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Putnam Valley Town Board Examines "Chilling" Ethics Law
by Edward Paul Greiff
The Putnam Valley Town Board held a second public hearing on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 to review a revised version of a proposed Code of Ethics Law they previously rejected on August 16, 2006 because of some ambiguities and wording.
Clem Van Ross, Chairperson of the Putnam Valley Board of Ethics presented the highlights of their newly-revised version of a proposed Code of Ethics Law originally prepared in July of 2006 to the Town Board and the public at the October 11th hearing.
Mr. Van Ross explained the purpose of the revised Code of Ethics of the Town of Putnam Valley is to, "establish standards and guidelines for ethical conduct of its officers and employees. The establishment of standards is another step toward providing the highest caliber of public administration for the Town and ensuring that government decisions are arrived at impartially and free of conflict of interest; thereby increasing confidence in public officials." The proposed law, which is available at the PV Town Hall, defines the ethical standards of conduct and attempts to define who is covered by the standards
The law also includes penalties available to the Town in the case where they have determined that a covered individual has violated the new code of ethics.
"The Town Board may impose any or all of the following penalties for violation of this chapter: warning, reprimand, suspension, removal from office or employment, other disciplinary action, a civil penalty up to $1,000, a civil penalty equal to the gain or profit obtained from violation.
The first speaker after Chairperson Clem Van Ross' presentation was Marie Zarcone who thanked the Ethics Board for doing a thorough job in preparing the law and addressed the Town Board by saying if they adopt this law then they have to follow it to the letter, not like what happened with the Board of Assessment Review.
Town Attorney David Gordon said the BAR issue is still in litigation and should be resolved sometime next month.
Kathleen McLaughlin reiterated her previous comments regarding the terminology used in the law when it references the various types of people employed and/or connected to the Town and calls them a different name on each page. She again asked for consistent wording.
Dawn Powell questioned the Ethics Board's definition of a Domestic Partner versus a Co-habitant. Ethics Board member Marianne DeSantis explained that State law defines it.
Councilwoman Priscilla Keresey expressed her congratulations to the Ethics Board for the excellent job they did in drafting an Ethics Law they could work with. Councilman Bob Tendy commented that the proposed Ethics Law might have a "chilling effect" on some people.
Councilman Dan Ricci agreed and said, "maybe that's a good thing to have that kind of a chilling effect on people."
The implication of an ethics law with teeth in it is to discourage individuals with unethical intentions before they have a chance to do any damage. Along the lines of this proactive approach to ethics is the Ethics Board encouragement for individuals to seek their opinion before engaging in an activity they think may have ethical considerations they are not sure of.
The Ethics Board is currently meeting every Wednesday morning at 10am at the Town Hall Annex building. The public is welcome to attend any of their meetings since they are open to the public except for executive sessions.
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