HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-090-06/20/1995-CARL MCWILLIAMS CONFLICT OF INTEREST ETHICS REVIEW BOARD LANDMARK PRESERVATION OPINION 95-5 RESOLUTION 95-90
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
ACCEPTING THE ADVISORY OPINION AND RECOMMENDATION
NO. 95-5 OF THE ETHICS REVIEW BOARD
WHEREAS, the City Council has established an Ethics Review Board ("the Board")
consisting of three members of the City Council; and
WHEREAS,-the Board isempowered-under- Section-2-569- of the City Code to render
advisory opinions and recommendations regarding actual or hypothetical situations of
Councilmembers or board and commission members of the City; and
WHEREAS, the Board met on June 14, 1995, to consider whether Carl McWilliams, a
member of the Landmark Preservation Commission, has a conflict of interest in reviewing
recommendations made on behalf of City staff by his wife, Karen McWilliams, an employee of the
Advanced Planning Department; and
WHEREAS, the Board has issued Opinion No. 95-5 with regard to the foregoing issue; and
WHEREAS, Section 2-569(e) of the City Code provides that all advisory opinions and
recommendations of the Board be placed on the agenda for the next special or regular City Council
meeting, at which time the City Council shall determine whether to adopt such opinions and
recommendations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the opinion and recommendation of the Board
and wishes to adopt the same.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS that Opinion No. 95-5 of the Ethics Review Board, a copy of which is attached hereto and
incorporated herein by this reference as Exhibit "A," has been submitted to and reviewed by the City
Council, and the Council hereby adopts the opinion and recommendation contained therein.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Con f the City of ins held this
20th day of June, A.D., 1995.
ayor
ATTEST:
� �� j oty Clerk
95-5
OPINION OF THE ETHICS REVIEW BOARD
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
June 14, 1995
The Ethics Review Board ("the Board") met on the above-referenced date to consider a question
presented by Mayor Pro Tem Gina Janett, the liaison to the Landmark Preservation Commission
("the LPC"). The question presented is whether a member of the LPC, Carl McWilliams, has a
conflict of interest in reviewing recommendations made on behalf of City staff by his wife, Karen
McWilliams, an employee in the Advance Planning Department.
BACKGROUND:
The functions and duties of the LPC have been recently revised by the Council. A copy of the
Code Section that contains those duties and functions is attached. Among the LPC's primary
responsibilities are the designation of buildings and areas as historic landmarks and the approval
of alterations to the exterior of buildings that have already been designated as landmarks.
Karen McWilliams has recently been employed by the City to assist City staff in formulating
recommendations as to whether particular structures or areas of the City should receive historic
landmark designation by the LPC. Additionally, she will be doing a certain amount of work with
the owners of properties that have already received such designation to assist in the design of
alterations to the buildings. Such alterations must be approved by the LPC, and staff generally
makes a recommendation as to whether proposed alterations should be approved.
Carl McWilliams, Karen's husband, is a member of the LPC. The question presented is whether
his independence of judgment in making the kinds of decisions referred to above will be impaired
by reason of the fact that his spouse will be making recommendations to the LPC on behalf of City
staff.
RELEVANT CHARTER PROVISIONS:
The City Charter describes two kinds of conflicts of interest: financial and personal. Clearly,
there is no financial conflict of interest presented by the McWilliams' situation. However, there
appears to be a significant question as to whether there is a personal conflict of interest.
The Charter definition of a personal interest reads as follows:
Personal interest means any interest (other than a financial interest) arising from
blood or marriage relationships or from close business, political or personal
associations or concerns which would, in the judgment of a reasonably prudent
person, tend to impair independence of judgment or action in the performance of
official discretionary duties.
Ethics Opinion 95-5
June 14, 1995
Page 2
ANALYSIS AND OPINION:
The Board believes that the marital relationship is the kind of "close" association contemplated
by the Charter provision that creates a personal conflict of interest when one spouse is making a
recommendation to the other. The City's employment policies recognize this concern in that as
the policies prohibit one spouse from directly supervising another. In the context of an advisory
board or commission, and its working relationships with City staff, the Board believes that the
same concern exists. Admittedly, staff attempts to reach a consensus with regard to its
recommendations. Nonetheless, particular staff members are assigned lead roles in formulating
those recommendations. In this instance, it is Karen McWilliams who is primarily responsible
for formulating recommendations with regard to the designation of historic structures or districts.
Additionally, it appears that she will be, over a period of time, assuming additional responsibilities
with regard to staff recommendations as to the acceptability of proposed alterations to existing
historic landmarks. Those two decisions comprise a very substantial portion of the decisions made
by the LPC.
The Board is cognizant and very appreciative of the considerable expertise that Carl McWilliams
adds to the LPC. Also, the Board is confident that Mr. McWilliams would make every effort to
separate the decisions that he makes as an LPC member from any personal influence.
Nonetheless, the Board believes that the marital relationship is such a close association that a
reasonably prudent person would conclude that Mr. McWilliams' independence of judgment might
be impaired by reason of that relationship when reviewing recommendations formulated and
advanced by his spouse. Therefore, the Board believes that Mr. McWilliams would have a
conflict of interest in attempting to review and act upon such recommendations. Because these
kinds of decisions constitute such a large part of the business transacted by the LPC, the Board
does not believe that it would be feasible for Mr. McWilliams to declare a conflict of interest on
each such decision. Instead, the Board believes that Mr. McWilliams' contributions to the Board
could better be made in an individual, personal capacity as a private citizen. Therefore, the Board
recommends that he resign his position on the LPC so that Karen McWilliams can continue to
carry out her employment duties and make recommendations to the LPC, and the LPC, in turn,
may receive and review those recommendations with input from all of its members.
Ethics Opinion 95-5
June 14, 1995
Page 3
This advisory opinion was reviewed and approved by Ann Azari and Gina Janett, regular members
of the Ethics Review Board. Pursuant to Section 2-569(e) of the City Code, this opinion and
recommendation is to be immediately filed with the City Clerk and made available for public
inspection. '/
Dated this _aIday of June, 1995.
Stephen J. oy, City Attorney
SJR:meg
ORDINANCE NO. 66, 1995
OF TBF—COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING SECTION 2-278 OF THE CODE PERTAINING TO THE
FUNCTIONS OF THE LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION
WHEREAS, Section 2-278 of the City Code enumerates the functions and duties of the
Landmark Preservation Commission ("LPC") of the City; and
WHEREAS,the functions of the LPC have,as a matter of practice,been expanded to include
services which the City Council considers to be in the best interests of the City but which are not
presently listed in Section 2-278; and
WHEREAS,the City Council wishes to amend the foregoing section of the Code to include
those additional functions; and
WHEREAS,the City Council has also determined that it would be in the best interests of the
City to authorize members of the LPC to serve as City representatives on the board of directors of
the Historic Fort Collins Development Corporation,the Poudre Landmark Foundations,or such other
privately funded non-profit corporations that may be organized for the primary purpose of furthering
the preservation of the community's historic resources.
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT
COLLINS that Section 2-278 of the City Code is hereby amended so as to read in its entirety as
follows:
Sec.2-278. Functions.
dal The commission shall perform all duties relating to preservation
of historic landmarks as set out in Chapter 14, including the
designation of sites, structures, objects or districts as landmarks and
the review and approval or rejection of plans for the construction,
alteration,demolition or relocation of any such site, structure, object
or district. Decisions of the commission are final unless appealed to
the City Council.
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Introduced,considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of June,
A.D., 1995, and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of June,A.D., 1995.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading this 20th day of June, A.D., 1995.
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Clerk