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The board has a
policy addressing conflict of interest for its members.
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Compliance
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Narrative
St. Petersburg
College is in compliance with this comprehensive standard because
members of the Board of Trustees are required to adhere to the Florida
Statutes regarding conflicts of interest.
State of Florida
policies addressing conflict of interest
Florida Statutes
112.311 and 112.326, Code
of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees,
address conflict of interest for Board members of Florida public
academic institutions. As provided under the code of ethics for public
officers, the term “public officer” includes any person elected or
appointed to hold office in any agency, including any person serving on
an advisory body. Not only the Board of Trustees, but SPC employees as
well, are holders of the public trust and are therefore subject to
Florida’s Code of Ethics for Public Employees.
The legislative
intent of the Code of Ethics is stated in 112.311: “It is essential to
the proper conduct and operation of government that public officials be
independent and impartial and that public office not be used for private
gain other than the remuneration provided by law.” The statute further
states:
Excerpt from 112.311 Legislative
intent and declaration of policy
(5) It is the
policy of the state that no officer or employee … shall have any
interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect; engage in any
business transaction or professional activity; or incur any
obligation of any nature which is in substantial conflict with the
proper discharge of his or her duties in the public interest. To
implement this policy there is a code of ethics [included in the
statute] setting forth standards of conduct required of state,
county, and city officers and employees, and of officers and
employees of other political subdivisions of the state, in the
performance of their official duties.
The fundamental
tenet of this policy is stewardship of public interest:
Excerpt from 112.311 Legislative
intent and declaration of policy
(1) It is
essential to the proper conduct and operation of government that
public officials be independent and impartial and that public office
not be used for private gain other than the remuneration provided by
law. The public interest, therefore, requires that the law protect
against any conflict of interest and establish standards for the
conduct of elected officials and government employees in situations
where conflicts may exist.
(6) It is
declared to be the policy of the state that public officers and
employees, state and local, are agents of the people and hold their
positions for the benefit of the public. … Such officers and
employees are bound to observe, in their official acts, the highest
standards of ethics consistent with this code and the advisory
opinions rendered with respect hereto regardless of personal
considerations, recognizing that promoting the public interest and
maintaining the respect of the people in their government must be of
foremost concern.
Policies and
procedures for submitting information on potential conflicts of interest
are detailed in Florida Statute112.3145, Disclosure of financial
interests, including timelines, sources of income, liabilities, and
penalties for non-compliance.
The State of
Florida also recognizes that highly qualified individuals for Boards of
Trustees will be involved in business activities that intersect with the
educational community and does not disqualify such individuals from
public service:
Excerpt from 112.311 Legislative
intent and declaration of policy
(2) It is also
essential that government attract those citizens best qualified to
serve. Thus, the law against conflict of interest must be so
designed as not to impede unreasonably or unnecessarily the
recruitment and retention by government of those best qualified to
serve. Public officials should not be denied the opportunity,
available to all other citizens, to acquire and retain private
economic interests except when conflicts with the responsibility of
such officials to the public cannot be avoided.
Given the
possibility that public officials will have private economic interests
that could have the perception of a conflict of interest, the
Constitution of the State of Florida requires officials to make a public
financial disclosure of their interests.
Excerpt from Article II,
SECTION 8. Ethics in government
A public
office is a public trust. The people shall have the right to secure
and sustain that trust against abuse. To assure this right:
(a) All
elected constitutional officers and candidates for such offices and,
as may be determined by law, other public officers, candidates, and
employees shall file full and public disclosure of their financial
interests.
Members of the
Board of Trustees receive no compensation but may receive reimbursement
for expenses.
Implementation
of the policies
To comply with the
constitutional requirement that Board members clearly identify potential
conflicts of interests, including contractual, employment, and personal
or familial financial interests, Board members are required to file a
Statement of Financial Interest annually with the Commission on
Ethics, even if they hold no financial interests requiring disclosure.
Each Board member files their Statement of Financial Interest
form annually with the Clerk of the Court. The Board Recording
Secretary maintains a copy of the forms filed with the Clerk for
reference should a voting issue arises.
In addition, Board
members provide to the Board Clerk and Secretary to the Board disclosure
of any potential areas of conflict. For example, Evelyn Bilirakis noted
for the Board that her son is an adjunct professor at the College.
Members of the
board may not participate in any matter that comes before the board that
has the potential to create a private gain or loss for the member, the
member’s organization, or a relative or business associate without
disclosing the nature of their interest in the matter.
Whenever any of the
areas described in the “Statement of Financial Interest” form are
discussed by the Board, the involved Board member recuses him- or
herself from participating in the discussion or voting on the issue.
For example, the Board of Trustees’ minutes on March 20, 2003, recorded
one Board member abstention as follows:
Excerpt from Board of Trustees
minutes, 03-20-03
Mr. Johnston requested that Item
IX-D.8 be voted on separately, as he desired to abstain from voting
due to a potential conflict of interest. He noted that he is no
longer president of the Florida International Museum (FIM), but is
still involved, and wanted to eliminate any future conflict. He
stated he felt this move was in the best interest of the college and
FIM, even though any past conflict of interest on his part was
always fully declared.
Conflict of
interest regarding collective action by the Board of Trustees
Florida statutes
provide some protection from action against individuals of the Board of
Trustees by virtue of its status as a corporation.
Excerpt from 1001.63 Community
college board of trustees; board of trustees to constitute a corporation
Each community college board of
trustees is constituted a body corporate by the name of "The
District Board of Trustees of
(name of community college),
Florida" with all the powers and duties of a body corporate,
including the power to adopt a corporate seal, to contract and be
contracted with, to sue or be sued, to plead and be impleaded in all
courts of law or equity, and to give and receive donations. In all
suits against a board of trustees, service of process shall be made
on the chair of the board of trustees or, in the absence of the
chair, the corporate secretary or designee of the chair.
Conflict of
interest policy regarding actions taken by individual Board members
The Florida Statute
112.311
addresses the circumstances under which
individual actions are liable for disciplinary action:
Excerpt from 112.311 Legislative
intent and declaration of policy
(5) … It is the intent of the
Legislature that this code shall serve not only as a guide for the
official conduct of public servants in this state, but also as a
basis for discipline of those who violate the provisions of this
part.
Florida
Constitution Article II, paragraph 8(c) prescribes the disciplinary
action for such Board members who might use their position for financial
gain:
Excerpt from Florida Constitution
Article II
8
(c). Any public officer or employee who breaches the public trust
for private gain and any person or entity inducing such breach shall
be liable to the state for all financial benefits obtained by such
actions. The manner of recovery and additional damages may be
provided by law.
Protecting the
integrity of the institution
The Florida Statute
on Public Officers and Employees provides the institution with the
necessary guidance to protect the integrity of the institution:
Excerpt from 112.311 Legislative
intent and declaration of policy
(4) It is the intent of this act
to implement these objectives of protecting the integrity of
government and of facilitating the recruitment and retention of
qualified personnel by prescribing restrictions against conflicts of
interest without creating unnecessary barriers to public service.
In addition, the
State of Florida has a number of other regulations that protect the
public interest, including Florida Statute 112.3146 Public records,
286.011 Public meetings and records; public inspection, and
112.313, Standards of
conduct for public officers.
Informing Board
members of conflict of interest policies
Board members are
informed of the State of Florida conflict of interest policies when
appointed to the board and provided with the form, “Board Disclosure
Information to Determine Possible Areas of Ethical Conflict” to
complete. Upon appointment to the College’s Board of Trustees, each new
member receives a personal orientation session with the President and a
comprehensive manual covering their roles, responsibilities, and ethical
obligations. First on the table of contents are the ethical obligations
imposed by the State, including conflict of interest. In addition, the
College provides links to additional articles from the Association of
Community College Trustees (ACCT) regarding ethics in higher education.
The most recent Board member received his orientation on June 14th,
2006.
Excerpt from
Board of Trustees Resource Manual
table of contents
St. Petersburg College
2006-07 Board of Trustees
Resource Manual
T A B L E O F C O N T E
N T S
ETHICS & STATE/LOCAL
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
1.
Florida Commission on Ethics
http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/
2.
Guide to the Sunshine Amendment and Code of Ethics for Public
Officers and Employees
http://www.ethics.state.fl.us/publications/Guide_2006.pdf#search=%2
2Guide%20to%20the%20Sunshine%20Amendment%202006%22
3.
Code of Ethics and Government in the Sunshine
4.
College Attorney Memo
…
THE ROLE AND RESPONSBILITY
OF A TRUSTEE …
1.
From ACCT – “What are Ethics?”
http://www.acct.org/CenterEffectiveGovernance.asp?bid=82
2.
From ACCT – Trustee Code of Ethics
http://www.acct.org/CenterEffectiveGovernance.asp?bid=88
In addition to the
College Attorney for St. Petersburg College, the Board of Trustees has
established its own Board Attorney. Ethics and Government in the
Sunshine briefings are regular discussions at Board meetings.
Example of discussion regarding the
role of the Board of Trustees 01-18-05
05-006.
Board Attorney Lang reported on a matter of recommended dismissal
for SPC employee …, as referenced in the Petition for Dismissal and
Notice of Public Hearing Rights included in the Board packet. …
Chairman Burke stated this is a very serious matter that needs to be
carefully handled in accordance with procedures set forth by the
Board and the State, and through guidance provided by the Board
Attorney. He said the Board wants to follow the due process so both
parties are treated fairly. For this case, Mr. Lang recommended a
transfer of the Board’s fact-finding mission to the State Department
of Administration, Division of Administrative Hearings, who will
appoint an administrative law judge, thereby allowing the Respondent
an opportunity to present his side. Mr. Lang said the Board’s role
in this case is to ensure that both the College staff and the
Respondent get a full hearing and that discussion of the charges at
this point would not be appropriate.
Board members are
reminded prior to each Board meeting to consider possible conflicts of
interest through the inclusion of a recusal form in every Board packet.
The Board Recording Secretary checks annually and monthly to ensure
forms are available and submitted to the appropriate agency when
required.
To ensure the
Board was familiar with the latest revisions to the Board of Trustees
Resource Manual, the Board’s attorney updated the Board with a summary
of the information regarding conflicts of interest.
Excerpt from Board of Trustees
minutes, 09-18-06
Mr. Lang presented an overview of
the [updated Board of Trustees Resource Manual for 2006-07
(previously provided to each trustee)], specifically addressing
areas of ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, and the Sunshine
Amendment. He commended the Board for its ethical behavior, both
individually and collectively over the years, and expounded on the
trustees’ ethical obligations, as follows:
Solicitation/Receiving of Gifts – It is best not to accept gifts
at all and, if they do, any gifts worth more than $100 must be
reported in accordance with the Code of Ethics.
Conflicts of
Interest – If a trustee’s business would stand to gain by Board
action, the conflict of interest must be announced and the
appropriate form filed with the Board clerk.
Sunshine
Amendment – Perception can do as much damage as actual
violation. Violations are enforceable through civil penalty for up
to $10,000. Therefore, it is recommended that trustees:
(1) Avoid
talking with another SPC Board member through any form of
communication (telephone, email, in-person, etc.) about College
matters that might come before the Board for action, unless notice
of the “meeting” is appropriately published.
(2)
Socialization is permissible, although it is best to avoid
College-related discussion. This is a fine line.
(3) Avoid
use of a liaison (non-Board member) through any form of
communication. This is prohibited other than for communicating
information only, such as explaining a matter that may come before
the Board, as is often done by the Board Attorney or College
President.
Mr. Lang encouraged the
trustees to read through and learn the entire manual. He said it is
the intention of the College staff to keep it current as updates
become available. Mr. Gibbons noted that, in reading the manual, he
felt it was very informative, particularly as a new Board member.
Board members
also received the Employee Tip of the Week packet, which
addresses conflict of interest and other applicable issues, when it was
developed for College employees by SPC’s Applied Ethics Institute in
2006:
Sample Employee Tip of the Week
The St. Petersburg
College Board of Trustees has been a leader in the field of Ethics,
having established a General Education requirement in the 1980s for an
Applied Ethics course for all students seeking an Associate of Arts or
Associate of Science degree. The College’s Applied Ethics Institute (AEI)
was established by the Board in 1999. The Institute’s mission is to
provide Applied Ethics education and resources to SPC students, to local
businesses and professional organizations, and to our community at
large.
St. Petersburg
College has had no any incidents resulting from a conflict of interest
of any Board of Trustee member.
References
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