Loading...
Res 94-184 RESOLUTION NO. 94-184 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, AMENDING THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR CITY COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER AND CITY EMPLOYEES TO PROVIDE SUBPOENA POWER TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE STAY OF THE COMPLAINT PROCEEDINGS (AMENDS RESOLUTION NO. 91-54 AND NO. 94-179). WHEREAS, the City of Federal Way previously adopted the Code of Ethics in order to insure that the City operate and conduct itself in an open and impartial manner, and to a standard that insures an efficient, fair and accountable system; and WHEREAS, the Code of Ethics does not grant the Board of Ethics subpoena powers in order for the Board to complete a full and fair investigation of any written complaint before the Board; and WHEREAS, the Code of Ethics does not provide for the stay of the complaint proceedings during the ci ty Council's consideration of the Board of Ethics application for subpoena power or during any proceeding to compel a person to respond to a properly issued subpoena; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, -DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: section 1. Amendment. is hereby amended as follows: section 7 of Resolution No. 91-54 section 7. Complaint Aqainst a Councilmember and Advisorv Opinions Reqardinq councilmembers - Board of Ethics. A. There is created a Board of Ethics for the City of Federal Way. The purpose of this Board of Ethics is to issue advisory opinions on the provisions of this Code of Ethics and to investigate and report to the City Council on any alleged violations of this Code of Ethics, all as set forth below. B. The Board of Ethics shall be composed of three (3) members, none of which shall be a City Councilmember or city employee. The board members shall be appointed by the City Council. The term of each board member shall be three (3) years. The first three members shall be appointed for one, two or three year terms respectively. RES # 94-184 , Page 1 COpy The first chair of the Board shall be determined by the council and the Chair shall be appointed to the three year term. The other terms are to be determined by lot. After the first year of the Chair's term, the Board shall determine and elect its Chair thereafter. The Chair shall serve for a period of one year, unless reelected. In the event a Board member must recuse himself or herself or otherwise be unavailable to conduct Board business, an alternate member shall be selected from a pool consisting of prior Board members who have served during the three (3) prior terms. The method for determining which of the prior Board members to select shall be determined by the Board. In the event no former Board members are available, the city Council shall appoint an alternate Board member. In filling any vacancy or making an appointment to the Board of Ethics, the city Council shall strive to select members with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise appropriate to the review of ethical matters, and who are of good general reputation and character. C. A majority of the Board of Ethics shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall meet as frequently as it deems necessary and in accordance with the provisions of the Code. The Board shall adopt procedures consistent with the provisions of this Code governing the conduct of its meetings, investigations, hearings and the issuance of opinions. 2. RES # 94-184 D. Specific Complaint Against a Councilmember. 1. Any person may submit a written complaint to the City Clerk alleging one or more violations of this Ethics Code by a Councilmember. The allegation must set forth specific facts with precision and detail, sufficient for a Determination of Sufficiency by the Board. In addition, the complaint must set forth the specific sections and subsections of this Code that the facts violate, and the reasons why. Each complaint must be signed by the person or persons submitting it, must state the submitter's correct name, address at which mail may be personally delivered to the submitter, and telephone number at which the submitter may be contacted. The City Clerk shall submit that complaint to the Board for Determination of Sufficiency of the complaint. A complaint cannot be sufficient unless it precisely alleges and describes unjustified acts which constitute a , Page 2 2...... RES # 94-184 prima facie showing of a violation of a specified provision or provisions of this Code. The purpose of requiring that the complaint be sufficient is to ensure that the complaint is supported by identifiable facts, and to ensure that the complaint is not based on frivolous charges. 3. The Board shall submit a written report with a finding of sufficiency or insufficiency within ten (10) days of its receipt of the written complaint. The Determination of Sufficiency by the Board is final and binding, and no administrative or other legal appeal is available. If the finding is one of sufficiency of the complaint, then the complaint shall be investigated and reported as set forth below. 4. The Board shall conduct an investigation of the written complaint before it. The Board shall begin the investigation no later than ten (10) calendar days after the Determination of Sufficiency of the complaint and shall conclude the investigation no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after it commences the investigation; provided. however. that the runnina of these time periods shall be tolled and the complaint proceedinas shall be staved in the event the Board makes application to the citv Council for subpoena power or in the event the citv Council issues a subpoena and anv person refuses to obey such a subpoena. The stav of the complaint proceedinas shall continue until such time as the subpoena is either issued or denied bv the Citv Councilor until such time as a superior court issues an order on the subpoena. The Board shall render a written opinion, setting forth its findings of fact and conclusions and opinion as to whether or not the individual against whom the complaint was filed has violated the Code of Ethics. The citv Council may issue subpoenas in resPonse to the Board I s application for the attendance and testimonv of witnesses and the production of documentarv evidence relatina to anv matter under investiaation bv the Board or in connection with anv hearina conducted bv the Board, The Board shall request subpoena power bv makinq a written application to the , Page 3 5§...... fitL.. '7-~ RES # 94-184 Mavor and Deputv Mavor describinq in detail the subiect matter of the proposed subpoena and an explanation of why such information is reasonablY necessarv in order to conduct the Board's investiqation or hearinq. The subpoena mav be issued in the event the Mayor and Deputv Mavor determine the subpoena request is reasonable. In the event the Mavor and Deputv Mavor are unable to aaree upon such a determination or the complaint alleaes a violation of the Ethics Code bv the Mavor or the Deputv Mavor. the entire ci tv Council shall make a determination as to the reasonableness of the Board's application for subpoena power. In the event anv person disobevs a subpoena. the ci tv Council mav invoke the aid of anv superior court of the state. Such court mav issue an order reauirina such person to appear before the Board. to produce documentarv evidence. and/or to provide testimonv. and anv failure to obev such order mav be punished bv that court as contempt. No opinion may be issued by the Board unless a person or entity complained against has had an opportunity to present information on his, her or its behalf at a hearing before the Committee. A copy of the written opinion shall be delivered to the City Council and the complaining party within seven (7) calendar days of conclusion of the investigation. In the event the advisory written opinion provides that the individual against whom the complaint has been filed has violated the Code of Ethics and the city Councilmembers adopt this opinion by a majority vote, then the City Council may take any of the following actions by a majority vote of the Council: (a) Admonition. An admonition shall be a verbal non-public statement made by the Mayor to the individual. (b) Reprimand. A reprimand shall be administered to the individual by letter. The letter shall be prepared by the city Council and shall be signed by the Mayor. If the individual objects to the content of such letter, he or she may file a , Page 4 RES # 94-184 (d) , Page 5 request for review of the content of the letter of reprimand with the City Council. The City Council shall review the letter of reprimand in light of the advisory opinion and the request for review, and may take whatever action appears appropriate under the circumstances. The action of the City Council shall be final and not subject to further review. (c) Censure, A censure shall be a written statement administered personally to the individual. The individual shall appear at a time and place directed by the city Council to receive the censure. Notice shall be given at least 20 days before the scheduled appearance at which time a copy of the proposed censure shall be provided to the individual. Within 5 days of receipt of the notice, the individual may file a request for review of the content of the proposed censure with the City Council. Such a request will stay the administration of the censure. The City Council shall review the proposed censure in light of the advisory opinion and the request for review, and may take whatever action appears appropriate under the circumstances. The action of the City Council shall be final and not subject to further review. If no such request is received, the censure shall be administered at the time and place set. It shall be given publicly, and the individual shall not make any statement in support of or in opposition thereto or in mitigation thereof. A censure shall be deemed administered at the time it is scheduled whether or not the individual appears as required. Removal. In the event the individual against whom the complaint has been filed is a member of a city Board, Commission, Committee, or other multi-member bodies appointed by the city Council, the City Council may, by a majority vote, remove the individual from such Board, Commission or Committee; provided, however, that nothing in this section authorizes the city Council to remove a Councilmember from his or her office. In the event the individual against whom the complaint has been filed is a Councilmember, the City Council, by a majority vote, may remove the individual from the position of Mayor or Deputy Mayor and the Mayor may remove such individual from the position of Chairperson of any Council Committees. E. The Board of Ethics may also render written opinions concerning the applicability of the Code of Ethics to hypothetical circumstances or situations upon the request of any person. I F. The City shall release copies of any written advisory opinions or opinions resulting from an investigation of a complaint and any written censures or reprimands issued by the City Council in response to public records requests as consistent with Chapter 42.17 RCW and any other applicable public disclosure laws. G. The City Manager shall provide staff, as he or she deems appropriate, to assist the Board of Ethics. H, Board members shall be reimbursed by the city for reasonable expenses incurred in its exercise of the official business of the Board, consistent with the expense reimbursement policies of the city. section 2. Effective Date. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon passage by the Federal Way City Council. RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, this ~ day of September , 1994. CITY OF FEDERAL WAY MA~~Y r ~~ ATTEST: ~~~ -~CIT CLERK, MAUREEN M. SWANEÝ, RES # 94-184' , Page 6 CMC APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~UNV~ FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: RESOLUTION NO. 94-184 September 13,1994 September 21,1994 RES\ETHICS.2 RES # 94-184 , Page 7