§ 2-296. Prohibitions.

All members shall meet the following standards:

(1)

Compliance with the law. Members shall comply with all laws of the United States, the state, and the city in the performance of their public duties. These laws include, but are not limited to, the United States and Georgia Constitutions; laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, elections, campaigns, financial disclosures, employer responsibilities, and open processes of government; and city ordinances and written policies.

(2)

Policy role of members. Members shall respect and adhere to the structure of government of the city as outlined in the city's Charter and policies and procedures. In this structure, the city council determines the policies of the city with the advice, information and analysis provided by the public, boards, committees, commissions, and city staff. Members shall not direct the activities of city staff, interfere with the day-to-day administrative functions of the city or the professional duties of the city staff, nor impair the ability of city staff to implement city council policy decisions.

(3)

Independence of boards, committees and commissions. Because of the value of the independent advice of boards, committees and commissions to the public decision-making process, city councilmembers shall refrain from using their position to influence unduly the deliberations or outcomes of board, committee and commission proceedings of which they are not members. Members shall also refrain from appearing or speaking on behalf of themselves or third parties in front of any board, committee or commission of the city; however, this prohibition shall not prevent:

a.

A councilmember from appearing or speaking on behalf of the city in front of an independent authority or commission of the city created by the general assembly as its own political subdivision;

b.

Members from speaking on behalf of the city board, committee, commission or council on which they serve when such city board, committee, commission or council has expressly authorized and appointed such member to speak on its behalf; or

c.

A member from serving on more than one board, committee or commission of the city.

(4)

Acceptance of gifts, benefits or remuneration.

a.

Members shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, anything of value from any person, corporation, or group which:

1.

Has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relationships with the city, unless a member's contractual relationship with such person, corporation, or group existed prior to the city's contractual relationship or prior to the member's election or appointment to office; the member, if in office at the time the contractual, business or financial relationship came before the city for consideration, disclosed such relationship or, if not in office at such time, has immediately disclosed the relationship to the city after being elected or appointed to office and becoming aware of the city's relationship with such person, corporation or group; the member abstained from discussion of the city's consideration of entering a contract with such person, corporation, or group or competing vendor; the member abstained from voting on any matter related to the relationship between such person, corporation, or group or the subject contract or services; and the member did not make personal use of any official non-public information, as prohibited by subsection (11) of this section;

2.

In exchange for the thing of value, seeks to have a member exercise a matter of discretion in his or her favor; or

3.

In exchange for the thing of value, seeks to have interests which may be affected by the performance or nonperformance of the official duty of the member.

b.

Members shall not directly or indirectly request, exact, receive, or agree to receive a gift, loan, favor, promise, benefit or thing of value for himself or another person if:

1.

It could reasonably be considered to influence the member in the future, and the member is involved in any official act or action which results in a pecuniary benefit for the donor or lender which is not available to the public at large; or

2.

It could reasonably be considered to influence, benefit or reward the member, and the member recently has been, or is now or within six months in the future, involved in any official act or action which results in a pecuniary benefit for the donor or lender which is not available to the public at large.

c.

The above prohibitions shall not apply in the case of:

1.

Occasional non-pecuniary gift of insignificant trinkets or gifts such as a calendar, memento or pen received in the normal course of business with a value of less than $100.00 and admission to and or consumption of food and beverages at a breakfast, lunch, dinner, function or event;

2.

Award publicly presented in recognition of public service;

3.

Transaction authorized by and performed in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 16-10-6 as now or hereafter amended;

4.

A commercially reasonable loan or other financial transaction made in the ordinary course of business by an institution or individual authorized by the laws of the state to engage in the making of such loan or financial transaction;

5.

Campaign contributions made and reported in accordance with state laws;

6.

Any gift, loan, favor, promise or thing of value from a family member.

(5)

Conflict of interest.

a.

A member may not participate in a vote or decision on a matter affecting an immediate family member or any person, entity, or property in which the member has a substantial interest.

b.

A member who serves as a corporate officer or member of the board of directors of a nonprofit entity must disclose their interest in said entity to the mayor and council prior to participating in a vote or decision regarding funding of the entity by or through the city.

c.

Where the interest of a member in the subject matter of a vote or decision is remote or incidental, the member may participate in the vote or decision and need not disclose the interest.

(6)

Use of public property. A member shall not use city property of any kind for other than officially approved activities, nor shall he direct city staff to use such property for these purposes.

(7)

Coercion by members. A member shall not use his position in any way to coerce, or give the appearance of coercing, another person to provide any financial benefit to him or a family member, or those with whom a member has a financial interest.

(8)

Voting in matters of personal interest. A member shall not vote on an ordinance or amendment for a specific item in a city council meeting that would directly affect his private business. Provided, however, that in the event of an ordinance of general application or a matter of citywide application, or in the event such vote would be proper under the city Charter, such member shall disclose such interest and, following such disclosure, shall be allowed to vote on such matter and such vote shall not constitute a violation of these rules and shall not be the subject matter of an ethics complaint hereunder.

(9)

Unauthorized use of city staff. A member shall not use his superior position to unduly pressure or request or otherwise require a member of the city staff to:

a.

Do clerical work on behalf of a family member, business, social, church or fraternal interests;

b.

Purchase goods and services to be used for personal, business or political purposes; and

c.

Work for him personally without offering him just compensation.

(10)

Restrictions on contracts with former members. The city shall not enter into any contract with any person or business represented by such person, who has been within the preceding 12-month period a member, unless the contract is awarded by a competitive bid or a committee selection process.

(11)

Improper use of official non-public information. Members shall not directly or indirectly make use of, or permit others to make use of, official information, which at the time of its disclosure is not subject to being made available to the general public, for the purpose of furthering a private interest, regardless of whether the private interest belongs to the member or a third party.

(12)

Unauthorized attempts to bind the city. Members shall not order any goods and services for the city without prior official authorization for such expenditure, nor shall members attempt to obligate the city or give the impression of obligating the city without proper prior authorization to purchase or otherwise be liable for any goods, services or property.

(13)

Improper influence in city judicial matters. No member shall attempt to unduly influence the outcome of a case before the city municipal court nor shall any member engage in ex parte communication with a city municipal court judge on any matter pending before the city municipal court.

(14)

Retaliatory action against city employees. No member shall attempt to influence or take any adverse employment action against a city employee due to such city employee's provision of truthful information about such member or any other member, including any information that forms a part of a complaint or answer submitted under this article or which is provided pursuant to an investigation or hearing conducted in accordance with this article.

(Ord. of 7-1-2012, § 2-262)