HomeMy WebLinkAboutEthics_Rules-of-Procedure_1980 April 28 , 1980
RULES OF PROCEDURE
BOARD OF ETHICS OF THE CITY OF LANSING
1. Regular meetings of the Board of Ethics shall be held at
2 : 00 p.m. on the fourth Monday of every month at the Chambers
of the City Council or at such other place as may be designated by
the presiding officer of the Board of Ethics or by a majority of
the members of the Board of Ethics .
2 . Special meetings of the Board of Ethics may be called by
the presiding officer of the Board of Ethics or any two members of
the Board of Ethics. Notice of any such special meeting shall be
provided to each member of the Board of Ethics by personally serving
notice of the time, place and subject matter of such special meeting
on each member or, alternatively, by leaving a written copy of the
notice of the time, place and subject matter of the meeting at the
private residence of such members at least twenty four hours prior
to the time of said meeting or by sending notice of the time, place
and subject matter of such a meeting to each member of the Board of
Ethics by first class mail, postage prepaid addressed to the home
address of each such member with such mailing being made at least
five days prior to the time of the meeting. The requirement of
proper notice to a member of a special meeting shall be waived by
the attendance of such member at the special meeting.
3 . Notice of the time and place of all meetings of the Board
of Ethics shall be posted on the City Hall bulletin board on the
first floor of City Hall at least eighteen hours prior to each
meeting.
4 . All meetings shall be open to attendance by members of
the public except where the Board enters executive session for a
reason for which an executive s7�'s'.'':,Permissible pursuant to the
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Open Meetings Act of the State of Michigan as it now exists and may
be amended in the future. (PA 1976 , No. 267 , MCLA 15 . 261 et seq. )
5 . Any member of the public so desiring will be permitted a
chance to address the Board of Ethics at any open meeting of the
Board of Ethics for at least three minutes .
6. Any public member of the Board of Ethics who fails to attend
three consecutive meetings of the Board without being excused from
attendance by a vote of majority of the Board may be removed from the
Board of Ethics . Such removal may be affected by a majority vote of
the Board members of the Board of Ethics plus the concurrence of a
majority of the members of the Lansing City Council in such removal.
7. The officers of the Board of Ethics shall be a Chairperson,
Vice Chairperson and Secretary.
7. 1. The Chairperson shall preside over all meetings of
the Board of Ethics and shall be selected annually for a term of one
year from among the public members of the Board of Ethics . The
affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Board of Ethics
shall be required to select a Chairperson.
7 . 2 . The terms of office for the Chairperson and Vice
Chairperson shall expire upon resignation or removal of that person
from the Board of Ethics or upon the date of June 30th of each year
or the election of a successor whichever shall later occur.
7. 3. The Vice Chairperson shall preside and perform the
duties of the Chairperson in the case of the absence of or inability
of the Chairperson to perform his or her duties.
7 . 4 . The Secretary of the Board of Ethics shall be the
City Clerk and shall be responsible for preparing and keeping the
minutes and records of the Board.
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8 . The minutes of the Board of Ethics shall be kept in the
office of the City Clerk and shall be available for inspection
by members of the public except for the minutes of Executive sessions
which were closed pursuant to the Open Meetings Act of the State
of Michigan. All other records of the Board of Ethics shall be
available for inspection and duplication by the public unless the
release of such records to the public is prohibited by law or unless
law permits such records to be withheld from the public and the Board
of Ethics approves the withholding of such records .
9 . Membership of the Board of Ethics shall consist of the
City Attorney and City Clerk of the City of Lansing and three public
members who shall be appointed by the Lansing City Council as provided
by the Lansing City Charter .
10. A quorum of the Board of Ethics for the purpose of conducting
business shall be three members of the Board.
11. Any action of the Board of Ethics shall require the concurrence
of three members of the Board at a properly convened meeting of the
Board.
12 . The Board shall consider all requests for advisory opinions
at the meeting first following receipt of the request.
12 . 1. All requests for advisory opinions shall be submitted
in writing to the Lansing City Clerk .
12 . 2 . Any other member of the Board of Ethics receiving
a request for an advisory opinion shall immediately forward such
request to the Lansing City Clerk.
12 . 3. Each request for an advisory opinion shall be signed
by the person making the request.
12 . 4 . Upon receipt of a request for an advisory opinion,
the Lansing City Clerk shall forthwith forward a copy of such request
to each member of the Board of Ethics . At the next meeting following
receipt of a request for an advisory opinion, the Board of Ethics
shall determine whether or not it will render an advisory opinion in
response to the request therefor.
12 . 5. In the event the Board of Ethics elects to prepare
an advisory opinion in response to a request, the City Attorney shall
prior to the next meeting of the Board of Ethics after the decision to
render the opinion is made , research all legal aspects of the opinion
requested and prepare an advisory memorandum to all members of the
Board setting forth the results of that research and making such
recommendations as the City Attorney shall deem advisable. A copy
of that memorandum shall be provided all members of the Board of Ethics
prior to or at the time of the next meeting of the Board of Ethics
and the City Attorney or his representative shall be present at
said meeting to advise the Board.
12 . 6 . No advisory opinion shall be rendered by the Board
of Ethics unless the substance and final text of said opinion is
concurred in by at least three members of the Board of Ethics .
12 . 7 . Preliminary drafts and research memorandums prepared
in connection with any request for an advisory opinion shall not
constitute the view or position of the Board of Ethics of the City
of Lansing nor shall such memorandum or draft opinions be released
to or made available for inspection by the public unless such
inspection or release is approved by three members of the Board of
Ethics at a duly convened meeting or unless such disclosure is ordered
by a Court of law or administrative agency with competent
jurisdiction to make such an order or unless the City Attorney of the
City of Lansing advises in writing that the release or inspection
of such papers is legally required. Provided, however , that once
final opinion has been approved and released, all memorandums and
written recommendations by the City Attorney ' s office shall be
available for inspection.
12 . 8 . The approval of an advisory opinion of the Board of
Ethics shall be by roll call vote which shall be recorded in the
minutes of the Board.
13. All points of procedure not specifically covered in this
document shall be determined by reference to Masons Legislative
Manual.
14 . On a tie vote a motion is lost and no action of the Board
has been taken.
15 . Advisory opinions of the Board shall be issued and dealt
with in a manner least likely to reveal the identity of the person
concerned. Upon receipt of an opinion request the City Clerk may,
in his or her discretion, delete the name of the person involved,
substituting therefor any other designation which is not likely to be
confused with any other person.
16 . At the first meeting of each calendar year , the Board of
Ethics shall request the City Clerk to provide the Board with any
documents required to be filed under ordinances adopted by the City
of Lansing for the purpose of establishing standards of conduct for
officers and employees . Upon receipt of such documents , the Board
of Ethics shall review the same in a timely fashion and may take
such action regarding said documents as it deems proper.
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