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Home My WebLink About12-10-09 Board of Ethics Minutes, approved.pdf $ 7y M oo.t► MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ETHICS BOZEMAN, MONTANA December 10,2009 Click here for a link to the audio of this meeting. Please Note: The audio recording of this meeting is available. These minutes are not lvord for word and should be considered in addition to the audio of the meeting. The Board of Ethics of the City of Bozeman met in the City Commission room, City Hall at 121 North Rouse on Thursday, December 10, 2009. Present were Board members Melissa Frost, Rodger McCormick and Stephen Schultz, as well as City Attorney Greg Sullivan and City Clerk Stacy Ulmen. Also present was Paul Lachapelle with the Montana State University-Extension, Local Government Center. A. Meeting Called to Order Chairperson Melissa Frost called the meeting to order at 6:09 p.m. B. Public Comment Melissa Frost opened public comment. No person commented. Melissa Frost closed public comment. C. Approval of Minutes from October 28, 2009 Approval of the minutes was moved to the next meeting. as not all board members have had a chance to review. D. Disclosure of Information or Comments Received None. E. Recommendation to Commission to Enter into Agreement with Montana State University Extension for Creation of Ethics Handbook A date needs to be entered within the agreement. Mr. Lachapelle said his notes indicate dates discussed previously should be March 1", May 1`t and July 22, 2010 with July 22, 2010 as the date to be entered on the agreement. 1 of 5 lltnuto o!the Board of f thri s. December 10. 2009 Stephen Schultz began a discussion regarding who would own the content of the handbook once completed. Mr. Lachapelle said this contract is actually with the MSU — Extension, Local Government Center and is not an individual contract, though Mr. Lachapelle will be doing the work. He does not have a proprietary nature of the content. Discussion continued regarding the `ownership' of the handbook, with consensus that this would be a public document. Mr. Sullivan confirmed with Mr. Lachapelle the addition of a statement within the agreement that would say, under scope of work 1. A. 2, `owner retains all rights of ownership of contractors work product'. This would not bar Mr. Lachapelle from asking the city to use the product elsewhere. Mr. Lachapelle said that MSU Extension does not usually receive a deposit up front and would accept full payment at the completion of the project. Mr. Sullivan will change the agreement to say, `payable at completion'. Mr. Lachapelle pointed out several typos, last name has a small c and he is an assistant professor. Under misc. make it known that funding is not going to Mr. Lachapelle personally, but rather to MSU Extension. Under final work product it should say section 3 rather than section 4 on the top of page 2. Motion and Vote to recommend this contract with the amendments and changes discussed to forward to the Commission for approval. It was moved by Stephen Schultz, seconded by Rodger McCormick to recommend this contract with the amendments and changes discussed to forward to the Commission for approval. Those voting Ave being Stephen Schultz, Rodger McCormick and Melissa Frost. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 3-0. F. Discuss draft outline of the ethics handbook Mr. Lachapelle mentioned that the outline could change pending changes in Ordinance 1775. Mr. Sullivan explained that the Commission struck some of the provisions in Ordinance 1775 during the provisional adoption at the December 7, 2009 meeting. These included section 7 which deals with conflict of interest provisions and struck the section that amends post- employment activities and they struck the section that deals with disclosure with specific instruction to work on these more with the Board of Ethics. These were sections 7, 8 and 9. Working on these sections will be placed on a future Board of Ethics agenda. 2 of 5 titnums 01 ilic Board of Lthtc s.Decenthcr 10. 2009 Mr. Schultz would like to pull these sections from state law. Mr. Sullivan explained that the original sections of 7, 8 and 9 will stand as it is in Ordinance 1759, until the Board revises it again and the commission approves a new ordinance for these sections. A discussion took place regarding the employee trainings taking place December 11, 2009. Mr. Lachapelle discussed meeting one on one with Melissa Frost to work out some of the details about the handbook as had previously been decided. He will contact her via e-mail or phone to set up an appointment sometime in January. The board discussed how revisions to the Ethics Ordinance affect the handbook. Final adoption of 1775 will take place on December 28"' so will not hold up writing the handbook on those sections. Since sections 7, 8 and 9 will be revised by the board soon per Commission direction; writing those sections of the handbook until those revisions are completed might be necessary. If changes are still likely after the completion date of the handbook in July, may wait to print and have an on-line version in the interim. Discussion regarding outline/content of the handbook • Mr. Schultz—change conclusions to something like `reporting violations'. • Mr. Schultz— City of Pittsburg— ideas— `course of events after complaint is filed', `penalty for violating provisions', etc. • Discussion regarding penalties for violating. • Ms. Frost— `How to' possibly in front cover—make very clear • Ms. Frost—process for filing a complaint— (same as how to) • Ms. Frost—who may request action of the Board • Ms. Frost—resources, links to MT code, charter, etc. • Mr. Sullivan— seeking advice • Ms. Frost—who is this handbook for? • Mr. Schultz—definitions • Ms. Frost—mention financial disclosure form— include form? Who must file. • Ms. Frost—main components of the ordinance • Ms. Frost—why board exists, role, how to contact • Ms. Frost—key staff • Ms. Frost—website • Mr. Lachapelle—table of contents • Ms. Frost—annual training 3 of 5 1/nnrtrc of the Board of bhuc . OeLV1711)(T 10 009 • Mr. Lachapelle— question for the board— Should the handbook be written more formally, definitions, A., B., C., or in the form of questions and answers? For example: Can I except gifts? What are the confidentiality issues I should be concerned about? • Leaning more towards a Q and A format • Hyperlinks throughout digital version • Municipal code should be codified and on-line by the time this is done • Short, sweet, concise, plain language, but lots of content to cover G. Discuss ethics web-page on city web-site (Mr. Schultz) Mr. Schultz explained he has not met with Marina Krob in IT yet. Some content has been placed on the web so the whistle blowing information could be available to all. Ms. Krob built a page, but it is currently just a place holder until more content is added. Mr. Schultz will contact Ms. Krob and anticipate how the content will be used and by whom. • Where to link from? • Mr. Sullivan said it would be under residence. Ms. Frost concerned this place not necessarily intuitive. • Mr. Schultz asked this be placed on next agenda. H. New Business 1. Decision by Commission to revisit sections 7, 8 and 9 in draft Ordinance 1775 • Mr. Sullivan— start from scratch on these sections? Can mirror state code, but be cognizant of provision in Charter says `the terms of which shall include...', under section 7.01 • Start talking about in January (next agenda) 2. City e-mail set ups • Reminder to meet with Brendan Steele/ IT to set up city e-mail accounts. 3. Dates for next meeting • Discussion took place regarding schedules. Board decided to not meet in January. The next meetings will take place February 10, and 24, 2010. Motion and Vote to adjourn the meeting. It was moved by Stephen Schultz, seconded by Rodger McCormick to adiourn the meeting. 4 of 5 Ihm aee of the BOal-d o! I)ALVIAT 10. 2009 Those voting Ave being Stephen Schultz, Rodger McCormick and Melissa Frost. Those voting No being none. The motion passed 3-0. I. Adjourn Melissa Frost adjourned the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Melissa Frost, Board Chairperson Prepared by: a�� . �� — Aim e Kissel, Deputy City Clerk Approved on: February 10, 2010. 5 of 5 l