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Advisory opinion as to whether Sheriff Steven McCain's business, Hillview Pecans, may continue to sell pecans to Despino Tire, a local tire dealership. |
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Sheriff McCain was recently sworn in as the Sheriff of Grant Parish on July, 1, 2012. For fourteen years he has owned a pecan business known as Hillview Pecans. One of the customers he typically sells pecans to during the Christmas season is Despino Tire. According to a follow-up correspondence, Hillview Pecans typically earns between $4000 - $5400 in sales to Despino Tire annually.
Sheriff McCain's issue is that the Grant Parish Sheriff's Department does business with Despino Tire. The Sheriff's Department does not have an ongoing contractual relationship with the tire company, but the department buys tires on an "as needed" basis. Despino Tire is not the only tire dealership in which the Sheriff's Department conducts business, but rather the department buys from several dealerships. There is not a pattern as to how regularly the department buys tires from Despino's, but an estimate would be about every eight weeks with transactions typically ranging between $400 - $600.
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Section 1111C(2)(d) of the Code of Ethics states that a legal entity of which a public servant exercises control or owns an interest great than twenty-five percent may not receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services which are performed for or compensated by a person who has or is seeking to obtain a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant's agency.
"Service" means the performance of work, duties, or responsibilities, or the leasing, rental or sale of movable or immovable property.
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Adopt proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Brent Durham |
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