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HomeMy WebLinkAbout640 ShriverMr. Cletus S. Shriven 506 Locust Street Roaring Spring, PA 16673 Re: 86 -172 -C Dear Mr. Shriver: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE COMMISSION Order No. 640 Date Decided: March 10, 1988 Date Mailed: March 16, 1 The State Ethics Commission has received a complaint regarding you and a possible violation of Act 170 of 1978. The Commission has now completed its investigation. The individual, allegations, conclusions, and findings on which those conclusions are based are as follows: I. Allegation: That you, a Director in the Spring Cove School District, violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act which proh::.; ,--.� c employee's or public official's use of office or confidential information gained through that office to obtain financial gain and Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act which prohibits a public offical, public employee or member of his immediate family or any business in which the person or a member of the person's immediate family is a director, officer, owner or holder of stock exceeding 5% of the equity at fair market value of the business shall enter into any contract valued at $500 or more with a governmental body unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, in that you have contracted to sell flowers to the school district without an open and public process and then voted to pay the bills to your florist shop. A. Findings: 1. You serve as a member of the Spring Cove School Board, Blair County, Pennsylvania. a. You have served in that position from January, 1984 to the present. 2. You are the owner of Shriver's Greenhouses and Floral Shop, Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania. 3. Records of the Spring Cove School District indicate the following regarding high school student activity purchases from your business: Mr. Cletus S. Shriver Page 2 DATE Ah' ^UNT 6/25/84 $416.1- 101/9/84 31.59 11/11/84 124.40 11/1/84 51.00 1984 Total: 623.17 b. 5/30/85 80.00 6/11/85 402.50 12/24/85 58.05 1985 Total: $540. c. 3/5/86 24.00 6/12/86 345.00 10/23/86 74.50 1986 Total: T4 d. 2/24/87 56.03 6/12/87 355.00 1987 Total: 347E 1. You provided the following information in relation to the instant .ituation: a. Your flower shop has serviced the School District for about 34 years. l Whenever you have provided flowers to the School District such items are P4i.d from a Students Activity Fund. c. This fund consists of money that is earned soley by the school students in the junior and senior high school classes through vario's fund raising projects. d. You stated that the students earned this money and decide how it should be spent. Money from the general fund from the School District has never been utilized to purchase flowers from your store. You have never voted a s a member of the School Board to approve money for the purchase of flowers from your store. f. W atever flowers have been delivered for student affairs were purchased from you at cost with a 10% charge for the labor involved. No contract was necessary for the sale of these flowers because they were sold and paid for through the Student Activities Fund. g. The Schlol Board has rover purch< sod t c: ers from your store. Mr. Cletus S. Shriver Page 3 B. Discussion: As a School Director in Spring Cove School District, you are "public official" as that term is defined under the Ethics Act. 65 P.S. §402; 51 Pa. Code §1.1; Weaver, Opinion 85 -014. As such, your conduct must conform to the requirements of the Ethics Act. Section 3. Restricted activities. (a) No public official or public employee shall use his public office or any confidential information received through his holding public office to obtain financial gain other than compensation provided by law for himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he is associated. 65 P.S. 403(a). Section 3(a) basically provides that a public official or employee may not use his public office or confidential information to obtain a financial gain other than compensation as provided for by law for himself or a member of his immediate family or a business with which he is associated. Thus, under this provision, a public official may not use his public position to secure benefits for himself or a member of his immediate family or a business with which he is associated which are not provided for by law, Domalakes, Opinion 85 -010. Likewise, the receipt of private financial gain or benefit through use of office is not permitted under this section, Huff, Opinion 84 -015. In addition to the foregoing, the State Ethics Act provides as follows: Section 3. Restricted activities. (c) No public official or public employee or a member of his immediate family or any business in which the person or a member of the person's immediate family is a director, officer, owner or holder of stock exceeding 5% of the equity at fair market value of the business shall enter into any contract valued at $500 or more with a governmental body unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and contracts awarded. Any contract made in violation of this subsection shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction if the suit is commenced within 90 days of making of the contract. 65 P.S. 403(c). This procedure, the open and public process, must be used in all situations were a public official is otherwise appropriately contracting with his own governmental body in excess of $500. This open and public process would require: Mr. Cletus S. Shriver Page 4 (' ; prior public notice of the employmert or con` possibility; 2) sufficient time fora reasonable and prudent competitor/applicant to be able to prepare and present an application or proposal; (3) public disclosure of all applications or proposals considered and; (4) r!ublic disclosure of the contract awarded and offered and accepted. See, Cantor, Opinion 82 -004. The Ethics Act further defines "business with which he is associated" as follows: Sectior: 2. Definitions. "Business with which he is associated." Any b +► ices= i ► Aich the person or a member of the person's immediate family is a director, officer, owner, employee or holder rf stock. 65 P.S. 402. In the instant matter, as owner of Shriver's Greeenhoi'ses and Floral SF,op, that entity is a business with which you are associated as that term is efined under the Ethics Act. Under Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act, there• is no evidence to establish that you used your public office as School Director to obtair the business of supplying flowers to the school or to the hinh school s'.Jdent activities. Therefore, there is no evidence to estis ;i sh that you violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act under these facts and ci rcumstances. Concerning Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act, it is noted that none of the contracts in this case exceeded $500 and it is further noted that the contracts were not with your governmental body, the Spring Cove School District, .but were with the high school students relative to certain „:t i vi ti es at the School District. Under these circumstances, the evidence doe.: not establish that you violated Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act. G Con-;lusion and Order: 1. As a Director of the Spring Cove School District, you are a "public official" subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act. 2. There is no evidence to establish that you violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act regarding contracts to sell flowers for high school .student activities. 3, There is no evidence to establish that you violated Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act in that the contracts were under $500 and were not with your govern.ne.ita1 body. Mr. Cletus -r "-age 5 L'';' f i e` ' r, this ren - in cor "'identi «1 in accordance E(a) of the. Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 408(a). However, 'his 'irder- 1, firel ar' iai71 Le made available as a public documE-nt 15 days after service (defiled as :: fling) unless you file documentation with the Commission whici justi'i ' re. 'Alen and /or , ':hallerrges pertinent factual findings. S'°e 51 '_:,38, During this 15 -da including Respondent ` y period, no one, includin the Res ondent : unless f� waives his right to challenge thi s Orrer, may violate this confidentiality by re'ieasi ng, scussing or ci rculating this Order. Any parson who vi orates the confidentiality of a Commission oroceedi rn is guilty cf a misdem_anor and sh,:.11 be fined not more than $1,000 ur imprisoned for not more than one year or both, see 65 P.S. 409(e). By the Commission, a. Sieber Pancoast C ha i rma n