6/16/2014 CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE Minutes

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Or 1 ,Edward Larl in, Chairnian Charter Review Committee May l-, 2014 €gat of crener l policy and the employe 's financial interest is shred wlith a substantial portion of the Town's population. i . General Laws c. . ' I nbers of Municipal Commission or Board-, Restrictions on Appointments to Certain Positions). This section provides that no member of a -municipal commission or board shall be eligible for appointment or election by the members of'such commission or beard to any office or position tinder the supervision of such commission or board. General � ._§ 3( t Ie - � f: ot t irraer that would snake a reasonable person think municipal employee can be improperly influenced is prohibited. This Section prohibits a MUnI ip l employee from actinLy in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to think that he or she would show favor towards someone or that he or she can be improperly Hifi enced. This section requires a municipal employee to consider whether leis/leer relationships and affiliations could prevent him/her from acting fairly and objectively when performing his/leer duties for the Town. Upon analysis ol'the fints relating to the May 12, 2014 vote by x er bers ol`the Charter Review Coillmittee and the above-referenced sections of'the Conflict of Interest Law, I do not deem there to have been any v ioIation of said sections by the vote of the two C:hart'Rev ie Committee members designated by the Finance Committee to oppose converting the Finance Committee firom an appointed to an elected Town body. First, the memb rs of the Finance Conimittee C Carter Review wr Committee who voted oil the measure had no direct and immediate or reaso .ably foreseeable financial interest in the outcome of his/her vote which wool i create a conflict tinder §19 of the Conflict o f Interest La $. Members of the Finance Committee and the Charter Review Committee do not receive any compensation in consideration of their membership on those respective bodies. Thus,whether the Finance Committee remains an appointed body or is converted to an elected body of the Town, there is no direct or reasonably foreseeable financial interest to be gained by the subject Committee members based upon the disposition of this vote. Nor is there any reasonably for seeable financial interest maintained by members of the immediate fare}lies or bLI iness associates ofsaid Committee members as a result of the outcome of this vote. Accordingly, I Soe no violation of the self-dealing and nepotism prohibitions of§19 of the Con fl ic}t of Interest Law in these Circumstances. With respcot to t11e prohi bitions o f G,L. c.26 8A, §2 1 reIative to restri eti ons.on appointment ofmembers of municipal commissions or boards to certain other positions, 1 note the fol lowing, The Charter Review Committee is a Town body specifically established by the langua e of the Mash a or e Rule Charter, §7-7. The Charter Is the primary local governing