Advisory Opinion No. 2005-23 Re: Robert Weber, Sr. QUESTION PRESENTED: The petitioner, a member of the Central Falls City Council, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may participate in the deliberation and vote on the City’s overall operating budget, given that his daughter is employed by the City. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a member of the Central Falls City Council, a municipal elected position, may participate in the deliberation and vote on the City’s overall operating budget, notwithstanding that his daughter is employed by the City. The petitioner informs that he is President of the Central Falls City Council. He states that he first became a member of the City Council in 1996 and that he has served a total of eight, non-consecutive years on the City Council. The petitioner represents that the Central Falls City Council is charged with the responsibility of deliberating on and voting to accept or reject the City’s overall operating budget. He informs that the City Council will soon deliberate and vote on the overall operating budget for Central Falls, which will include a line item for Channel One’s budget. The petitioner informs that Channel One is a City department that administers youth programs and that his daughter is employed by Channel One. He states that he is not involved in the negotiation of Channel One’s departmental budget or in how Channel One allocates its budgetary funding. He represents that he will only participate in the City Council’s deliberation and vote to accept or reject the City’s overall operating budget. To avoid potential conflicts, the petitioner represents that he will recuse himself from the City Council’s consideration of any specific budgetary matters that may impact his daughter or her employment, or Channel One’s budget. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official may not participate in any matter in which he has an interest, financial or otherwise, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a). An official has an interest in substantial conflict with his official duties if it is reasonably foreseeable that a “direct monetary gain” or a “direct monetary loss” will accrue, by virtue of the public official’s activity, to the official, his family member, his business associate, his employer or any business by which he is employed or which he represents. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a); Regulation 36-14-7001. Furthermore, a public official may not use his public office or confidential information received through his office to obtain financial gain, other than that provided by law, for himself, his family member, his business associate, his employer or any business he represents. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d). In past advisory opinions, the Commission has allowed town council members with family members employed by a town department to vote to accept or reject a town’s overall budget even if by so doing the members are voting on department matters impacting their family members. See, e.g., A.O. 98-88 (North Providence Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, may vote on the Town’s budget notwithstanding that it includes the School Department’s budget containing a salary adjustment for his spouse who is a Clerk to the School Committee). In such circumstances, the Commission has reasoned that a vote to accept or reject on an overall budget is sufficiently remote from such items so as not to constitute a substantial conflict of interest in violation of the Code. See, e.g., A.O. 2003-9 (Westerly Finance Board member, whose spouse was employed by the Westerly School Department, may participate and/or vote on budget issues, provided that he recuse himself from participation and/or vote on the School Department’s budget as a line item or on matters related to personnel issues affecting his spouse as a School Department employee). While the Commission has previously opined that a public official may participate in the deliberation and vote on an overall budget as a whole in such circumstances, the Commission has also pointed out that public officials must recuse themselves from participation in deliberations and/or votes on specific line items relating to the department that employs their family member in recognition that this employment relationship triggers the prohibitions set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5(a), 5(d), and 7(a). See, e.g., A.O. 2002-44 (Warwick City Councilor, whose spouse was employed by the Warwick School Department, may participate in and/or vote on the Town budget even if it includes matters related to school budgets and school issues generally, provided that he does not participate in and/or vote on specific matters related to personnel issues affecting his spouse). Here, the petitioner represents that he will not participate in any deliberations and/or votes regarding specific budgetary matters that may impact his daughter or her employment, or Channel One’s budget. He informs that he has no involvement, whatsoever, in the preparation of Channel One’s budget or in how Channel One allocates its budgetary funding. Accordingly, by merely participating in the City Council’s deliberation and vote on the City’s overall operating budget, the Commission concludes that the petitioner will not violate the Code of Ethics. Based on the representations provided, the Commission therefore opines that the petitioner may participate in the deliberation and vote on the City’s overall operating budget, which will include Channel One’s budget. The Commission points out, however, that the petitioner should recuse himself from participating in deliberations and/or votes on Channel One’s departmental budget as a line item and from any specific matters that may impact his daughter or her employment. In the event that such matters come before the Council, the petitioner, in addition from recusing from participation, should file a recusal statement with the City Council and with the Ethics Commission pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6. Code Citations: 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(d) 36-14-6 36-14-7(a) Regulation 36-14-7001 Related Advisory Opinions: 2005-10 2003-9 2002-44 98-88 Keywords: Budgets Family: Public employment