Advisory Opinion No. 2005-46

Re:  Richard S. Hilton

QUESTION PRESENTED:

The petitioner, a Commissioner for the Cumberland Housing Authority, a municipal appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether his full-time employment with the Cumberland School Department constitutes a violation of the Code of Ethics.

RESPONSE:

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, a Commissioner for the Cumberland Housing Authority, a municipal appointed position, may continue his full-time employment with the Cumberland School Department without being in violation of the Code of Ethics.

The petitioner advises that he was appointed to the Cumberland Housing Authority by the Cumberland Town Council in June 1996.  He informs that this is an unpaid position and that the Housing Authority is fully funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The petitioner advises that he is responsible for setting operation policies for the Housing Authority.  

The petitioner advises that he was hired by the Cumberland School Department in August 2005 as Director of Buildings and Grounds; a full-time position paid by the Cumberland School Department. He informs that he is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of eight (8) school buildings and that he is supervised by the Superintendent of Schools.  Given these representations, the petitioner asks whether his current full-time employment violates the Code of Ethics.

Under the Code of Ethics, a public official or employee may not accept other employment that will either impair the independence of his judgment as to his official duties or employment, or that would require him to disclose confidential information acquired in the course of his official duties.  R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b).  In addition, a public official or employee 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).  A public official or employee will have 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 his activity, to himself, a family member, a business associate, or any business by which he is employed or which he represents.  R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a).  The Code also provides that a public official or employee may not use his office or position to obtain financial gain for himself, a family member, a business associate, an employer, or any business that he represents.  R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d). 

Initially, the Commission concludes that the aforementioned provisions of the Code of Ethics do not create an absolute bar to simultaneous service as a member of the Housing Authority and as an employee of the School Department.  Rather, those provisions require a matter by matter evaluation and determination as to whether substantial conflicts of interest exist with respect to carrying out his duties in the public interest.  See A.O. 2004-30 (opining that an employee of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management may serve on his own time as an unpaid member of the Coventry Planning Board); A.O. 2004-23 (concluding that an employee of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management may serve on her own time as an unpaid member of the Tiverton Conservation Commission).

Since the petitioner’s duties as a member of the Housing Authority and as an employee of the School Department are separate and distinct, there is no indication that serving in both capacities would impair the petitioner's independence of judgment as to his public responsibilities.  Nor is there any indication that the simultaneous service, in and of itself, creates a substantial conflict with respect to carrying out duties in the public interest. Absent some direct financial nexus between the petitioner’s two public roles, no inherent conflict of interest would preclude such simultaneous service. 

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(b)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

2005-37

2004-30

2004-23

2004-10

Keywords:

Dual Public Roles