Advisory Opinion No. 97-115

Re: Harold R. Shippee, Sr.

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, Foster Town Councilor, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he may participate in various matters regarding the Department of Public Works given that the Department employs both his son and his son-in-law.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Petitioner may participate in general matters affecting the Department of Public Works provided that they do not directly impact the employment, compensation or other economic matters relative to either his son or his son-in-law. Specifically, the Petitioner queries his participation in general planning of the Department's scope of work, oversight of its daily operation, development of bid specifications and evaluation of contract awards, approval of bimonthly warrants to authorize department expenditures and authorizing salaries of all town employees, and budget development. In General Commission Advisory 1 regarding Nepotism, the Commission stated that a public official participating in the day to day supervision or other evaluation of a family member constitutes a substantial conflict of interest under the Code of Ethics. Here, aside from labor or salary issues, the Petitioner must exercise caution such that his participation in other Department matters such as scope of work or oversight of its daily operation does not have a direct or indirect financial impact on his family members. The Petitioner represents, and the Code of Ethics requires, that he will not participate in warrants involving Department of Public Works salaries or budget development including contract negotiations, wages and benefits, labor relations, or performance evaluations and grievances affecting his family.

Code Citations:

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5005

Related Advisory Opinions:

GCA 1

97-49

97-6

96-118

96-113

96-109

96-16

95-113

Keywords:

Family: public employment