VILLAGE OF GALIEN
COUNTY OF BERRIEN
STATE OF MICHIGAN
AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT A CODE OF ETHICS
FOR THE VILLAGE OF GALIEN
ORDINANCE NO. 2019-6-10
An Ordinance to adopt a Code of Ethics for the Village of Galien and to provide for a fair, ethical, and accountable local government that has earned the public’s full confidence for integrity.
THE VILLAGE OF GALIEN ORDAINS:
SECTION ONE: PREAMBLE.
The citizens of Galien Village are entitled to have fair, ethical and accountable local government that has earned the public’s full confidence for integrity. Furthermore, the effective functioning of democratic government requires that public officials comply with both the letter and spirit of the laws and policies affecting the operations of government; that public officials be independent, impartial and fair in their judgment and actions; public office be used for the public good, not for personal gain; and public deliberations and processes be conducted openly, unless legally confidential, in an atmosphere of respect and civility.
To this end, the Galien Village Council adopts this Code of Ethics for Galien Village Officials to assure public confidence in the integrity of local government and its effective and fair operation.
SECTION TWO. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this ordinance, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings: Appointed Persons– a person selected and installed in an office or position at Galien Village by the Village President and/or the Village Council, including but not limited to the Clerk, Treasurer, Deputy Clerk and Treasurer, Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator, all members of the Planning Commission, Zoning Council of Appeals.
Council – the Village Council of Galien Village.
Candidate – someone who seeks or who has been proposed for an office, position, or award.
Employee – an employee of Galien Village whether full or part-time, contractual or hired.
Village Officials – all candidates, appointed persons, and any other person elected to any position at Galien
Village, including but not limited to the Village Council members, subordinate boards and committees of the Village Council. This definition does not include a volunteer not appointed or elected to office.
Conflict of interest – an interest that competes with or is adverse to a legitimate interest of the Village.
Elected – a person chosen and elected by the eligible voters of the Village.
Employee – a person working for the Village for wages, salary, or other benefits and under the control and supervision of the Village as to hours , work standards, and rules of work, etc.
Family Member– spouse, child , or any family members within the third degree of consanguinity to the Village Official or the Village Official‘s spouse.
Village – Galien Village.
All words not otherwise defined in this section shall be presumed to have their ordinary dictionary meaning.
SECTION THREE. CODE OF ETHICS.
(1) Acts in the Public Interest
Recognizing that stewardship of the public interest must be their primary concern, Village Officials will work for the common good of the people of Galien Village and not for any private or personal interest, and they will assure fair and equal treatment of all persons, claims, and transactions coming before the Village.
(2) Compliance with Law
Village Officials shall comply with the laws of the nation, the State of Michigan, and the Village of Galien in the performance of their public duties. These laws include, but are not limited to: the United States and Michigan constitutions; laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, contracts with public entities, election campaigns, financial disclosures, employer responsibilities, and open processes of government; and Village ordinances and policies.
(3) Default to the Village
Village Officials shall set an example for the people they serve and therefore Village Officials shall not be in financial default to the Village. Any person who has not timely paid his or her Village property taxes or any special assessments when due shall be deemed to be in financial default to the Village.
(4) Respect for Process
Village Officials shall perform their duties in accordance with the processes and rules of order established by the Village Council and the rules and procedures governing the deliberation of public policy issues , meaningful involvement of the public , and implementation of policy decisions of the Village Council by Village staff.
(5) Conduct of Public Meetings
Village Officials shall prepare themselves for public issues , listen courteously and attentively to all public discussions before the body, and focus on the business at hand. They shall refrain from interrupting other speakers, making comments not germane to the business of the body, or otherwise interfering with the orderly conduct of meetings.
(6) Communication
Village Officials shall publicly share substantive information that is relevant to a matter under consideration, which they may have received from sources outside of the public decision-making process.
(7) Full Disclosure
A Village Official in the performance of his or her public duties shall not act upon any matter in which they have a material financial interest, or where they have a legal or fiduciary duty to another organization or entity or personal relationship that may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, without disclosing the full nature and extent of the interest to the other members of the Village Council on the official record. Such disclosure must be made before the time to perform their duty or concurrently with the performance of the duty.
The disclosure required by this subsection shall not supplant, but instead shall supplement, any disclosure of a personal, contractual, financial , business, employment or pecuniary interest required by state statute.
(8) Gifts, Favors, and Loans
Village Officials should refrain from financial and business dealings that would tend to reflect adversely on the Official’s impartiality, interfere with the performance of their public duties or exploit their official position. Village Officials should not take any special advantage of services, goods or opportunity for personal gain that is not available to the public in general. Village Officials and any family member claimed as a dependent of the Official shall refrain from soliciting or accepting any gifts, loans or favors except that an Official and a family member claimed as a dependent of the Official may: i) Accept a gift or honorarium, not exceeding a value of $100, for services rendered in the performance of their public duties or other activity devoted to the improvement of cities, communities and the lives of citizens. ii) Accept ordinary social hospitality; a gift , bequest, favor or loan from a relative; a wedding or engagement gift ; a loan in the regular course of business from a lending institution on the same terms as generally available to the public; and a scholarship, grant or fellowship awarded on the same terms as applied to other applicants. iii) Accept any other gift, favor or loan only if the donor is not a person or entity whose interests have come or are likely to come before the Village. iv) Solicit and accept campaign contributions.
(9) Confidential Information
Village Officials shall respect the confidentiality of information concerning the property, personnel or affairs of the Village. They shall neither disclose nor divulge to an unauthorized person confidential information acquired in the course of their duties in advance of the time prescribed for its authorized release to the public without proper legal authorization, nor use such information to advance their personal , financial or other private interests.
(10) Use of Public Resources
Public resources, including Village staff time, equipment, supplies, and facilities, not available to the public in general, shall only be used for the benefit of the public and not for Village Official’s personal or private use.
(11) Representation of Private Interests
In keeping with their role as stewards of the public interest, Village Officials shall not appear on behalf of the private interests of third parties , including their spouses and family members within the third degree of consanguinity to the Village Officials or their spouse, before the Village Council or any Council, committee, or proceeding of the Village.
(12) Advocacy
Village Officials shall represent the official policies or positions of the Village Council to the best of their ability when designated as delegates for this purpose. When presenting their individual opinions and positions, Village Officials shall explicitly state they do not represent Galien Village, nor will they allow the inference that they do.
(13) Policy Role of Members
Village Officials shall respect and adhere to the Village Council-Village President structure of Galien Village. In this structure, the Village Council as a whole determines the policies and directives of the Village with the advice, information, and analysis provided by the public , subordinate Councils, committees, and Village staff. Village Officials therefore shall not interfere with the administrative functions of the Village or the professional duties of Village staff; nor shall they impair the ability of staff to implement Village Council policy decisions.
(14) Independence of Councils and Committees
Because of the value of the independent advice of subordinate boards and committees to the public decision-making process, members of the Village Council shall , except when the Council member is a member of the public body, limit their participation in the proceedings of such subordinate public bodies to the communication of requested information and providing factual information relevant to the discussion at hand and shall not otherwise attempt to unduly influence the deliberations or outcomes of the proceedings.
(15) Positive Workplace Environment
Village Officials shall support the maintenance of a positive and constructive workplace environment for Village employees and for citizens and businesses dealing with the Village. Village Officials shall recognize their special role in dealings with Village employees so as to in no way create the perception of inappropriate direction to staff nor, except for the purpose of inquiry, give specific orders to subordinates of the Village Manager. Because Village Officials’ actions and comments contribute to the environment in which all Village employees must work, in order to create and promote a positive work environment under no circumstances shall Village Officials, either in public or private, intimidate, humiliate, or otherwise abuse a Village employee.
(16) Compliance and Enforcement
This Code of Ethics for Galien Village Officials expresses standards of ethical conduct expected by Galien Village. Village Officials themselves have the primary responsibility to assure that they understand and meet the ethical standards expressed in this code of ethics and that the public can continue to have full confidence in the integrity of government.
All Village Officials shall have a responsibility to intervene when actions of another Village Official, which appear to be in violation of the Code of Ethics, are brought to their attention.
Requests to investigate or take action to enforce this Code of Ethics shall be brought to the Village Attorney. Upon acquiring reasonable suspicion of a violation of the Code of Ethics, the Village President, or any three Officials may require the setting of a public hearing at a regular or special meeting of the Village Council to determine whether a violation of the Code of Ethics has occurred and, if so, what sanctions shall be imposed for the violation.
The Village Council may impose sanctions on Village Officials whose conduct does not comply with the Village’ s ethical standards. Sanctions may include reprimand, formal censure, loss of committee assignment, restrictions on budget or travel , and removal from office by the governor in the manner and for the causes provided by law or as provided by Michigan law.
A violation of this code of ethics shall not be considered a basis for challenging the validity of a Village Council decision.
(17) Implementation
As an expression of the standards of conduct for Village Officials expected by the public, this Code of Ethics is intended to be self-enforcing. It therefore becomes most effective when Village Officials are thoroughly familiar with it and embrace its provisions.
For this reason, ethical standards shall be included in the regular orientations for newly elected or appointed Village Officials. In addition, the Village Council shall periodically review The Code of Ethics for Galien Village Officials.
SECTION FOUR. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Village Officials entering office after election or appointment shall sign a statement affirming that they have read and understand The Code of Ethics for Galien Village Officials. Each Village Official, upon being elected or appointed to a position as a Village Official, shall sign the following Official ‘s Statement of Acknowledgment, which shall be kept on file in the Clerk ‘s office.
Model of Excellence: Galien Charter Village Official Statement
As a Galien Village Official, I agree to uphold and abide by the Code of Ethics adopted by the Village Council and to conduct myself by the following model of excellence. I will:
-Recognize the worth of individual members and appreciate their individual talents, perspectives, and contributions; -Avoid being in financial default to the Village; -Help create an atmosphere of respect and civility where individual members, Village staff, and the public are free to express their ideas and work to their full potential; -Respect the dignity and privacy of individuals and organizations; -Respect and maintain the nature of confidential and privileged information and opinions acquired as a result of my position; -Conduct my public affairs with honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect for others; -Avoid and discourage conduct that is divisive or harmful to the best interests of Galien Village; and -Keep the common good as my highest purpose and focus on achieving constructive solutions for the public benefit.
I affirm that I have read and fully understand the Code of Ethics for Galien Village Officials and will abide by all of the provisions contained therein.
ORDINANCE DECLARED ADOPTED.
Dawn James, Clerk
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