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Conflict of Interest <br />City of Ramsey — Draft for Discussion <br />February 19, 2013 <br />Generally, state law prohibits public officers from having a personal financial interest in a <br />sale, lease, or contract they are authorized to make in their official capacity. A "public <br />officer" would include a mayor, council member, appointed board member, or a member of <br />staff. <br />An interested officer should disclose his or her interest at the earliest stage and abstain from <br />voting or deliberating on any contract in which he or she has an interest. There are some <br />exceptions to the general prohibition on contracting with city officials defined in state law. <br />When the exceptions are used, generally the contract must be approved by unanimous vote of <br />the council. To help determine if a conflict exists consider the: <br />• nature of the decision being made; <br />• nature of the financial interest; <br />• effect of the individual interest on the outcome of the decision by the council. <br />Another conflict of interest situation may occur when the official's own personal interest is <br />so distinct from the public interest that the member cannot be expected to represent the <br />public interest fairly in deciding the matter. Some common areas are planning and zoning <br />issues, public improvements, special assessments, licenses, land purchases and vacation of <br />streets. Some other areas are church memberships, family associations and club <br />memberships. <br />There are detailed procedures that must be followed to use any exception to the conflict of <br />interest law. State statute and the city attorney should be consulted on procedures to follow. <br />Incompatible Offices <br />Generally, individuals in elected office are prohibited from holding incompatible offices. The city <br />attorney should be consulted on concerns about elected officials holding two separate offices. <br />Ramsey city Councilmembers cannot hold any other city office or city employment during tenure <br />as a council member. A former member of the city council cannot be employed by the city until <br />one year after the term they were elected for has expired. <br />Page 5 <br />