Advisory Opinion No. 97-129

James V. Cambio

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioners, members of the North Providence School Committee, municipal elected positions, request an advisory opinion as to whether they may make contributions and receive a pension benefit set by a municipal employees’ union contract given that, although the School Committee negotiates and votes on matters relating to union contracts for school department employees, the union contract from which they would derive their pension benefit is not connected to the school department or its employees, the School Committee has no involvement with the negotiation of the contract, and the School Committee’s negotiations relating to the contract for school department employees do not impact or affect the municipal employees’ contract.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the Petitioners, members of the North Providence School Committee, municipal elected positions, from receiving a pension benefit through a union contract with which the School Committee and the school department have no involvement. The Petitioners, individually and through counsel, have advised that pursuant to actions taken by the School Committee, the Town Council and the Mayor in May and June, 1997, members of the School Committee will receive a pension benefit set by a contract between the Town and the union that represents municipal employees. The School Committee does not participate in or affect in any way the contract negotiations involving the municipal employees’ union. Further, the Petitioners have advised that no previous actions by the School Committee, particularly involving contract negotiations with the union representing school department employees, affect the nature and amount of the pension benefit to be received by them. As a result, the Petitioners have not and are not in a position to affect their own pension benefits. Because they are insulated from any involvement with the contract that will set their own pension benefit the members of the School Committee may, consistent with Sections 5(a), (d) and (e) of the Code of Ethics, receive that benefit. In addition, the members of the School Committee may continue to participate in negotiations with the union representing school department employees, provided that nothing in those negotiations impacts or affects the contract(s) with municipal employees from which they will receive their pension benefit.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-5(e)

Related Advisory Opinions:

GCA 6

Keywords:

Pension benefit