HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo to Board 8 October 19MT
City Attorney's Office
To:
Fr:
Date:
RE:
Bozeman Board of Ethics 'Z\
Greg Sullivan, City Attorne�
October 8, 2019
City Wellness Program & Union Benefits
Greg Sullivan, City Attorney
Bekki Mclean, Chief Prosecutor
Tim Cooper, Assistant City Attorney
Karen Stambaugh, Assistant City Attorney
Kyla Murray, Prosecutor
Edward Hirsch, Prosecutor
Samantha Niesen, Prosecutor
This memorandum briefly introduces the Board of Ethics to two issues we have been addressing over the
past few months. The purpose of this memo is to provide you background information prior to our
discussion on October 911t.
First, questions continue to arise regarding the line between gifts, employment, and the City's employee
benefits program. Second, an employee asked if benefits received by an employee through their union can
be considered gifts. I bring this to your attention to begin a discussion that may lead to adjustments to the
City's code of ethics.
Gifts, Employment, and the City's Benefits Program
Many employees are eligible through their professional affiliations to obtain discounts on goods and
services. This may be in the fonn of discounted vehicle purchases or discounts on goods such as roto
molded coolers for first responders. In addition, the City, as pm1 of its benefit program, provides access to
discounted goods and services such as tickets to Bridger Bowl or services such as membership to The
Ridge. In the past, working with the City Administration, I have taken the position that as long as the
discounted good or service is available to all city employees and memorialized as a formal city benefit
through the City's Wellness Program, the discount is not a gift. This approach has drawn concern from
some employees as several have asserted the discounts are not provided to them in their capacity as an
employee. A possible solution is to provide a clear statement in the City's code of ethics addressing the
status of these types of discounts.
Unions Benefits
Several months ago I received an inquiry asking whether benefits provided by an employee's union could
be considered improper gifts. For an example of the types of benefits an employee receives please see the
benefit page of the Montana Federation of Public Employee's website. During our discussion I can share
how the State of Montana and Federal government address this issue. As with the gifts issue above, a
possible solution is to provide a clear statement in the City's code of ethics addressing the status of union
benefits.
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