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10-27-2021 (Code of Ethics Subcommittee) Minutes Wylie Code of Ethics Subcommittee Minutes A October 27, 2021 —7:00 PM IN Council Conference Room - 300 Country Club Road, Building#100, Wylie, Texas 75098 �, ;� WYLIE CALL TO ORDER Mayor Porter called the regular meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. The following Subcommittee members were present: Councilman Strang and Councilman Mize. Staff present included: Interim City Manager Brent Parker and Assistant to the City Secretary Erin Day. Also present were Richard Abernathy and Mari McGowan of Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd& Hullett, P.C. INVOCATION& PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Porter led the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Any member of the public may address Council regarding an item that is not listed on the Agenda. Members of the public must fill out a form prior to the meeting in order to speak. Council requests that comments be limited to three minutes for an individual, six minutes for a group. In addition, Council is not allowed to converse, deliberate or take action on any matter presented during citizen participation. There were no citizens present wishing to address the Subcommittee. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Consider,and act upon,approval of July 15,2021 Regular Code of Ethics Subcommittee minutes. Subcommittee Action A motion was made by Councilman Mize, seconded by Councilman Strang, to approve Item 1 as presented. A vote was taken and motion passed 3-0. WORK SESSION Mayor Porter convened the Subcommittee into a Work Session at 7:04 p.m. WS1. Discuss the City of Wylie Code of Ethics Policy. Mayor Porter began the Work Session by saying the Subcommittee would be going through the drafted Code of Ethics revision that the City Attorney's office had provided. Mr. Abernathy advised they were all given a copy of the current version of the Code of Ethics as well as the draft, and comments from their staff regarding the Lrevisions. Mr. Abernathy began by introducing Mari McGowan, and gave some information on her credentials, including her 20 years in legal practice, she is a shareholder, and she has an employment law background. Page 11 Mr. Abernathy advised Code of Ethics are difficult to draft because there is an expectation that the regulations are clear, they are enforceable, and that they cover everything you want to cover. He also advised that they are recommending that the Code of Ethics be rephrased to Code of Conduct. The Subcommittee agreed to this change. • Section (7)(A)- Recommendation is to leave as is. • Section (7)(B)- Recommended changing the verbiage to include penal code law regarding confidentiality and to leave"or council rules."The Subcommittee agreed to the changes. • Section (7)(C) - Mr. Abernathy advised they suggest changes to restrictions to political activities to include verbiage regarding inducement of City employees by City officials. Mayor Porter requested clarification regarding speaking with City employees in an official capacity about running for an elected position. Mr. Abernathy clarified that you can speak to City employees during a campaign, but you cannot induce them to assist in a campaign. The Subcommittee agreed to the changes. • Section (7)(D) - The City Attorney's office suggested the verbiage regarding use of cell phones during a meeting to include "in which that City official was a member of the board, committee, or commission." Mr. Abernathy clarified that use of cell phones to gather information or make calculations was permissible, but no personal texting or communication regarding items on the agenda. The Subcommittee discussed also adding the verbiage "shall refrain from communicating on devices except under the provisions provided herein." • Section (7)(E)(3) - The City's Attorney's office added a general statement regarding conflicts of interest. They also included "use of City letterhead" to the list of City office supplies that are prohibited from use if it is not being used for"official city business."The Subcommittee agreed to the changes. • Section (7)(F) - Mr. Abernathy advised he does not suggest adding verbiage stating to "follow penal code" in regards to receiving gifts. He believes that the Code stating that it's a violation of the Code to violate either statute(Penal Code or Local Government Code) should suffice. The Subcommittee agreed. • Section (7)(G) - Regarding Prohibitions on Special Privileges, Mr. Abernathy advised they looked at Plano's policy and adopted it. Mayor Porter suggested with the new name change, that the Board of Ethics be changed to the Board of Review. The Subcommittee agreed. • Section (8)- Mr. Abernathy suggested in regard to the attorney reviewing complaints, that there should be an outside attorney so that the City Attorney is removed from the process. The Subcommittee agreed. Mr. Abernathy then asked about the process if a violation is found to be true, what should be the process for the investigation. He advised he thinks that it should go before Council, and that there should not be a Board of Review. Mayor Porter advised that if that were the case, that the citizens may have a fear that the Council would be voting for their fellow Councilmember unfairly. The Subcommittee discussed what the process should be. After discussion, the recommendation of the Subcommittee was that a qualified attorney looks at the complaint and issues an advisory opinion. If facts are true, and they do not constitute a violation, then the complaint is dismissed without going to the Board of Review. A letter from the attorney will go to both parties stating there is no violation. There is no right to appeal. If the complaint is not dismissed, it is referred to the Board. The respondent will have seven days to issue a response to the complaint. The Board has the option to dismiss or bring the complaint to Council. Council's decision is final.Neither the Board nor Council's decision can be appealed. • It was determined that the City Attorney's office would create two drafts for the Subcommittee's review, one with the Board of Review functioning, and one without a Board of Review. • The Subcommittee decided to have one more Subcommittee meeting to finalize decisions. RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION Mayor Porter reconvened the Subcommittee into Regular Session at 8:54 p.m. Page 12 ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilman Strang, seconded by Councilman Mize, to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. A vote was taken and motion passed 3-0. eitid., 6),' atthew Porter,Mayo ATTEST: c )n Stephanie Store City Secretary L L Page 13