Sec. 2-52. City of Phoenix ethics and gift policies.
A. Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section. The plural of the word or phrase includes the singular, and the singular includes the plural:
1. Board member means a member, or the person’s relative or partner, of a City of Phoenix board, committee, commission, or task force.
2. City business means an activity or enterprise for gain, benefit, advantage, or livelihood with a public entity, a research organization, a regulatory body, a business association, or a professional association, whose primary purpose relates to research, rulemaking, development, best practices, or regulations that affect or relate to the City of Phoenix.
3. Community event means an event, activity, or function located in Arizona and sponsored by the City of Phoenix, a nonprofit organization, a professional association, a business association, a charitable organization, a cultural/arts organization, or a community organization.
4. Compensation means money, a tangible thing of value, or a financial benefit.
5. Elected official means a person, or the person’s relative or partner, elected or appointed as Mayor or as Council member of the City of Phoenix.
6. Employee means a person, or the person’s relative or partner, who is not an elected official, board member, volunteer, or City of Phoenix Municipal Court Judge, and who is employed full-time or part-time by the City of Phoenix.
7. Gift means direct or indirect compensation, other than as provided by law, for services, duties, or responsibilities rendered or to be rendered by a person in their capacity as an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer. Gift does not mean:
a. Compensation received by an elected official, board member, or volunteer as part of the person’s employment outside of the City of Phoenix or as part of the person’s service as a member of a board of directors for a corporation or other elective office, and which compensation is unrelated to the person’s position or office as an elected official, board member, or volunteer; or
b. A political campaign contribution as permitted by law; or
c. Compensation received by an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer from the person’s relative or partner; or
d. Compensation in the form of a personalized plaque or similar personalized award received by an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer for the person’s service to the City of Phoenix consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the person’s position or office; or
e. Compensation in the form of admission, food, beverages, transportation, or accommodations received by an elected official or employee in the capacity as a City of Phoenix representative and related to City business; or
f. Compensation associated with a relative’s or partner’s elective office; or
g. Compensation in the form of admission, food, or beverages received by an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer to attend a community event.
8. Partner means a person in a domestic partnership as defined in Section 18-401.
9. Relative means the spouse, child, child’s child, parent, grandparent, brother or sister of the whole or half blood and their spouse, and the parent, brother, sister, or child of a spouse.
10. Special occasion means an engagement or wedding involving a relative, partner, or relative of a partner, the birth or adoption of a child, or the death of a relative, partner, or relative of a partner.
11. Volunteer means a person, or the person’s relative or partner, other than a board member who provides their services to the City of Phoenix without any express or implied promise of compensation, and serves as a hearing officer, intern, extern, contractor, vendor, or otherwise serves in the administrative offices of an elected official, the City Manager, or a City of Phoenix department or function head. A block watch captain is not a volunteer for purposes of this gift policy.
B. Ethics policy. It is the policy of the City of Phoenix to uphold, promote and demand the highest standards of ethics from all of its elected officials, employees, board members, and volunteers. Accordingly, all City elected officials, employees, board members, and volunteers must maintain the utmost standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty and fairness in carrying out their public duties, avoid any improprieties in their roles as public servants, comply with all applicable laws, and never use their City position or power for improper personal gain.
C. Permissible and prohibited gifts.
1. A gift in any amount received by an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer is prohibited if the gift creates the appearance of undue influence, or if the gift creates a conflict of interest under Phoenix City Charter Chapter XI, Section 1 (Title 38, Chapter 3, Article 8, Arizona Revised Statutes).
2. A gift with a known or reasonably estimated fair market value of $50.00 or less, received by an elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer, is permissible if the gift is not otherwise prohibited by law. The gift disclosure requirements provided in this section do not apply to a permissible gift under this subsection.
3. A gift with a known or reasonably estimated fair market value greater than $50.00 received by an elected official or employee is permissible if the gift is not otherwise prohibited by law and if the gift is disclosed by the recipient of the gift as provided in this section. A gift with an unknown value should be disclosed as "unknown" if a reasonable estimate of the gift’s fair market value is greater than $50.00.
4. A gift with a known or reasonably estimated fair market value greater than $50.00 received by a board member or volunteer is permissible if the gift is not otherwise prohibited by law.
5. An elected official, employee, board member, or volunteer may request a gift waiver for a gift received in connection with a special occasion by filing a written request with the Ethics Commission. In addition, an elected official or employee who must file a disclosure form as provided in this section may seek a waiver of the disclosure requirements for a gift received in connection with a special occasion. If the gift or disclosure waiver is approved by the Ethics Commission, the waiver request form must be filed with the City Clerk as provided in this section.
D. Gift disclosure requirements.
1. If a gift must be disclosed by an elected official or employee as provided in this section, the gift recipient must file a form with the City Clerk within 30 calendar days following the end of the quarter in which the gift is received.
2. The form must include the following information related to the gift:
a. Gift recipient’s full name and status as an elected official or employee;
b. Value, including disclosure of unknown value as "unknown" if a reasonable estimate of the fair market value of the gift is greater than $50.00;
c. Description of gift;
d. Date received; and
e. Gift giver’s full name and affiliated organization if applicable.
3. The City Clerk shall post the gift disclosure form and maintain the posting of each disclosure form on the City of Phoenix website and, when funding is authorized, in a searchable database:
a. For an elected official, three years after the end of the elected official’s term.
b. For an employee, five years from the date the disclosure form is filed by an employee.
4. The disclosure requirements provided in this subsection shall not apply to a board member or volunteer. (Ord. No. G-3438, § 2; Ord. No. G-6274, 2017; Ord. No. G-6422, 2018)