William F. Smith Complaint No. 99-8

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

BEFORE THE RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION

In Re: William F. Smith Complaint No. 99-8

INFORMAL RESOLUTION AND SETTLEMENT

Respondent William F. Smith and the Rhode Island Ethics Commission hereby agree to a resolution of the above-referenced matter as follows:

I. FINDINGS OF FACT AND ADMISSIONS

A. 1996-1998 Financial Disclosure Statements

  1. The Respondent was an appointed member of the Little Compton Planning Board from 1990 until his resignation on August 1, 2000.
  2. As a Little Compton Planning Board member, the Respondent was a municipal appointed official subject to the financial disclosure requirements set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16.
  3. Under the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16, all municipal and state officials appointed by or through the governing body or highest official of state or municipal government are required to file on or before the last Friday in April of each year a financial statement provided by the Commission.
  4. According to mailing lists maintained by the Ethics Commission, the staff of the Commission forwarded a 1996 Financial Statement to the Respondent at his residence on March 25, 1997, thirty days prior to the April 25, 1997 filing deadline.
  5. Both the files stored at the Commission headquarters and the corresponding computer records maintained by the Commission reflect that the Respondent did not file his 1996 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter.
  6. According to mailing lists maintained by the Ethics Commission, the staff of the Commission forwarded a 1997 Financial Statement to the Respondent at his residence on March 23, 1998, more than thirty days prior to the April 24, 1998 filing deadline.
  7. Both the files stored at the Commission headquarters and the corresponding computer records maintained by the Commission reflect that the Respondent did not file his 1997 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter.
  8. According to mailing lists maintained by the Ethics Commission, the staff of the Commission forwarded a 1998 Financial Statement to the Respondent at his residence on March 17, 1999, more than thirty days prior to the April 30, 1999 filing deadline.

1. Both the files stored at the Commission headquarters and the corresponding computer records maintained by the Commission reflect that the Respondent did not file his 1998 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter.

B. Notices of Recusal

  1. The Respondent was an appointed member of the Little Compton Planning Board from 1990 until his resignation on August 1, 2000.
  2. Pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6, a public official who, in the discharge of his official duties, is or may be required to make a decision or refrain therefrom that will or can reasonably be expected to directly result in an economic benefit to himself, a business associate or any business by which he is employed or represents, shall file a conflict of interest statement with both the Ethics Commission and his public body. The conflict of interest statement or notice of recusal shall describe in writing the matter requiring the official’s action and the nature of the potential conflict.
  3. The Respondent is privately employed as a professional engineer and is the owner and president of Civil Engineering Concepts, Inc., a Tiverton based firm that provides engineering and surveying services to clients in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
  4. According to the Little Compton Planning Board’s meeting minutes, during the period from January 13, 1998 through December 1998, the Respondent recused himself from the Board’s consideration of two matters involving his firm’s clients.
  5. Neither the Ethics Commission nor the Town of Little Compton had any record of the Respondent having filed written notices of recusal, as required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6, during the 1998 calendar year.
  6. According to the Little Compton Planning Board’s meeting minutes, during the period from January 12, 1999 through December 12, 1999, the Respondent further recused himself from the Board’s consideration of fourteen matters involving his firm’s clients
  7. Neither the Commission nor the Town of Little Compton had any record of the Respondent having filed written notices of recusal, as required by R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6, during the 1999 calendar year.
  8. On January 19, 2000, after the filing of the Complaint in this matter, the Respondent forwarded thirteen notices of recusal to the Commission for filing. The notices, all of which were signed and dated January 10, 2000, reflect the Respondent’s recusals during the preceding 1999 calendar year on Planning Board matters involving his firm’s clients.

II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND SETTLEMENT

A. 1996-1998 Financial Disclosure Statement

  1. The Commission finds that the Respondent, a Little Compton Planning Board member, was a municipal appointed official subject to the financial disclosure requirements set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16.
  2. The Commission further finds that by failing to file his 1996 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the April 25, 1997 filing deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter, the Respondent violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16.
  3. The Commission further finds that by failing to file his 1997 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the April 24, 1998 filing deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter, the Respondent violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16.
  4. The Commission further finds that by failing to file his 1998 Financial Statement until January 11, 2000, after both the April 30, 1999 filing deadline and the filing of the Complaint in this matter, the Respondent violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-16.

A. Notices of Recusal

  1. The Commission finds that the Respondent, a Little Compton Planning Board member, was a municipal appointed official subject to the notice and recusal requirements set forth in R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6.
  2. The Commission further finds that from January 1998 through December 1999, the Respondent failed to file notices of recusal with both the Ethics Commission and the Town of Little Compton regarding the Planning Board’s consideration of matters involving his firm’s clients, in violation of R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-6.

B. Settlement

The Respondent agrees that, pursuant to the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the Prosecution will recommend, pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-13(d), the imposition of a civil penalty of $250.00. The Respondent reserves the right to argue for a lesser penalty or the imposition of no penalty.

The above terms represent the full and complete Informal Resolution and Settlement for Complaint No. 99-8.

Katherine D’Arezzo, Commission Prosecutor

William F. Smith, Respondent

Joseph R. Palumbo, Jr., Counsel

Note: The Commission accepted the settlement and imposed a $250 civil penalty (June 5, 2001)