After many discussions regarding possible changes to the Village of Mamaroneck Ethics Code, the Ethics Board presented its recommendations to the Board of Trustees last night, saying that not all requirements should apply to all decision-making volunteers or employees of the village. 

The main issue regarding the Code has to do with the disclosure statement, which has been called "stringent" and "onerous" in previous discussions. The form requires village employees and some volunteers to reveal personal information like names of clients and family members, real estate ownership, outside employment and gifts received, all this to allegedly prevent a conflict of interest. Members of both the Fire and Police departments have objected to several of these requirements, saying they put them and their families at greater risk if someone wants to do them harm. 

While the form also asks to disclose the names of family members who work for or do business with the Village, relatives of future employees will not be allowed to work for the village, according to Village Manager Rich Slingerland. 

Some of the recommendations made by the Ethics Board were that employees and volunteers of the Village of Mamaroneck who don't have the "power of the purse" or decision-making authority should not have to fill out the disclosure form.

Fire Department Chief Dean DeLitta has expressed concern over the fact that a privacy request for certain information cannot be made prior to filling out and submitting the form. While there is nothing to do about that requirement, as it is a New York State law mandate, the Ethics Board believes some information should not be asked of certain officials. 

"The Ethics Board understands that there could be information that people – especially in positions that can potentially levy penalties (i.e. shutting a business down due a fire code violation) – would not want in the public's hands," said Mitchell in an e-mail.  In the case of the fire and police departments, whose main concern is the disclosure of names and addresses of relatives in, or within one mile of the village, the Board of Ethics asks "that only members of boards that deal with land-use decisions be required to fill that section out."

But once a form is submitted with a privacy request, "the confidentiality request lies dormant until there is a FOIL request for the information," explains Mitchell. Once a FOIL request is filed, the Ethics Board, in consultation with the Village Attorney, looks at what other municipalities have done and, following the New York State FOIL guidelines, reviews granting the request for confidentiality.

"There is a sense that the forms may not be kept as confidential as possible," said Mitchell. In order to fix this, the Board suggests that all envelopes be labeled confidential and people be informed that only the Ethics Board (and potentially the Village Attorney, in consultation with the Ethics Board) has access to these forms. In the past, the village clerk would receive and gather the forms to give to the board. That will no longer be the case. Envelopes will only be opened by the Board of Ethics. 

Finally, the Board also recommended that contracts of what's being done in the village should be made accessible. These contracts are public information, as per the village manager, but the board of ethics recommends that they be put on the Web site. It was also suggested that a FAQ list about what the law says and does not say be put together to help answer questions. 

These recommendations need to be voted on by the Board of Trustees before they are adopted. For people who haven't submitted the current form, the board is considering a moratorium.

The Board of Ethics will be meeting tomorrow to review the forms received so far, as well as discuss the proposed changes to both the code and the form.