Advisory Opinion No. 2007-11 Advisory Opinion No. 2007-11 Re: Anthony J. Silva QUESTION PRESENTED: The petitioner, the Director of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether in his private capacity he may continue to administer grants awarded annually by state and federal agencies to provide highway safety training and traffic management to Rhode Island law enforcement personnel. RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the petitioner, the Director of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy, a state employee position, may continue to administer grants awarded annually by state and federal agencies to provide highway safety training and traffic management to Rhode Island law enforcement personnel. This opinion is based primarily on the petitioner's representations that the grants are unrelated to his official duties and that he will perform all grant-related work from his home office without the use of any state equipment or resources. The petitioner is the Director of the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy ("the Academy"). Prior to his taking that position in 2006, the petitioner was the Chief of the Cumberland Police Department. The petitioner was also previously employed by the Lincoln Police Department. The petitioner states that each year for the past fifteen years, throughout his employment in Lincoln and Cumberland, he has been the administrator of grants awarded by the Rhode Island Office on Highway Safety (RIOHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to the municipalities where he was employed. According to the petitioner, the purpose of the grants has been to fund in-service training on highway safety and traffic management for municipal police departments throughout Rhode Island and to provide overtime funding to these same departments for traffic and highway safety enforcement. The grant application process has historically involved a written application signed by the petitioner and the municipal grantee through its chief operating officer and chief financial officer. The petitioner describes the municipal grantee as a "pass-through" for the grant funds, receiving and holding the grant proceeds subject to disbursement by a finance director upon a proper request of the petitioner as the grant administrator. The petitioner states that historically he has applied for and administered the grants in his private capacity and not as the Police Chief or as a municipal employee. He further represents that all of his work on the grants has been conducted at his home on his own time after normal working hours. In return for his administration of the grants, the petitioner states that he is generally paid an hourly stipend from the grant proceeds. For instance, the petitioner asserts that for the last fiscal year the grant he administered was for approximately seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000), and he was paid approximately fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) out of the grant proceeds. Although the petitioner has left his employment with the Town of Cumberland (the prior pass-through grantee) and has begun his employment as Director of the Academy, he wishes to continue applying for and administering the grants. The petitioner states that going forward he anticipates that a municipality or a private, non-profit organization will agree to act as the pass-through grantee, receiving and holding the proceeds. He represents that going forward, if permitted, he will continue applying for and administering the grants on his own time, from his own home office and without the use of any of the resources of the Academy. Given all of the above, the petitioner asks whether he may continue to apply for and administer the grants. Under the Code of Ethics, a public official may not participate in any matter in which he has an interest which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(a). An official will have an interest in substantial conflict with his official duties if it is likely that a "direct monetary gain" or a "direct monetary loss" will accrue, by virtue of his activity, to the official, a family member, or a business associate. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-7(a). R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(b) prohibits a public official from accepting other employment that will either impair his independence of judgment as to his official duties or employment or require him to disclose confidential information acquired by him in the course of his official duties. A public official may not use his public position to obtain financial gain, other than that provided by law, for himself, his family or business associates. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(d). Given the petitioner's representations, it does not appear that his continued administration of state and federal grants would violate the above-cited provisions of the Code of Ethics. The purpose of the grants, while related to law enforcement, is not related to the petitioner's duties as Director of the Academy. The petitioner does not foresee any opportunities for him to take action at the Academy that could impact the grants or his administration of them. Similarly, the petitioner's administration of the grants does not appear likely to induce the disclosure of any confidential information or to create a likelihood of impairment of the petitioner's judgment as to his official duties. Finally, given that the petitioner has administered these grants for years prior to his appointment as Director of the Academy, and given his assurances that he will perform all grant-related work through his home office and without the use of any state resources, it cannot be said that the petitioner is using his public position to obtain financial gain for himself, other than that provided by law. For all of these reasons, it is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Rhode Island Code of Ethics does not prohibit the petitioner from continuing to administer grants awarded annually by state and federal agencies to provide highway safety training and traffic management to Rhode Island law enforcement personnel. This opinion solely addresses the application of the Code of Ethics and does not address whether the petitioner's intended conduct is prohibited or regulated by other state or federal laws, regulations or policies. Code Citations: 36-14-5(a) 36-14-5(b) 36-14-5(d) 36-14-7(a) Keywords: Compensation Financial interest Grants