Ethics
Advisory Opinion No. 45
July
3, 2000
Issued
By: City Attorney’s Office
Whether a City
employee may contract with the City of
The Department of Public Works has asked
whether a City employee may contract with the City of
As part of the Mission Trails tree planting
program partnered by the Alamo Area Council of Governments ("AACOG"),
the Texas Forest Service, the Master Gardeners, the Master Naturalists, the San
Antonio Trees, Inc., and the City, a Request for Proposal for tree maintenance
for
A Senior Plans Examiner in the Department of
Building Inspections has expressed interest in the proposed contract. The
contract for one (1) year is $3,000, with costs to be shared by the City and
the AACOG. The issue is whether, under the City’s Ethics Code, the employee may
enter into such a contract given his position with the City. All City
employees, whether part-time or full-time, are required to follow the standards
of conduct as set forth in the Code.
Unfair Advantage of Private Interest. Part B. Section 2 of the Code[1] prohibits all City
employees from using their position "to unfairly advance or impede
private interests, or to grant or secure, or attempt to grant or secure, for
any person (including himself [ ]) any form of special consideration,
treatment, exemption, or advantage beyond that which is lawfully available to
other persons." In the instant case, there is no evidence that the
employee has used his position as a Senior Plans Examiner to obtain this
contract. Provided he does not do so, there is no violation of this section.
Conflicting Outside Employment. Generally, a City employee may not engage in
outside employment that may influence the performance of his official duties.
More specifically, "a City . . . employee shall not provide services to
an outside employer related to the . . . employee’s City duties." The
essential job functions for a Senior Plans Examiner include, among others,
supervising the processing of commercial and residential plans submitted for
plan checking. These job functions do not conflict with the proposed contract
position as such position requires watering and general maintenance (weed
removal, mulching, and litter removal) of the trees at
Public Property and Resources. Section 7 of the Code[2] prohibits City
employees from using "City facilities, personnel, equipment or supplies
for private purposes." Because the employee’s duties with the City are
different from his duties offered under Contract, the likelihood of using City
equipment is slim. However, the employee must remain cognizant that he may not
use City equipment and/or perform said work on City time. Provided he complies
with this standard of conduct, there should be no violation of this section.
Prohibited Interest in Contract. Part B. Section 10[3] prohibits City
employees from having a financial interest in a contract with the City or its
agencies, including SAWS. Under this section, a City employee is "any
employee of the City who is required to file a financial disclosure statement
pursuant to Section 1(a) of Part G.[4]"
Because the employee is not a City employee as defined in this section, he is
not prohibited from contracting with the City and may provide the tree
maintenance service under contract with the Department of Public Works.
SUMMARY
City employees are governed by the standards
of conduct as set forth in the Ethics Code of the City of
FRANK J. GARZA
City Attorney