| Advisory opinion request regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics prohibits a City of New Orleans employee from participating in FEMA's Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program, which is administered by the City and requires each participant to enter into a Voluntary Elevation Agreement with the City. |
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The Hazard Mitigation Office of the City of New Orleans (the "City") administers the City's participation in FEMA's Flood Mitigation Assistance ("FMA") grant program. The City, as a subrecipient of the State of Louisiana's award, distributes federal funding to eligible participating homeowners for architectural and construction activities as part of approved mitigation projects. The City enters into a Voluntary Elevation Agreement ("VEA") with each participating homeowner. The VEA includes the following provision:
Section C. Prohibition of Financial Interest in Agreement. No elected official or employee of the City shall have a financial interest, direct or indirect, in this Agreement. For purposes of this provision, a financial interest held by the spouse, child, or parent of any elected official or employee of the City shall be deemed to be a financial interest of such elected official or employee of the City. Any willful violation of this provision, with the expressed or implied knowledge of Property Owner(s), shall render this Agreement voidable by the City and shall entitle the City to recover, in addition to any other rights and remedies available to the City, all monies paid by the City to Property Owner(s) pursuant to this Agreement without regard to Property Owner(s)' otherwise satisfactory performance of the Agreement.
Reade Nossaman, a homeowner who initially applied for the FMA grant program through the City's Hazard Mitigation Office in 2021 but was not selected, reapplied in 2022 after he became employed by the New Orleans Aviation Board on September 6, 2022. The New Orleans Aviation Board is an agency under the City's executive branch of government and governs the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
In January 2023, the Hazard Mitigation Office submitted Mr. Nossaman's FMA grant application to FEMA, and his application for the 2022 fiscal year was approved on September 18, 2024. Mr. Nossaman, who meets all of FEMA's eligibility requirements for participation in the FMA grant program, is prepared to enter into the VEA with the City and begin work on his home. The City's Legal Department believes that this instance of potential financial interest is not the type of situation that the VEA provision referenced above intends to prohibit.
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La. R.S. 42:1113A(1)(a): No public servant, excluding any legislator and any appointed member of any board of commission and any member of a governing authority of a parish with a population of ten thousand or less, or member of such a public servant's immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a) defines "agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(vi) defines "agency" for public servants of political subdivisions to mean the agency in which the public servant serves.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a) defines "public employee" to mean anyone, whether compensated or not, who is: (i) An administrative officer or official of a governmental entity who is not filling an elective office. (ii) Appointed by any elected official when acting in an official capacity, and the appointment is to a post or position wherein the appointee is to serve the governmental entity or an agency thereof, either as a member of an agency, or as an employee thereof. (iii) Engaged in the performance of a governmental function. (iv) Under the supervision or authority of an elected official or another employee of the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" to mean a public employee or an elected official.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion draft.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jessica Meiners |
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