Advisory Opinion No. 2001-53

Re: Peter J. Lamb

QUESTION PRESENTED

The petitioner, a former Tiverton Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may accept appointment as the Tiverton Fire Chief, a position for which appointment is made by the Town Administrator.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics prohibits the petitioner, a former Tiverton Town Councilor, from accepting appointment as the Tiverton Fire Chief, prior to the expiration of one year from the date of leaving his position on the Council, given that the appointment is made by the Town Administrator with the advice and consent of the Council. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(4) and Commission Regulation 5006.

The petitioner advises that his term of office on the Tiverton Town Councilor expired on November 13, 2000. He presently serves as the Tiverton Emergency Management Director, a non-remunerated position to which the Town Administrator appointed him. He represents that he previously held the position of Tiverton Fire Chief from November 1988 until May 1998 and recently re-applied for that position. He informs that the Town Administrator appoints the Fire Chief after an application and interview process before the Tiverton Personnel Board. Pursuant to Article IV, Section 903(a) of the Town Charter, the Town Administrator shall appoint the Fire Chief with the advice and consent of the Council.

The Code of Ethics provides that, for a period of one year after a person has officially terminated his or her position with any state or municipal agency, that person shall not appear before the state or municipal agency on which the person had served. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(e)(1) and 5(e)(4). This “revolving door” language is provided so as to minimize any influence the former public official may have in a consideration by his former agency that is not available to the general public. Pursuant to Commission Regulation 5006, no elected or appointed official may accept any appointment by the body of which he or she is a member, to any position which carries with it any financial benefit or remuneration while a member of the body and for a period of one year after termination of membership on said body, unless the Ethics Commission shall give its approval of such appointment. Regulation 5006 further provides that the Commission shall not grant such approval unless it “is satisfied that denial of such employment or position would create a substantial hardship for the body, board, or municipality.”

The Commission has concluded that a public official may not apply, interview or accept employment from the body which he or she serves, for a period of one year following termination of the official’s membership on said body. See A.O. 99-60, A.O. 97-26; A.O. 97-17; and A.O. 96-85. Without a showing of hardship to the governmental body, rather than the former public official or employee, the official may not accept appointment from his own Board to a position which carries with it remuneration of any kind, nor may he appear before the Board during that time as provided in R.I. Gen. Law § 36-14-5(e) and Commission Regulation 5006.

In analogous advisory opinion, the Commission previously concluded that a former Warwick City Councilor could not accept an appointment to the Warwick Sewer Authority during the one-year period following her term of office where the mayoral appointment was subject to confirmation by the Council. See e.g. A.O. 97-26. Here, the position of Fire Chief is a compensated position, appointed by the Town Administrator with the advice and consent of the Council. Therefore, the prohibitions set forth in Commission Regulation 5006 attach and the petitioner may not accept an appointment as the Fire Chief. Compare A.O. 2001-3 (opining that the petitioner may seek and accept appointment to the position of the Tiverton Town Emergency Management Director within one year of leaving his position on the Town Council, given that the appointment is made by the Town Administrator and carries with it no remuneration).

Code Citations:

36-14-5(e)

36-14-5006

Related Advisory Opinions:

2001-3

2000-4

2000-58

99-151

99-104

99-94

99-76

99-60

98-153

97-125

97-26

97-26

97-17

96-85

94-37

Keywords:

Appointing authority

Post-employment

Revolving door