Michael Heidingsfelder wrote the conflict of interest policy’s first draft.
Looks like it is back to the drawing board for the Town of Kiawah Island’s conflict of interest policy.
It was Council Member Michael Heidingsfelder who pinned the policy and presented it at the September 5 Town Council meeting. He said the policy was created in response to voiced concerns at the February retreat earlier this year.
“We decided to give a task to a small group to discuss a conflict of interest policy, despite the fact that we are covered under South Carolina law in that respect, but we all felt we wanted to be a little more specific in certain things, especially from a procedural point of view, and we need to be clear on how the conflict of interest policy should be handled,” he said.
Heidingsfelder came up with the policy presented with the help of the Town’s HR consultant, Town Administrator Stephanie Tillerson and the Town Attorney Joe Wilson.
Although the policy reflects all good intentions, other Council Members, like John Moffitt and Bradley Belt, questioned some of the wording.
For example, Belt wanted to know who exactly reviewed and approved the conflict of interest forms and what the process was with getting them approved or denied. Tillerson normally only approves or denies the COI forms for staff, but the policy presented appeared to be unclear on that process.
Heidingsfelder chimed in, “It is not intended to be the town administrator to judge these forms. What needs to be done is if the form is filled out and it discloses a COI, then the question is who will review it. It would need to be the mayor, town administrator and the town attorney.”
Belt also noted that the policy refers to a “failure to disclose a potential conflict of interest could result in disciplinary action.” He asked who would be determining the action to take in that matter and what criteria that would be based on. “Would there be a public hearing process for something like that?” he asked. “What is the process to follow to remove a volunteer or dismiss an employee?”
Tillerson answered saying that Council appoints the volunteers, with the exception of the Turtle Patrol, so that would come to them as a recommendation from staff and that would be something they would discuss publicly. She added that Council always has the right to remove a volunteer at any time.
She said that if it was an employee, that would be something she would speak to the mayor about. She added that if the COI was against a member of Council, then that would have to be reported to the South Carolina Ethics Commission.
Mayor John Labriola asked Tillerson to review the HR Manual to be sure that it was specific when it comes to the COI policy as well.
Belt also explained that the acceptance of gifts needs to be defined and what exactly is prohibited behavior on that front.
Moffitt commented that he wanted to know, “What does strictest confidence mean? Is it only a need-to-know basis? Is it for everyone? What’s the disposition when something is uncovered? it’s not clear. I know we talk about how we would do it here in this meeting, but it doesn’t say that anywhere, so I would say it needs work.”
Heidingsfelder agreed, “We can rework this to be more explicit. If we want to be ironclad, we can add those respective items.
The purpose of the policy is to define what a conflict of interest entails for the Town of Kiawah Island’s employees, volunteers and elected officials. Once the conflict of interest is identified, the policy would also define how it would be addressed and then mitigated if action needs to be taken.
As it stands, the policy presented to Council stated: “All employees and volunteers serving the Town of Kiawah Island are expected to exhibit and promote the highest standards of honest and ethical conduct in all dealings related to the business of the Town. This means that, in working or volunteering for the Town of Kiawah Island, employees and volunteers are expected to act solely in the best interest of the Town and not in their personal interest or in the interest of others.”
Positions that would be held accountable to a conflict of interest Policy would be:
1. Anyone who is legally employed by the Town of Kiawah Island (no matter if full-time or part-time).
2. An elected community member serving on the Council of the Town of Kiawah Island.
3. An appointed community member serving on a Commission, Board or Committee of the Town of Kiawah Island.
4. A community member selected to participate in a Work Group or Task Force Team for a particular purpose defined by the Town of Kiawah Island.
Many examples were given in the policy, such as:
a. A Town Official is expending Town of Kiawah Island funds for personal gain.
b. A Town Official is purchasing or influencing the purchase of equipment, goods or services for the Town to use or with the Town’s funds from individuals, firms or organizations in which the employee or his/her immediate family members have a financial interest.
c. A Town Official is using the Town’s assets to support an external business.
d. A Town Official is hiring or supervising family members or closely related persons.
e. A Town Official is accepting gifts, discounts, favors or services worth $25 or more from an individual, firm or organization unless it can be and is shared by Town of Kiawah Island employees.
f. A Town Official owns or has a substantial interest in a supplier or contractor to the Town of Kiawah Island.
g. A Town Official is placing the Town’s business with a firm owned or controlled by a Town of Kiawah Island employee or his or her family.
h. A Town Official is using proprietary and/or confidential information for personal gain or to the Town’s detriment.
i. A Town Official has direct or indirect personal, professional or financial interests in or with the Kiawah Island Community Association, South Street Partners (and affiliates), Kiawah Partners (and affiliates) Kiawah Island Resort Associates (and affiliates), KDP II LLC (and affiliates), Kiawah Island Club and Real Estate (and affiliates), Kiawah Island Real Estate, LLC (and affiliates), Kiawah Island Golf Resort (and affiliates, including Riverstone), or any utility company (or affiliates) providing good or services to the Town of Kiawah Island.
A conflict of interest or unethical behavior can take many forms and shapes and generally fall into the following categories, and are prohibited:
• Misuse of Official Position — Using an official position to get something you are not entitled to or to get someone else something they are not entitled to.
• Acceptance of Gifts and Gratuities — Soliciting or accepting a gift because of your official position or because of something you can do or have done in your official position.
• Self-Dealing — Participating as a Town Official in a matter in which you, your immediate family, your business organization, or your future employer has a financial interest.
• Nepotism — Hiring or appointing a person related to an employee or volunteer for the Town of Kiawah Island requires disclosure and approval.
• Appearance of Conflict — Acting in a manner that would make a reasonable person think you can be improperly influenced.
• Divided Loyalties — Receiving pay from anyone other than the Town to work on a matter involving the Town. Acting as an agent or attorney for anyone other than the Town in a matter involving the Town (whether paid or not).
Ultimately, it was decided that the Town’s conflict of interest policy would be tabled until more clarifications and revisions could be made by the working group.