Advisory Opinion No. 98-65

Re: Thomas Mattos

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, the Cumberland Finance Director, a municipal appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether Town of Cumberland employees, municipal employee positions, may bid on property offered for tax sale by the Town.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that Town of Cumberland employees, municipal employee positions, may bid on property offered for tax sale by the Town provided, however, that those employees involved in the decision to put property to tax sale should not bid on the property.

The Town of Cumberland periodically conducts tax sales of property upon which assessed real estate taxes have not been paid for a period of years. Funds received at tax sales are credited to the general Town fund. Under Section 5(h) of the Code of Ethics, municipal employees or their family members may enter into contracts with state or municipal agencies so long as they are awarded through an open and public process, including public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and contracts awarded. As such, as a general rule, Town employees may bid on property offered for tax sale provided that the Town adheres to the open and public bidding process required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(h).

The Petitioner advises, however, that many Town employees, particularly those employed in Town Hall departments, render preparatory assistance to the entity performing the tax sales. The Commission concludes that Town employees with discretionary authority as to the decision to put the property to tax sale may not bid on the property. If an employee has provided substantive input into the decision to put the property to tax sale or as to requirements of the bids, the employee or his family members or business associates may not bid on the sale of the property. Such participation by a Town employee at minimum would constitute participating in the bid specification process and, consistent with the mandates of the Code of Ethics, would place the public employee in a privileged and/or advantageous position with respect to other bidders. In addition, the likelihood that a Town employee vested with discretionary authority regarding tax sale decisions also would submit bids to purchase the property would constitute an interest in substantial conflict with his or her official duties. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a),(d) and (h).

Code Citations:

36-14-5(d)

36-14-5(h)

Related Advisory Opinions:

98-22

97-48

95-105

90-55

Keywords:

Contracts

Discretionary authority