Advisory Opinion No. 95-1

Re: Paul A. Brule, Esq

Pursuant to a letter dated October 14, 1994 received in the Office of the Ethics Commission on October 17, 1994 from Paul A. Brule, Esq.:

  1. Paul A. Brule is an attorney with offices in Central Falls, Rhode Island.
  2. Mr. Brule requests advice of the Commission regarding his relationship with the Manville Fire District, Inc.
  3. The Manville Fire District is located in the northerly section of Lincoln, Rhode Island. The District was established by state charter, has taxing authority, and is comprised of an elected number of officers, including a five-member Board of Fire Wardens.
  4. The District also has an elected Moderator whose responsibilities include presiding at the annual meeting or any special meetings during the year at a current stipend of $50 annually.
  5. The Fire District also has an elected Board of Tax Assessors. Until September 13, 1994, Mr. Brule served as a member of the Fire District's Board of Tax Assessors. At the September 13, 1994 annual meeting, he was elected to the position of Moderator which he currently holds.
  6. At the annual meeting in September 1994, a motion was passed authorizing the Board of Wardens to appropriate $1,000 to retain legal counsel for the year to provide advice and assistance to the Tax Collector, Board of Wardens, and other officials of the Fire District.
  7. The position of attorney will be advertised in the near future. Mr. Brule requests advice as to whether he or any of his colleagues may apply for said position while he simultaneously serves as the Moderator for the Fire District.

This Advisory Opinion is addressed to Paul A. Brule, Esq. Mr. Brule is an attorney in a three-person law office with offices located in the City of Central Falls. Mr. Brule requests advice as to his official relationship with the Manville Fire District, Inc. That Fire District is located in the northerly section of Lincoln, Rhode Island. The Fire District was established by state charter and has taxing authority granted by such charter. The Fire District is governed by a Board of Fire Wardens. Other elected officials include Moderator and a Board of Tax Assessors.

Prior to September 13, 1994, Mr. Brule served as an elected member of the Fire District's Board of Tax Assessors. Although he ceased being a member of the Board of Tax Assessors on that date, he was then elected as Moderator. The duties of Moderator are to preside over the annual meeting or any special meetings during the year. The current stipend for Moderator is $50 yearly.

The taxpayers of the District have recently passed a motion authorizing the engagement of legal counsel to the District. The legal counsel would be engaged by the Board of Wardens, and the legal counsel would render advice to the Board of Wardens, Board of Assessors, and other employees and representatives of the Fire District.

Mr. Brule requests advice as to whether he or his law partners may apply for or be appointed as legal counsel to the Manville Fire District, Inc. under the Code of Ethics.

In connection with Mr. Brule's request, we have reviewed our Regulation 36-14-5006. That Regulation provides that no appointed or elected official may accept an appointment to a position which carries with it any benefit or remuneration until the expiration of one year after termination of membership. While we recognize the fact that Mr. Brule served on the Board of Tax Assessors, and not the Board of Wardens, we nevertheless conclude that the intent of the Regulation is to prohibit Mr. Brule's private employment as attorney for the District until September 13, 1995.

In this case, we specifically find that the position of Moderator as limited by the Fire District's by-laws does not represent grounds for disqualification of employment under Regulation 36-14-5006.

On the issue concerning whether either of Mr. Brule's law partners may seek or be appointed to a position of legal counsel while Mr. Brule serves as Moderator, we conclude that although Mr. Brule's law partners are his business associates as defined under the Code of Ethics and R.I. Gen. Laws §36-14-2(8), no prohibition in our Code would preclude appointment of one of Mr. Brule's law partners as attorney for the District. However, we caution Mr. Brule that he must receive no financial benefit whatsoever as a result of any income earned by his partners relating to the Manville Fire District within the one-year prohibited time period.

Lastly, since Mr. Brule will be serving as Moderator, we caution and advise Mr. Brule in the event his service in the public interest would ever cause him to disclose confidential information or impair his independence of judgment, he should (a) notify the Fire District, in writing, of the nature of his interest in the matter, and (b) recuse from any participation in connection with the matter as required by the Code of Ethics. Recusals must be filed with the Fire District and with the Ethics Commission under R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-14-6.

OPTIONAL:

On the question of whether Mr. Brule's law partners would be able to seek or be appointed to the position of legal counsel, we conclude that since his law partners are business associates of Mr. Brule's as defined under the Code of Ethics and R.I. Gen. Laws §36-14-2(8), and since, as partners, Mr. Brule would benefit from the income earned by the Fire District as a client, such limitation would likewise prohibit their service until the expiration of one year after Mr. Brule's service as a member of the Board of Tax Assessors.

Keywords

Revolving Door

Post-Employment