02-25-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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RELEVANT LINKS: A.G. Op. 358-E (Feb. 18, 1958). State ex re[. Hilton v. Sword, 157 Minn. 263, 196 N.W. 467(1923). "Compatibility of Offices," House Information Brief (July 2012). ® Neither office contracts with the other in their official capacity. • The mayor does not approve the fidelity bond of the fire chief. The statute remains unclear on several points, however. It does not address council positions other than the mayor. It also appears to be limited to independent, nonprofit fire departments, so city departments (whether volunteer or salaried) are not addressed. And although it outlines general criteria under which there will not be incompatibilities, there is still some vagueness regarding what functions would be considered inconsistent. Because each city has a different relationship with its fire department, a city may want to get a legal opinion from its attorney or from the attorney general before allowing a councilmember to serve as a volunteer firefighter with any sort of supervisory powers. D. Consequence—automatic resignation An individual generally can run for election to a position that is incompatible with the position the person already holds without resigning from the first position. However, when an official qualifies for a second and incompatible position (by taking an oath and filing a bond, if necessary), he or she automatically resigns from the first position, which then becomes vacant. Whether two offices are incompatible will depend upon the responsibilities of each of the offices and their relationship. Cities with questions may wish to secure a legal opinion from the city attorney or the attorney general. VI. Codes of conduct Ethical expectations can be difficult to convey. In addition, the conflict of interest (or "ethics") laws are scattered throughout many statutes and court cases, making them difficult to find and hard to interpret. As a result, some cities have developed and adopted their own policies on ethics and conflicts of interest. These policies must be consistent with state law and generally take two forms: a values statement expressing core principles for ethical conduct, or a formal code of conduct. Cities may adopt a values statement or a code of conduct or both. However, it is important to note that state law does not require formal adoption of a city ethics policy. A. LMC Ethics Advisory Panel The work of the LMC Ethics Advisory Panel resulted in two documents— the Model Statement of Values and the Template Code of Conduct. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 10/17/2014 Official Conflict of Interest Page 27