Orange County Ethics and Conduct for Senior Staff

Browse Search

Senior Staff Members shall annually disclose businesses with which they are associated. Section 4. Gifts. 1) A Senior Staff Member of Orange County shall not directly or indirectly ask, accept, demand, exact, solicit, seek, assign, receive, or agree to receive any gift or honorarium for the Senior Staff Member, or for another person, in return for being influenced in the discharge of the Senior Staff Member's official responsibilities. 2) A Senior Staff Member may not solicit for a charitable purpose any gift from any subordinate County employee. This section shall not apply to generic written solicitations to all Members of a class of subordinates. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a Senior Staff Member from serving as the honorary head of a charitable solicitation for a nonprofit business entity qualifying under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3). 3) It is acknowledged that departments occasionally solicit for charitable purposes with County Manager approval. Such occasions shall not fall within the purview of this policy when the County Manager has authorized, in writing, such activity. 4) This section shall not apply to reimbursements to the Senior Staff Member for actual travel expenditures within North Carolina incurred by the Senior Staff Member for attendance at functions organized by a board on which the Senior Staff Member sits. 5) This section shall not apply to gifts or awards authorized by Orange County Policies, Resolutions, or Ordinances. Section 5. Disclosure of confidential information. Senior Staff Members shall not use or disclose confidential information protected by law, unless appropriately authorized in writing. Section 6. Use of information for private gain. Senior Staff Members shall not use their public position or title in an official action or legislative action before the Board of Orange County Commissioners that will result in financial benefit, direct or indirect, to the Senior Staff Member or business with which the Senior Staff Member or a Family Member is associated. Section 7. Ethics Education. 1) All Senior Staff Members shall receive a minimum of one clock hour of ethics education every two calendar years with the first applicable calendar year 2011. New Senior Staff Members who are hired before June 30th of any given year must complete one clock hour of ethics training prior to the end date of the first calendar year of their employment and at least every two calendar years thereafter according to this Section. Those employed July 1 St or after of any given calendar year must begin receiving ethics training the first full calendar year of