Salinas Municipal Code Art. 3 Conflict of Interest Code and Ethics Training

The terms of Title 2, Division 6 of the California Code of Regulations (Section 18730, et seq.), and any amendments thereto duly adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission are hereby incorporated by reference and, along with the following sections in which officials and employees are designated and disclosure categories are set forth, constitute the conflict of interest code for the city of Salinas and any local government agency with jurisdiction wholly within the city. This chapter constitutes the "Appendix" to Title 2, Division 6 of the California Code of Regulations section 18730, et seq.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

All individuals holding positions designated in this chapter, all members of boards, committees, and commissions designated in this chapter of the City Code, and all city officials enumerated in Government Code Section 87200 must participate in at least two hours of training in general ethics principles and ethics laws relevant to their public service. Training must be completed no later than one year from the first day of assuming a designated office and biennially thereafter. The training course content required to meet this section must satisfy the requirements of Government Code Section 53235. Training participants must provide proof of completion of the training requirement to the Salinas City Clerk's Office prior to the end of the calendar year in which the training must be taken.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) Designated positions are set forth below in this section. All city public officials enumerated in Government Code Section 87200, each employee filling a designated position, and any employee filling a designated position on a temporary or acting basis for more than thirty consecutive calendar days, is subject to full disclose of all information set forth in applicable schedules on the Statement of Economic Interest Form (SEI) Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700.

Designated Positions

Accounting manager

Airport manager

Assistant chief of police

Assistant city attorney

Assistant city manager

Assistant community development director

Assistant finance director

City clerk

Assistant public works director/city engineer

Chief assistant city attorney

Community development director

Deputy fire chief

Deputy librarian

Fire chief

Human resources director

Human resources manager

Information systems manager

Library/community services director

Police chief

Public works director

Recreation/ parks superintendent

Senior buyer

Superintendent of maintenance services

(b) Each consultant, as defined in 2 California Code of Regulations Section 18701, shall disclose all of the information set forth in all disclosure categories on Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700. The city manager and executive officer of any local government agency with jurisdiction wholly within the city of Salinas may determine in writing that a particular consultant, although a "designated position," is hired to perform a range of duties that are limited in scope and thus are not required to fully comply with the disclosure requirements of this section. Such written determination shall include a description of the consultant's duties and, based upon that description, a statement of the extent of disclosure requirements. The determination of the city manager or executive officer is a public record and shall be retained for public inspection in the same manner and location as this conflict of interest code.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017; Ord. No. 2608(NCS), § 1, 10-9-2018; Ord. No. 2368(NCS), § 1, 10-13-2020; Ord. No. 2659(NCS), § 1, 10-18-2022; Ord. No. 2680(NCS), § 1, 9-10-2024)

All employees filing designated positions shall file statements of economic interest with the city clerk who shall receive such statements on behalf of the code reviewing body. Unless otherwise required by state law, all statements of financial interest shall be deemed timely filed only when received by the city clerk on or before the following deadlines:

(a) Online or electronic filing of Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700) by any public official enumerated in Government Code Section 87200 or designated in the conflict of interest code adopted pursuant to Government Code Section 87300.

(b) In any instance in which an original statement, report or other document must be filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission a copy of that statement is required to be filed with the city clerk.

(c) Annual statements shall be filed on or before April 1 of each calendar year, no later than the deadline imposed by the Political Reform Act. Such statements shall cover the period of the preceding calendar year or from the date of filing of such statement as otherwise required by this Code.

(d) Initial statements shall be filed within thirty days of assuming office disclosing interests held on the date of assuming office.

(e) Leaving office statements shall be filed within thirty days of leaving office. Such statements shall cover the period between the closing date of the last statement required to be filed and the date of leaving office.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017; Ord. No. 2680(NCS), § 2, 9-10-2024)

Nothing contained herein is intended to modify or abridge the provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Government Code Section 81000, et. seq.) The provisions of this Code are in addition to Government Code Section 87100 and other laws pertaining to conflicts of interest, including, but not limited to, Government Code Section 1090, et. seq.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this chapter is for any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter. The city council hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase be declared invalid.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

(a) The city manager and executive officer of any local government agency with jurisdiction wholly within the city shall have the power to designate positions for disclosure required by this chapter on an interim basis pending council review pursuant to subsection (b) herein. Such designations shall be made if the city manager or executive officer determines that the position entails the making or participating in the making of decisions which may foreseeably have a material effect on financial interests

(b) Review of this chapter shall be made by the city council by October 1 of each even-numbered year in accordance with Government Code Section 87306.5, at which time interim designations may be incorporated herein.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

Each official who serves on any of the following boards, commissions, and committees shall comply with all of the provisions of this chapter in the same manner as a public official:

Airport Commission;

Grievance Board;

Historic Resource Board;

Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (Measure E);

Independent Citizens Oversight Board (Measure G);

Library and Community Services Commission;

Planning Commission (only in the event disclosure is no longer required pursuant to Government Code Section 87200);

Public Art Commission;

Successor Agency to the former Salinas Redevelopment Agency;

Traffic and Transportation Commission.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017; Ord. No. 2608(NCS), § 2, 10-9-2018; Ord. No. 2368(NCS), § 2, 10-13-2020; Ord. No. 2659(NCS), § 2, 10-18-2022; Ord. No. 2680(NCS), § 3, 9-10-2024)

Designated employees must disqualify themselves from making, participating in making, or using their official positions to influence the making of any kind of financial decision when the employee has a financial interest as defined in Government Code Section 87103 and it is reasonably foreseeable that the financial interest may be affected materially by the decision as outlined in Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations, Division 6. No designated employee shall be required to disqualify himself or herself with respect to any matter which could not legally be acted upon or decided without his or her participation.

(Ord. No. 2586(NCS), § 1, 2-7-2017)

If a public official fails to timely file a statement of economic interest (Form 700), they may be liable for a late fine pursuant to Government Code Section 91013. The case will be referred to the Fair Political Practices Commission's Enforcement Division, and a penalty of up to five thousand dollars may be imposed.

(Ord. No. 2680(NCS), § 4, 9-10-2024)