| Advisory opinion request as to whether Alison McCrary, Director of the Community-Police Mediation Program may assist Community Mediation Services of New Orleans in varying capacities. |
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Alison McCrary is employed as the Director of the Community-Police Mediation Program in the Office of the Independent Police Monitor for the City of New Orleans. Community Mediation Services of New Orleans ("CMS") is a local 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free and low cost community mediation services to private parties around the New Orleans area. In the last two years, CMS has collaborated with the New Orleans Office of the Independent Police Monitor in the development and implementation of the Community-Police Mediation Program. CMS entered into a contract with the City of New Orleans and was paid to recruit and select the first class of Community-Police mediators and to provide in-service training in 2014 and 2015. All of the contracted work has been completed and monies paid in 2015.
CMS also contracted with the City of New Orleans to distribute stipends to mediators which are paid to the Community-Police Mediation Program through a grant from Baptist Community Ministries. The distribution of the stipends is done by CMS at no charge to the City of New Orleans. CMS would like for Ms. McCrary to assist their organization by (1) serving as an uncompensated member of the Board of Directors for CMS; (2) serving as an uncompensated member of an advisory board to provide general advice to guide CMS; or (3) providing compensated hourly work as a consultant to assist with non-profit development, strategy, and creating a process for intake, training, case management, and quality control of future community mediators. As part of Ms. McCrary's job duties as Director of the Community-Police Mediation Program, she recruits, selects, trains and supervises mediators who handle mediations between civilians and police officers regarding possible misconduct.
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La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) prohibits a public servant from receiving compensation for services rendered to any person who has a business, contractual or financial relationship with the public servant's agency.
La. R.S. 42:1111C(1)(a) prohibits a public servant from receiving any thing of economic value for any service, the subject matter of which is devoted substantially to the responsibilities, programs, or operations of the agency of the public servant and in which the public servant has participated.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jennifer Land |
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