Advisory Opinion No. 97-143

Re: Daniel C. Halloran

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, a North Smithfield Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may continue to provide security consultant services to the Central Falls Credit Union given that Vice President of the Credit Union is a recently elected member of the same North Smithfield Town Council.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a North Smithfield Town Councilor, a municipal elected position, may continue to provide security consultant services to the Central Falls Credit Union, notwithstanding the fact that a recently elected member of the Town Council is a Vice-President of the Credit Union.

The Code of Ethics does not prohibit public officials and employees from serving on the same or related public bodies, or from serving on such boards with either family members or business associates, so long as that service does not create an identifiable conflict of interest. See R.I. Gen. Law, § 36-14-5(a), 7(a). Here, the Petitioner and the newly elected Councilor serve the town in equal capacities. In other words, neither has the potential to exert any improper influence on the other. In addition, it is not reasonably foreseeable that any matters directly relating to the Credit Union will come before the Council because the Credit Union conducts business neither with nor within the town of North Smithfield. Therefore, absent any identifiable conflicts of interest, no provisions of the Code of Ethics prohibit the Petitioner from providing services to the Credit Union while serving on the Council with an employee of the Credit Union.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

96-117

Keywords:

Private employment