§ 2-223. Gifts.

(a)

General rule. A city official or employee shall not solicit, accept, or agree to accept any gift or benefit with a cumulative annual value of over one hundred dollars ($100.00):

(1)

That reasonably tends to influence or reward official conduct; or

(2)

That, if known to the public, might reasonably be perceived as tending to influence or reward the discharge of official duties.

(b)

Special applications. Subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) do not include:

(1)

A gift to a city official or employee relating to a special occasion, such as a wedding, anniversary, graduation, birth, illness, death, or holiday, provided that the value of the gift is fairly commensurate with the occasion and the relationship between the donor and recipient;

(2)

Reimbursement of reasonable expenses for travel authorized in accordance with city policies;

(3)

A public award or reward for meritorious service or professional achievement, provided that the award or reward is reasonable in light of the occasion;

(4)

Ordinary social hospitality;

(5)

A loan from a lending institution made in its regular course of business on the same terms generally available to the public;

(6)

A scholarship or fellowship awarded on the same terms and based on the same criteria that are applied to other applicants; or

(7)

Admission to an event in which the city official or employee is participating in connection with official duties.

(c)

Campaign contribution exception. The general rule stated in subsection (a) does not apply to a lawful campaign contribution.

(d)

Gifts to closely related persons. A city official or employee shall take reasonable steps to persuade the following persons not to solicit, accept, or agree to accept any gift or benefit which would violate subsection (a) if the official or employee solicited, accepted, or agreed to accept it:

(1)

A parent, spouse, child, or other relative within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, or

(2)

An outside business associate.

If a city official or employee required to file a financial disclosure report under subdivision G knows that such a gift or benefit has been accepted and retained by a person within subsections (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this rule, the official or employee shall promptly file a report with the city secretary's office disclosing the donor, the value of the gift or benefit, the recipient, and the recipient to the official or employee filing the report. The city secretary shall then present such report to the ethics review committee at their next regular scheduled meeting. The committee will assess each individual case and take the appropriate action necessary.

(e)

Definition. For purposes of this rule, the term "outside business associate" includes a person if both that person and the city official or employee own, with respect to the same business entity:

(1)

Ten (10) percent or more of the voting stock or shares of the business entity, or

(2)

Ten (10) percent or more, or fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) or more, of the fair market value of the business entity.

(Ord. No. 06-22, § 1(part B, § 3), 9-5-2006)