Advisory Opinion No. 2013-23 Re: Kathy Stadelbauer Schmidt QUESTION PRESENTED The Petitioner, a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners for the Ashaway Fire District, a municipal elected position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether she is prohibited from serving on the Fire District’s Charter Revision Committee. RESPONSE It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner, a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners for the Ashaway Fire District, a municipal elected position, is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving on the Fire District’s Charter Revision Committee. The Petitioner is a member and Chairperson of the Board of Fire Commissioners (“Board”) for the Ashaway Fire District (“Fire District”), having served continuously since 2003. The Fire District is a quasi-municipal agency that taxes property in the Village of Ashaway.[1] The Petitioner states that the Board has three (3) members. She represents that this is an unpaid position for which she receives no stipend. She informs that the Board’s duties are as follows: To have the power and duty to organize, oversee, maintain and equip fire departments which provide fire protection for the Ashaway Fire District; to adopt, rules and regulations governing the departments in the Ashaway Fire District, prescribe the duties of the members, and inspect fire department and fire district equipment. The rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Fire Commissioners cannot, however, authorize any fire commissioner to interfere with the fire department in the course of its duties. Ashaway Fire District Charter[2] (“Charter”) § 9.1. The Petitioner states that the Board is planning to form a new Charter Revision Committee (“Committee”) to clarify some wording problems in the Charter. She informs that the Board will announce the formation of this Committee at its Annual Meeting on July 18, 2013. She states that the Board will post an advertisement at the three (3) local post offices, the Town Hall and the Fire District office directing persons interested in serving on the Committee to submit their names and qualifications to the Fire District. She represents that the Committee must be comprised of seven (7) Ashaway taxpayers. See Charter § 12. She informs that the Board will appoint members to the Committee at its August or September meeting, depending how long it takes to find at least seven (7) interested persons. She informs that Committee members are volunteers and will receive no payment for their services. She further states that any recommendations from the Committee to amend or revise the Charter can only be adopted by a referendum of eligible voters in the Fire District. The Petitioner represents that she would like to submit her name to serve on this Committee. She states that she has sat on the prior iterations of the Charter Revision Committee since 2000. She informs that at the June 18, 2013, Board meeting a member of the public questioned whether it was appropriate for her to sit on any Fire District committees, given her membership on the Board. She states that she has no familial, business or employment relationship with any members of the Fire Association or the Fire District and all of her service to the Fire District is unpaid. She represents that if all three (3) members of the Board are present when the Committee appointments are made, she will abstain from appointing herself. However, if only two (2) members of the Board are present, she will vote to appoint herself to the Committee. Given the above representations, the Petitioner seeks advice as to whether she may serve on the Charter Revision Committee. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official may not participate in any matter in which she has an interest, financial or otherwise, that is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of her duties or employment in the public interest. R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a). A substantial conflict of interest exists if an official has reason to believe or expect that she, any person within her family, a business associate or an employer will derive a direct monetary gain or suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of her official activity. Section 36-14-7(a). The Code also prohibits a public official from using her public office or confidential information received through her public office to obtain financial gain for herself, her family, her business associate, or any person by which she is employed or whom she represents. Section 36-14-5(d). Finally, the Code of Ethics prohibits an elected official from accepting any appointment that requires approval of their own board “to any position which carries with it any financial benefit or remuneration, until the expiration of one (1) year after termination of his or her membership in or on such body,” without prior approval by the Ethics Commission and provided that “the Ethics Commission is satisfied that denial of such employment or position would create a substantial hardship for the body, board, or municipality.” Commission Regulation 36-14-5006. In the present matter, the Petitioner would like to submit her name to be appointed by her own Board to serve on the Fire District’s Charter Revision Committee. The Petitioner represents that she has no familial, business or employment relationship with any members of the Fire Association or the Fire District. The Petitioner’s service on the Committee would be as a volunteer and unpaid. Furthermore, the Petitioner’s participation on the Fire District’s Charter Revision Committee is consistent with her duties as a Board member in ensuring that ambiguous language in the current charter is clarified. For all of these reasons, it is the opinion of the Ethics Commission that the Petitioner is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from serving on the Fire District’s Charter Revision Committee. Code Citations: § 36-14-5(a) § 36-14-5(d) § 36-14-7(a) Commission Regulation 36-14-5006 Keywords: Dual Public Roles [1] The Petitioner informs that this Fire District is unique because it is separate and distinct from the Ashaway Fire Association (“Fire Association”), which is the Fire Department. While the Fire District uses the tax revenue to pay for the operating and personnel costs of the Fire Association, the Fire District has no authority to hire, fire, or evaluate the job performance of the Fire Chief, the Assistant Chiefs or firefighters. She further represents that the Fire Association is a private organization in which the firefighter members elect the Chief and Assistant Chiefs. [2] The Ashaway Fire District Charter was submitted by the Petitioner as an attachment to her advisory opinion request letter.