Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Ronsenblum thinks sections of the Ethics Code are unfair to Village volunteers and wants input from them and Village employees before considering revising the Code.

This topic came up at last Monday's Board of Trustees work session, when the board engaged in a heated, divided discussion on whether to amend or keep the Code as is, particularly with regards to its "disclosure of interest" section.

The discussion, as per the agenda, was supposed to be about the Board of Ethics' recently filed annual report, but took a different turn when the Mayor said the Mamaroneck Police Benevolent Association and the Fire Council had complained about the annual disclosure of interest form the Ethics Code requires them to fill out. Additional complaints were allegedly made because forms were erroneously mailed to people not required to fill them out, causing confusion. 

What is the "disclosure form" about?

A disclosure form, according to Section 21-5 of the Village Code, is due for filing from "every designated officer, board member and employee" of the Village- basically, all decision-making parties- every Feb. 15 and asks them to reveal if they or any family member own property in the Village; if they or a spouse have an outside employer or business; if they have clients or customers who've had matters before the Village; and if they have received gifts from people with financial ties to the Village, among others. 

Mayor Rosenblum's concern is that the amount of information required violates the individual's privacy, particularly that of volunteers. If anyone working for the Village does something wrong, he said, there is a criminal code to bring them to justice. 

Earlier this week, Mamaroneck Police Association President Lt. Charlie Deshensky told the Journal News that the form was too "stringent" and that "requiring officers to fill out ethics forms could put them at risk."

Fire Department's 2nd Assistant Chief Robert Pecchia told Patch that the Department was taking the same stand as the PBA until they received feedback from the Ethics Board.

"We never saw any type of information regarding the code before getting the form mailed," Pecchia said. "It was pretty much, 'here, you have to fill this out.'"

Trustee Toni Pergola Ryan said they were supposed to be advised that the law would go into effect, but she is not certain that it happened.

The three fire chiefs, Pecchia said, did not file forms for this year and last year. While information for this year is not yet available, Ethics Committee Chair Charles Mitchell confirmed that, with regard to the PBA, "there were only the three forms that were outstanding from 2009."

Pecchia explained that the Fire Department has the ability to potentially shut down businesses and tell people they can't stay in their homes anymore, so having their personal information out there puts them at risk. "Constitutionally, it doesn't work," he said. If someone had a question with regard to something being done wrong and wanted to get related information, "that's fine," he said. But filling out the form "just in case" is not. 

Why are volunteers required to file the form?

In addition to "rank-and-file" police officers and volunteer fire chiefs, the form is required from other volunteers, but not from volunteer firefighters, auxiliary police officers or civil defense volunteers, according to the Code.   

The matter of volunteers, according to Mitchell, should be irrelevant to a good ethics law. "In small municipalities such as the Village of Mamaroneck, volunteers as well as employees can have a sizable amount of power – either in decision making and/or spending public funds," he said. "The fact they are not paid should not preclude them from disclosing any possible conflicts of interests." In the case of "rank-and-file" police officers, this requirement is probably unnecessary, he said. 

How is private information protected?

While all completed disclosure forms are kept confidential and viewed only by the Board of Ethics, anyone could request access to them by filing a request through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). In that case, the individual filing the disclosure form can request that certain information be kept confidential after having turned the form in, but it is not certain that such request will be granted. 

"The Ethics Board, in consultation with the Village Attorney, looking to other local municipalities for precedence on such requests, and under the guidelines of the New York State FOIL, would be the authority to consider the circumstances for granting such a request," said Mitchell. 

One of the Board of Ethics' recommendations not discussed last Monday was to add a "confidential" label to the envelope in which the form is mailed so that employees and volunteers are aware that the form won't be read by anyone outside of the Board. 

How did the form come about?

Trustees John Hofstetter and Ryan, who were on the Board when the Code was adopted last year, were in clear disagreement with Mayor Rosenblum's idea to amend the Ethics Code. They said that similar requirements existed in other municipalities' codes, such as Greenburgh and New Rochelle, and that it took a couple of years and a lot of research and public input to nail the code down.

Previous to the disclosure form, individuals had to sign a piece of paper saying they had no conflict of interest with the village, a minimal and outdated protection, according to Hofstetter. The previous Board approved the code in January of 2009.  

"The real issue was making sure that relationships were disclosed when people are voting and committing village resources or setting village policy," Hofstetter said. "We are a small enough community that a lot of people who are active are in more than one organization or company, and it allows for the residents to have a better understanding and a more comfortable feeling about what's going on."

What's the next step?

Next week, Village Manager Rich Slingerland will send an input request in writing to department heads and deputies, Fire Department chiefs, the Zoning Board, Harbor & Coastal Zone Management Commission, Board of Architectural Review and, particularly, the PBA and Fire Council for their comments and input. Once the input is received, it will depend on the Board how to move forward.

Trustee Ryan says having the input come to the Board of Trustees, instead of the Board of Ethics, undermines the authority of the latter.  The Code now allows anyone to communicate with the Board of Ethics, and that should be taken advantage of, she said.  

While the Ethics Code is not on Monday's Board of Trustees meeting agenda, the Board "may have a general discussion on the matter," said Slingerland. The audience may also address the Board with their questions, comments or concerns during the "communications to the Board" section of the meeting.