these ordinary payments are not contested. In the facts you describe the importance and the extraordinary nature of the dispute between GE and the Township make the absolute avoidance of even an appearance of a conflict of interest imperative. _Accordingly, the two Commissioners employed by GE must abstain from voting on the agreement between GE and Lawrence Park Township. V. Conclusion: Township Commissioners are public officials subject to the Ethics Act. A Commissioner who is employed by a company that is party to a dispute with the Township must avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest and abstain from voting on a settlement between his employer and the Township. A Commissioner who has retired from the company which is party to dispute with the Township and two Commissioners who are not employed by the company may vote on the settlement between the company and the Township. Pursuant to Section 7(9)(i), this opinion is a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any 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. PJS /rdp