Ethics and Conduct for County Public Servant

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14 A public servant shall not solicit or receive personal financial gain, other than that received by the public servant from the County, or with the approval of the County, for acting in the public servant's official capacity, or for advice or assistance given in the course of carrying out the public servant's duties. Section 4. Use of information for private gain. A public servant shall not use or disclose nonpublic information gained in the course of, or by reason of, the public servant's official responsibilities in a way that would affect a personal financial interest of the public servant, a member of the public servant's extended family, or a person with whom or business with which the public servant is associated. A public servant shall not improperly use or improperly disclose any confidential information. Section 5. Other rules of conduct. (a) A public servant shall make a due and diligent effort before taking any action, including voting or participating in discussions with other public servants on a board on which the public servant also serves, to determine whether the public servant has a conflict of interest. If the public servant is unable to determine whether or not a conflict of interest may exist, the public servant has a duty to inquire of the County attorney as to that conflict. (b) A public servant shall continually monitor, evaluate, and manage the public servant's personal, financial, and professional affairs to ensure the absence of conflicts of interest. (c) A public servant shall obey all other civil laws, administrative requirements, and criminal statutes governing conduct of County government applicable to appointees and employees. Section 6. Public servant participation in official action. (a) Except as permitted by subsection (d) of this Section and under Section 8 of this Article, and, with respect to the County Board of Commissioners, consistent with G.S. § 153A-44, no public servant acting in that capacity, authorized to perform an official action requiring the exercise of discretion, shall knowingly participate in an official action by the County if the public servant, a member of the public servant's extended family, or a business with which the public servant is associated, has an economic interest in, or a reasonably foreseeable benefit from, the matter under consideration, which would impair the public servant's independence of judgment or from which it could reasonably be inferred that the interest or benefit would influence the public servant's participation in the official action. A potential benefit includes a detriment to a business competitor of (i) the public servant, (ii) a member of the public servant's extended family, or (iii) a business with which the public servant is associated. (b) A public servant described in subsection (a) of this Section shall abstain from taking any verbal or written action in furtherance of the official action. The public servant shall submit in writing to the County the reasons for the abstention. When the action relates to the responsibilities of a board, the abstention shall be recorded in the board's minutes.