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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22-004 Urbanic PHONE: 717-783-1610 STATE ETHICS COMMISSION FACSIMILE: 717-787-0806 TOLL FREE: 1-800-932-0936 FINANCE BUILDING WEBSITE: www.ethics.pa.gov 613 NORTH STREET, ROOM 309 HARRISBURG, PA 17120-0400 OPINION OF THE COMMISSION Before: Nicholas A. Colafella, Chair Mark R. Corrigan, Vice Chair Roger Nick Melanie DePalma Michael A. Schwartz Shelley Y. Simms DATE DECIDED: 4/21/22 DATE MAILED: 4/22/22 22-004 To the Requester: Wendy Urbanic Dear Ms. Urbanic: This responds to your submissions received February 10, 2022, and February 14, 2022, by which you requested an advisory opinion from this Commission. I. ISSUE: Whether the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act et seq., would impose prohibitions or restrictions upon an individual who is employed as the 311 Manager of the 311 Response Center of the City of Pittsburgh with regard to receiving compensation from a consulting firm for reviewing a proposal that the consulting firm plans to submit to Madison, Wisconsin, in relation to 311 (i.e., non-emergency) citizen support services. II. FACTUAL BASIS FOR DETERMINATION: You request an advisory from this Commission based upon submitted facts which may be fairly summarized as follows. Urbanic, 22-004 April 21, 2022 Page 2 You are currently employed as the 311 Manager of the 311 Response Center of the City of Pittsburgh ). The City Ces non-emergency concerns. Requests serviced though the City 311 Response Center are sent directly to the appropriate agency (such as the Department of Public Works, the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections, the Police Department, etc.) for resolution. Examples of 311 (i.e., non-emergency) calls include: (1) reporting graffiti, litter, illegal parking, overgrown weeds, parking or traffic issues, and potholes; (2) seeking information on City events or neighborhood services; (3) securing abandoned properties; and (4) other non-emergency situations or events. As the 311 Manager of the City 311 Response Center, your duties and responsibilities have included: Implementing and operating the centralized customer service center; Hiring employees, terminating employees, and managing a staff of twelve employees; Testifying on behalf of the City at hearings, depositions and arbitrations as required; Managing the Request fo process to procure new Customer Relationship Management software; Managing the system-wide implementation of CRM; Acting as a liaison with other City departments, City authorities, governmental entities, and non-profits to increase communications and preempt any problems; and Resolving any escalated issues or customer concerns. You were recently approached by a consulting firm found you on LinkedIn, where you are the administrator of a group page for the Association of Government Contact Center Professionals . You have been a member of the Association since 2007 and an active Association Board Member since 2012. The Consulting Firm would like to engage your services as a subject matter expert in 311 (i.e., non-emergency) citizen support services in order for you to review a proposal (the ) that the Consulting Firm plans to submit to Madison, Wisconsin, in relation to 311 citizen support services. The Consulting Firm anticipates that it would require approximately five hours of your time to review the Proposal. Your engagement with the Consulting Firm would be based on your overall understanding of best practices in citizen support services and call center operations. You state that you would do the work on your own time with your own equipment. The operations, intellectual property, and business processes of the City would not play a role in your engagement. The Consulting Firm has expressed its understanding that: Urbanic, 22-004 April 21, 2022 Page 3 (1) There would be no use of your City title during your engagement as a thought leadership consultant on citizen support services work; (2) There would be no use of City facilities, resources, or equipment to perform any consulting work; (3) All work would be conducted outside of City work hours on a part-time basis and would not conflict with your current duties; (4) You would not be asked to make public appearances, engage in any promotion of tor be a part of any communication regarding this work which references your title; (5) You would not be required to provide direct work to any government agencies, and you would serve as an advisor, reviewer, and thought leader to only the Consulting Firm; (6) You would not be asked to provide any confidential information regarding the City311 system or any information regarding vendors; and (7) You would not share any information regarding the intellectual property of the City or any of its affiliates, vendors, or agencies. Based upon the above submitted facts, you ask whether the Ethics Act would impose any restrictions on you with regard to receiving compensation from the Consulting Firm for reviewing the Proposal. By letter dated April 1, 2022, you were notified of the date, time and location of the public meeting at which your request would be considered. At the public meeting on April 21, 2022, you were available telephonically to answer any questions of the Members of this Commission. Discussion: It is initially noted that pursuant to Sections 1107(10) and 1107(11) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11), Opinions are issued to the requester based upon the facts that the requester has submitted. In issuing a ruling based upon the facts that the requester has submitted, this Commission does not engage in an independent investigation of the facts, nor does it speculate as to facts that have not been submitted. It is the burden of the requester to truthfully disclose all material facts relevant to the inquiry. 65 Pa.C.S. §§ 1107(10), (11). An Opinion only affords a defense to the extent the requester has truthfully disclosed all material facts. As the 311 Manager of the City 311 Response Center, to the Ethics Act and the Regulations of the State Ethics Commission. This conclusion is based upon the submitted facts, which when reviewed on an objective basis, indicate clearly that the power exists to take or recommend official action of a non-ministerial nature with respect to one Urbanic, 22-004 April 21, 2022 Page 4 or more of the following: contracting; procurement; administering or monitoring grants or subsidies; planning or zoning; inspecting; licensing; regulating; auditing; or other activity(ies) where the economic impact is greater than de minimis on the interests of another person. Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, pertaining to conflict of interest, provides: § 1103. Restricted activities (a) Conflict of interest.--No public official or public employee shall engage in conduct that constitutes a conflict of interest. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a). The following terms related to Section 1103(a) are defined in the Ethics Act as follows: § 1102. Definitions Conflict or conflict of interest. Use by a public official or public employee of the authority of his office or employment or any confidential information received through his holding public office or employment for the private pecuniary benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. The term does not include an action having a de minimis economic impact or which affects to the same degree a class consisting of the general public or a subclass consisting of an industry, occupation or other group which includes the public official or public employee, a member of his immediate family or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. Authority of office or employment. The actual power provided by law, the exercise of which is necessary to the performance of duties and responsibilities unique to a particular public office or position of public employment. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102. Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act does not prohibit a public official/public employee from having outside business activities or employment. However, subject to the statutory exclusions to the defi, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102, a public official/public employee may not use the authority of her public position or confidential information received as a result of being in her public position for the advancement of her own private pecuniary benefit or that of a business with which she is associated. Pancoe, Opinion 89- 011. Urbanic, 22-004 April 21, 2022 Page 5 Having established the above general principles, you are advised that Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act would not prohibit you from receiving compensation from the Consulting Firm for reviewing the Proposal subject to the conditions that you would perform such work for the Consulting Firm outside of your City work hours and that you would not use City resources, facilities, or equipment, or confidential information received as a result of being in your public position, in furtherance of your performance of such work. The propriety of the proposed conduct has only been addressed under the Ethics Act; the applicability of any other statute, code, ordinance, regulation or other code of conduct other than the Ethics Act has not been considered in that they do not involve an interpretation of the Ethics Act. Conclusion: As the 311 Manager of the 311 Response Center of the City of Pittsburgh you subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act et seq. Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act would not prohibit you reviewing a proposal that the Consulting Firm plans to submit to Madison, Wisconsin, in relation to 311 (i.e., non-emergency) citizen support services subject to the conditions that you would perform such work for the Consulting Firm outside of your City work hours and that you would not use City resources, facilities, or equipment, or confidential information received as a result of being in your public position, in furtherance of your performance of such work. The propriety of the proposed course of conduct has only been addressed under the Ethics Act. Pursuant to Section 1107(10) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1107(10), the person who acts in good faith on this Opinion issued to him shall not be subject to criminal or civil penalties for so acting provided the material facts are as stated in the request. This letter is a public record and will be made available as such. By the Commission, Nicholas A. Colafella Chair