NOTICE OF NEED TO AMEND CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE

 

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the City Council direct the City Clerk to: 

• 1) appropriately amend the City’s Conflict of Interest Code, ensuring it is accurate and up to date, and 
• 2) submit the amended Code to Council for final approval within 90 days, pursuant to State law.

 

Background:

Every government agency is required by State law to adopt and promulgate a conflict of interest code, which is a document that designates the positions within an agency which make or participate in making governmental decisions that may foreseeably have a material effect on any financial interest. A conflict of interest code adopted pursuant to the Political Reform Act (Government Code Sections 81000, et seq.) consists of two basic parts:

• 1) the body of the code which contains the basic provisions required by Section 87302, such as the manner of reporting financial interests, the procedure for filing statements of economic interests, and the method to be used by designated positions when they are required to disqualify themselves from participating in decisions; and
• 2) the appendix of the code which lists the designated positions within the agency and the corresponding disclosure categories for each position.

The Political Reform Act further requires every local government agency to review its conflict of interest code biennially to determine if it is accurate and up to date or if it must be amended. Once the determination has been made, a notice must be submitted by the October 1 deadline to the code reviewing body which, for the City, is the City Council.

As required by law, the City Clerk has reviewed the City’s existing Conflict of Interest Code, which was last updated and adopted October 27, 1998 (City Council Resolution No. 98-5938), and has determined that the current Code is no longer accurate and up to date and, therefore, does require amendment at this time, due to changes within the City’s organizational structure which have occurred during the past two years, including the addition of a Public Works Commission, a Fire Battalion Chief, and new staff positions in the Public Works Department. An amended Code will be submitted to Council for approval within 90 days of this notice.

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