2.20.040 Prohibited acts.
(a) Official Action. An official shall not participate in any official action in which he has a conflicting fiduciary obligation ruled as substantial, or a financial interest ruled as substantial.
(1) Consistent with KGBC 2.20.090, an official who is a voting member of the borough assembly, school board or a board, commission or other agency shall publicly disclose any existing or potential conflicting fiduciary obligation or financial interest in any matter before the borough assembly, board, commission or agency before debate or vote upon the matter and shall not participate in the debate or vote upon the decision unless the financial interest is determined to be not substantial or the conflicting fiduciary obligation is determined to be so insubstantial as to not impact the official’s decision on the matter.
(2) The question of whether an official who is a voting member of a body has an existing or potential conflicting fiduciary obligation or substantial financial interest in a matter pending before the body may be raised by the chair or any other member of the body. No official may testify before the borough assembly, board, commission or other agency without first disclosing any financial interest which the official has in the subject of the testimony.
(3) For the purposes of this chapter, a fiduciary obligation created by way of a mayoral appointment; or an appointment to a board seat or as an advisory member of a board of an outside agency where the seat is reserved for an assembly member or other municipal official, shall be considered upon disclosure to be an insubstantial conflict of interest, but shall remain subject to the ruling of the chair.
(b) Business Prohibition. No official may engage in business with the borough when that person has had substantial involvement in planning, recommending or otherwise supporting the project or transaction at issue. No official shall attempt to influence the borough’s selection of any bid or proposal, or the borough’s conduct of business, in which the official has a financial interest. Newly elected or appointed officials who have preexisting contracts with the borough may fulfill the terms and conditions of such contracts without penalty. Officials may engage in business with the borough so long as that activity complies with both this subsection and KGBC 2.20.050.
(c) Use of Office for Personal Gain. No official shall seek or hold office or position for the purpose of obtaining anything of value for himself, his immediate family or a business that he owns or in which he holds an interest or for any matter in which he has a financial interest. This prohibition shall not apply to the receipt of authorized remuneration for that office or position.
(d) Representing Private Interests. No official shall represent, for compensation, or assist those representing private business interests before the borough assembly, administration, or any borough board, commission or agency. Nothing herein shall prevent an official from making verbal or written inquiries on behalf of constituents or the general public to elements of borough government; from requesting explanations or additional information on behalf of such constituents; or from making routine contacts with borough staff in the normal course of borough business such as applications for zoning permits, sales tax preparation or any other borough license or permit. No official may solicit a benefit or anything of value or accept same from any person for having performed this service.
(e) Confidential Information. No official may disclose information he knows to be confidential concerning the property, government, or affairs of the borough unless authorized or required by law to do so.
(f) Outside Activities. The borough manager, borough attorney, borough clerk and the superintendent of schools may not engage in business or accept employment with, or render services for, a person other than the borough or hold an office or position where that activity or position is incompatible with the proper discharge of their duties or would tend to impair their independence of judgment in performing his borough duties. A person who holds an elected borough office shall not be eligible for employment with the borough during their term of office. An exception may be made with the approval of four or more members of the borough assembly.
(g) Gratuities. No official shall accept a gratuity from any person engaging in business with the borough or having a financial interest in a decision pending with the borough. No official shall give a gratuity to another official for the purpose of influencing that person’s opinion, judgment, action, decision or exercise of discretion as a borough official. Any official who accepts a gift having a value in excess of $50 shall report such gift to the borough clerk if the official may take or withhold action that affects the giver. The borough clerk shall maintain the report in a public file. As used in this section, “gift” includes any series of gifts from the same donor within any 12-month period, other than meals reciprocated by the official.
This subsection does not prohibit accepting:
(1) A meal;
(2) Discounts or prizes that are generally available to the public or large sections thereof;
(3) Gifts presented by employers in recognition of meritorious service or other civic or public awards;
(4) A candidate for public office accepting campaign contributions;
(5) An occasional nonpecuniary gift of insignificant value;
(6) Any gift which would have been offered or given to the person if the person were not an official.
(h) Use of Borough Property. No official may request or permit the use of borough vehicles, equipment, materials or property for a non-borough purpose, including but not limited to private financial gain, unless that use is available to the general public on the same terms or unless specifically authorized by the borough assembly.
(i) Political Activities, Limitations of Individuals. Appointed officials may not take an active part in a political campaign or other matter to be brought before the voters when on duty. Nothing herein shall be construed as preventing appointed officials from exercising their voting franchise, contributing to a campaign or candidate of their choice or expressing their political views when not on duty or otherwise conspicuously representing the borough. Elected officials may participate in political campaigns in the same manner as any citizen, but may not purport to represent the official position of the borough as an entity in such campaigns.
(j) Political Activity, Limitation on Borough Government. The borough may prepare and disseminate general, objective information about the issues to be voted on in local elections. Such material shall be devoid of biased statements or slant and, where appropriate, may contain pro and con statements of equal weight and value. The borough may expend funds to influence the outcome of an election only in accordance with the limitations in AS 15.13.145 as it may be modified from time to time.
(k) Influencing Another Elected Official’s Vote. An elected official may not attempt to influence another elected official’s vote or position on a particular item through contact with an elected official’s employer or by threatening financial harm to another elected official. [Ord. No. 1868A, §1, 9-4-18; Ord. No. 1819A, §2, 1-3-17; Ord. No. 1448, §3, 9-4-07; Ord. No. 1417, §1, 1-2-07; Ord. No. 1366S, §1, 11-21-05. Code 1974 §5.37.030.]