Minutes October 18, 2016 MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION October 18, 2016 The Rhode Island Ethics Commission held its 13th meeting of 2016 at 9:00 a.m. at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission conference room, located at 40 Fountain Street, 8th Floor, Providence, Rhode Island, on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, pursuant to the notice published at the Commission offices, the State House Library, and electronically with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The following Commissioners were present: Ross Cheit, Chair Frederick K. Butler Marisa A. Quinn, Vice Chair John D. Lynch, Jr.* Robert A. Salk, Secretary Timothy Murphy Also present were Edmund L. Alves, Jr., Commission Legal Counsel; Kent A. Willever, Commission Executive Director; Katherine D’Arezzo, Senior Staff Attorney; Jason Gramitt, Education Coordinator/Staff Attorney; Staff Attorneys Teresa Giusti and Teodora Popova Papa; and Commission Investigators Steven T. Cross, Peter J. Mancini and Gary V. Petrarca. At 9:00 a.m., the Chair opened the meeting. The first order of business was: Approval of minutes of the Open Session held on September 27, 2016. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Salk, it was VOTED: To approve minutes of the Open Session held on September 27, 2016. AYES: Robert A. Salk; Timothy Murphy; Marisa A. Quinn; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: Frederick K. Butler. The next order of business was: Advisory Opinions. The advisory opinions were based on draft advisory opinions prepared by Commission Staff for review by the Commission and were scheduled as items on the Open Session Agenda for this date. The first advisory opinion was that of: Michael K. Daley, a member of the State Board of Examiners of Electricians, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from participating in an appeal hearing for TradeSource, Inc., a temporary hiring agency which employs and leases primarily non-union electricians, given that the Petitioner is privately employed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Staff Attorney Gramitt presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. *Commissioner Lynch arrived at 9:04 a.m. Chair Cheit noted a correction to be made to the statutory citation set forth in the draft opinion. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, as corrected and attached hereto, to Michael K. Daley, a member of the State Board of Examiners of Electricians. The next advisory opinion was that of: Michael P. Murphy, a Certified Appraiser in the City of Providence Tax Assessor’s Office, seeks an advisory opinion as to whether the Code of Ethics prohibits him from working, in his private capacity, as a real estate salesperson. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was present. In response to Commissioner Butler, the Petitioner stated that he does not currently advertise his services as a real estate salesperson, but in the future he would probably just advertise on social networking sites. In response to Commissioner Salk, the Petitioner informed that he would not set the valuation for a property that he is listing. He represented that Vision Appraisal performs the appraisals and that he would not handle matters relating to a property that he had listed. In response to Commissioner Murphy, the Petitioner represented that he would not be promoting himself as a real estate salesperson in his capacity as a municipal appraiser. Chair Cheit stated that the opinion should also include a sentence stating that the Petitioner may not list his public position in advertisements for his private business and that he may not use his public position to solicit clients. Upon motion made by Commissioner Murphy and duly seconded by Commissioner Lynch, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, as amended and attached hereto, to Michael P. Murphy, a Certified Appraiser in the City of Providence Tax Assessor’s Office. The next advisory opinion was that of: Philip Overton, a member of the Westerly Town Council, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether he may participate in discussion and voting relative to a proposed Airport Protection Overlay District Ordinance, given that the Petitioner and his wife own properties in zones that are neither regulated under nor financially impacted by the adoption of the proposed ordinance. Staff Attorney Popova Papa presented the Commission Staff recommendation. The Petitioner was not present. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Murphy, it was unanimously VOTED: To issue an advisory opinion, attached hereto, to Philip Overton, a member of the Westerly Town Council. The next order of business was: Director’s Report. Executive Director Willever reported that there were six (6) complaints and two (2) advisory opinions pending. He stated that fourteen (14) APRA requests were received since the last meeting, all of which were granted within one business day. The next order of business was: Executive Session. At 9:20 a.m., upon motion made and duly seconded, it was unanimously VOTED: To go into Executive Session, to wit: 1. Motion to approve minutes of Executive Session held on September 27, 2016, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 2. In re: Donald Grebien, Complaint No. 2016-6, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 3. In re: Francis X. Flaherty, Complaint No. 2016-14, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(2) and (4). 4. Motion to return to Open Session. At 9:58 a.m., the Commission reconvened in Open Session. The next order of business was: Motion to seal minutes of Executive Session held on October 18, 2016. Upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Butler, it was unanimously VOTED: To seal minutes of the Executive Session held on October 18, 2016. The next order of business was: Report on Actions Taken in Executive Session. Chair Cheit reported that the Commission took the following actions in Executive Session: 1. Voted (4-0) to approve the minutes of the Executive Session held on September 27, 2016. [Reporter’s note – The vote was as follows: AYES: Robert A. Salk; Timothy Murphy; Marisa A. Quinn; and Ross Cheit. ABSTENTIONS: Frederick K. Butler; John D. Lynch, Jr. 2. Unanimously voted (6-0) in the matter of In re: Donald Grebien, Complaint No. 2016-6, that probable cause does not exist to believe that the Respondent violated the Code of Ethics as alleged in the Complaint. The Complaint was dismissed with prejudice. 3. Unanimously voted (6-0) to initially determine that the facts alleged in In re: Francis X. Flaherty, Complaint No. 2016-14, if true, are sufficient to constitute a knowing and willful violation of the Code of Ethics and authorized an investigation. The next order of business was: New Business. There was no new business. At 9:59 a.m., upon motion made by Commissioner Quinn and duly seconded by Commissioner Butler, it was unanimously VOTED: To adjourn. Respectfully submitted, __________________ Robert A. Salk Secretary