Advisory Opinion No. 97-126

Sirje Carl

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, Jamestown School Committee member, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether she may be a candidate for and/or accept employment as Director of the Jamestown Housing Authority, a position for which appointment is made by the Town Council.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the Petitioner from simultaneously serving as a Jamestown School Committee member and being employed as Director of the Jamestown Housing Authority. The latter is an appointed position, with the Town Council acting as the appointing authority. The School Committee has no involvement with the hiring process and, therefore, the appointment of the Petitioner is not barred by Commission Regulation 5006, which prohibits public officials from receiving compensated appointments from their own agencies.

In addition, the Petitioner represents that there is no likelihood that her involvement with the School Committee would impact on her responsibilities with the Housing Authority, and vice versa. Given the different spheres of responsibilities that fall to the agencies there is no reason to question the accuracy of that representation. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e).

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-17

97-43

97-47

97-80

96-8

95-44

Keywords:

Dual Public Roles