Ethics Commission

ETHICS COMMISSION MEMBERS Carolyn Braun Peter Goldman Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at Jennifer Goodwin 5:00PM City Hall William Hayward Maria Maffucci Room 24 Rosemary Paine 389 Congress Street, Portland, ME Jennifer Wriggins This meeting will be held in-person. PUBLIC COMMENT INFORMATION: To submit written public comment on an agenda item, email ethics@portlandmaine.gov. Submissions must be received by 12:00 pm the day before the Ethics Commission meeting to guarantee their inclusion in the agenda packet. All submissions must include the commenter's name and legal address. To help ensure your comment is submitted for the correct item, please include the name of the agenda item (see below). AGENDA: 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting i. Ethics Meeting Minutes-December 2, 2025 4. Unfinished Business i. Draft Code of Ethics ii. Draft Conflict of Interest Policy 5. Hour Mark-10 Minute Recess 6. New Business 7. Next Meeting Date 8. Adjourn 1 Page 1  City of Portland-EthicsCommission Meeting Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 6:00 pm-Meeting Minutes Attendees (All Present) Carolyn Braun, Peter Goldman, Jennnifer Goodwin, Will Hayward, Maria Maffucci, Rosemary Paine, Jennifer Wiggins Staff: Rachel Millette (Associate Corporation Counsel), Ashley Rand (City Clerk) Agenda 1. Call to Order Peter Goldman (Chair) called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm 2. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting i. Ethics Meeting-Tuesday, October 28, 2025 Unanimous 3. Unfinished Business i. Draft Code of Ethics (Continued) Overview/Preamble Discussion of Draft prepared by Jen Goodwin and Will Hayward 08:10 - 50:02 1st paragraph: 08:10 - 22:45 - Is the government solely to serve the people in the community? What is the purpose of Government? - “City” vs. “Community”? - “Residents” vs. “Those who live or work in Portland..”? 2nd paragraph: 22:56 - 29:33 - “Placing the needs of community over the individual..”? tension? 3rd paragraph: 29:34 - 44:50 - “Professionals”? 4th paragraph: 45:15 - 47:25 - “Clear, minimum expectations” - a benchmark to which we should return when we complete the Code BREAK 50:03 -57:30 Page 2 [4- public comments] Prof. Kaitlin Caruso regarding Conflict of Interest Policy 1:00:11- 1:04:00 - She suggests that the Commission: 1. Invite testimony from people who administrate Conflict of Interest policies; ie. Executive Director of another ethics commission or enforcement attorney who can ground the Commission on the experience of advising and training employees on a code of this sort, and can identify necessary components and necessary clarity of standards to make the Code effective; 2. Think about narrowing and tailoring the standards and what constitutes a conflict of interest to the different personnel roles in the city. - Peter asked for these suggestions in writing - Will suggested bringing in someone from the Bangor Ethics Commission at a later date Draft Conflict-of-Interest Policy 1:04:11 Prepared by Peter Goldman and Carolyn Braun - Discussion reflecting Prof.Caruso’s recommendations regarding specificity of conflicts of interests; Role of an Accountability Officer? (Peter), Consider the process that would be followed with respect to a complaint; standard of what constitutes a conflict of interest (Rachel Millette). Standards apply to everyone, who makes a decision is different for different positions. How might this be formatted, organized? Break down conflicts into categories, ie. Gifts, dual roles, etc? Where/how to begin - general to specific? Specific to general? - Where and how to proceed 1:30:00 Action Item: Will and Rosemary will rework a next draft/outline of a Conflict of Interest Policy and possibly a Disclosure Form. Rachel is available to help with questions. Confidentiality Policy - postponed 5. New Business 6. Next Meeting Date i. Tuesday, December 30, 2025 5:00pm City Hall. With appreciation to Rachel and Ashley 7. Vote to Adjourn Moved, seconded and passed 7:50 pm Page 3  City of Portland Maine Code of Ethics Overview/Preamble Portland’s government exists to serve the people. In order to do so effectively, those who live or work in Portland must have confidence and trust in the integrity of those in positions of service. The people of the City of Portland deserve elected and appointed officials and city employees who maintain the highest ethical principles, promote elevated standards of conduct, and avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. It is with this intent that the City of Portland Maine has created the following Code of Ethics, predicated on the values of honesty, fairness, equitable treatment and balancing the needs of the community with those of the individual. Democracy depends on a government that is impartial, transparent, and accountable to its constituents. A code of ethics is a set of rules that outlines clear expectations for organizational business practices and behaviors. Such codes are based on values intended to guide the employees and elected or appointed officials and to ensure that they conduct themselves with honesty and integrity. Municipal codes of ethics strive to establish principles that reflect a city’s core values, and define standards of conduct. This Code of Ethics is designed to foster an honorable culture throughout municipal governance. It sets clear, minimum expectations for performance in the service of the City of Portland. Inherently, ethical standards may require conditions more rigorous than city or state laws and statutes. Page 4 Ethic Commission Code of Ethics Conflict of Interest • Financial o No financial interest in decisions o Disclosure of interests of individuals and relatives o Lobbyist must disclose o City officials must disclosure financial interests as soon as they are aware ▪ Determine method of disclosure ▪ File Statement of Economic Interest o Do we need to set a dollar amount that should be disclosed? Or any amount should be disclosed? • Gifts o Do not accept/solicit gifts o Exceptions • Outside employment o Cannot accept employment that interferes with public duty ▪ Creates COI that would impair ability to serve the city o Cannot use city facilities or equipment for outside work • Privileges or Special Treatment o Cannot use position to solicit special privileges • Post-Employment Restrictions o Cannot use information gained by city employment after employment • City Property and resources o Cannot use or destruct city property, fund resources • Political Activity o Cannot use city position to compel political activity, contribution or membership • Loans o Cannot apply for loan with business that is doing business with the city. Page 5