| Advisory opinion request regarding whether the Code of
Governmental Ethics would prohibit Kerry Hill from serving as alderman for the Town of Farmerville under four different circumstances. Farmerville is in Union Parish and has a population of 3,717. |
|
Kerry Hill qualified as candidate for Alderman of the Town of Farmerville, Louisiana, on July 20, 2020. He stated that he and his brother, Scott Hill, owned Hill Oil Company, LLC. The Town of Farmerville purchased fuel and other petroleum products from Hill Oil. Kerry Hill previously served as Alderman from 2001 until 2008. Kerry Hill sold his interest in the oil company because of a prior ethics violation in BD 2005-086 which determined that Hill Oil Company was doing business with the Town of Farmerville while he served as Alderman.
Hill Oil was sold to Reladyne Transportation and Reladyne Reliability Services, Inc. (hereafter Reladyne). Scott Hill retained a minority share, less than 5%, of the stock when Hill Oil was sold to Reladyne. Neither Kerry nor Scott Hill have a controlling interest in Reladyne.
Additionally, Kerry Hill stated that the only connection he currently has to Reladyne is that he leases them a warehouse. Further, Scott Hill leases property to Reladyne. Kerry Hill provided that Reladyne continues to have a business relationship with the Town of Farmerville. Kerry Hill has a renewal clause in his lease contract with Reladyne that will come due in 2021. He anticipates the terms will remain the same and the renewal will not require any action on his part.
|
|
La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d)
provides for payments from nonpublic sources as follows:
C.(2) No public servant and no legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services rendered, or to be rendered, to or for any person during his public service unless such services are: (d) Neither performed for nor compensated by any person from whom such public servant would be prohibited by R.S. 42:1115(A)(1) or (B) from receiving a gift.… (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (2)(d) of
this Subsection, an elected official shall not be prohibited for a period of
not more than ninety days following the first day of his initial term of office
from receiving compensation from a person from whom he would be prohibited by
R.S. 42:1115(A)(1) from receiving a gift for the completion while in office of
any contract or subcontract which was entered into prior to his initial
election to office, provided that such contract or subcontract is written and
includes established terms for compensation and completion and that such
contract or subcontract shall not be renewed after his initial election. Within
thirty days of taking office, the elected official shall file a written notice
of such contract or subcontract with his governmental entity and the Board of
Ethics, setting forth the nature of the contract or subcontract, the
established completion date, and the established compensation therefor.
La. R.S. 42:1115A. No public servant shall solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, anything of economic value as a gift or gratuity from any person or from any officer, director, agent, or employee of such person, if such public servant knows or reasonably should know that such person:
(1) Has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency.
La. R.S. 42:1112
A.prohibits a public servant from participating in a transaction in which he has a personal substantial economic interest of which he may be reasonably expected to know involving the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1114
A. provides that each public servant and each member of his immediate family who derives anything of economic value, directly, through any transaction involving the agency of such public servant or who derives any thing of economic value of which he may be reasonably expected to know through a person which (1) is regulated by the agency of such public servant, or (2) has bid on or entered into or is in any way financially interested in any contract, subcontract, or any transaction under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant shall disclose certain information as set forth in Section 1114.
La. R.S. 42:1120
provides that an elected official shall recuse himself from the vote to avoid a violation of La. R.S. 42:1112; and, the elected official shall not be prohibited from participating in the discussion and debate concerning the matter provided the elected official makes a disclosure of the conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest a part of the record of his agency prior to his participation in the discussion or debate and prior to the vote.
|
|
|
Adopt draft advisory opinion.
|
|
| Assigned Attorney: |
Suzanne Mooney |
|
|