Conflict Disclosure Report
- Details
- Parent Category: Financial Disclosure
The online Conflict of Interest Disclosure Report must be filed when an official or employee is disqualified from voting or participating in a matter due to a financial or personal interest.
Who Files
All officials and employees are prohibited from participating in a decision in which they have a direct or indirect financial or personal interest, but only officials and employees filing the financial disclosure statement are required to file an online conflicts disclosure report. Section 2-813 (b) covers 23 categories of filers, including members of city boards and commissions. In addition, members of the City Council are required by their rules of procedure to state their reasons for abstaining due to a conflict of interest.
Where to File
The Conflict of Interest Disclosure Report is filed online in the Electronic Disclosure System as soon as the official or employee becomes aware of the conflict. It is recommended that the filing be made no later than seven days after the meeting or decision.
When to File
Knows or should know. The code requires disclosure when the official or employee "knows or with reasonable investigation should know" that the employee has a financial or personal interest in proposed legislation or a decision pending before the employee or the employee’s agency.
Example: An employee with a financial interest in a consulting firm has the firm run a conflicts check against the list of companies doing business with the city to determine when he is disqualified from participating in a matter.
Example: A board member serving on an authority board learns from the meeting agenda that a member of her law firm is representing a developer in a proposal before the board. She files a disclosure form as soon as she learns about her firm’s representation of the developer before the authority.
Financial or personal interest. A financial interest is any interest that yields a monetary or material benefit to the official or employee or any employer or immediate family member of the official or employee. Personal interest is defined "as any interest arising from relationships with immediate family or from business, partnership, or corporate associations, whether or not any financial interest is involved."
Example: A councilmember serves on the Board of Directors of a non-profit organization that receives funding from the City. The councilmember is disqualified from voting on a resolution to approve a grant to the non-profit group.
Example: A neighborhood planning unit chair is a real estate broker who has been retained as a sales agent by a property owner. The property owner appears at an NPU meeting to seek support for a rezoning. The NPU chair has a financial interest in the zoning matter based on her sales contract with the property owner.
Pending matter. There needs to be a matter pending before the City. An official or employee is not required to file a disclosure form under the Code of Ethics because he, an employer, or a family member’s employer has done business with the City in the past or is likely to seek city business in the future.
Example: A local law firm hires the sister of an attorney in the law department. The firm is not currently doing work for the city, but did work for the City in the past and may seek the city’s business in the future. The attorney is not required to file a conflict disclosure report based on a completed contract or the possibility of a future contract.