114 Conflicts of Interest

 
Original Approval Date: July 15, 2009
Revision Effective Date:
Supersedes:
Reviewed: July 15, 2015
 
The Tri-County Board has guidelines to avoid real or potential conflicts of interest. It is your duty as an employee of the Tri-County Board to follow the following guidelines about conflicts of interest. If this is not clear to you or if you have questions about conflicts of interest, contact the Executive Director.
 
What is a conflict of interest? An actual or potential conflict of interest is when you are in a position to influence a decision or have business dealings on behalf of Tri-County Board that might result in a personal gain for you or for one of your relatives. For conflicts of interest, a relative is any person who is related to you by blood or marriage, or whose relationship with you is similar to being a relative even though they are not related by blood or marriage.
 
We do not automatically assume that there is a conflict of interest if you have a relationship with another company. However, if you have any influence on transactions involving purchases, contracts, or leases, you must tell the Executive Director as soon as possible. By telling us that there is the possibility of an actual or potential conflict of interest, we can set up safeguards to protect everyone involved.
 
The possibility for personal gain is not limited to situations where you or your relative has a significant ownership in a firm with which Tri-County Board does business. Personal gains can also result from situations where you or your relative receives a kickback, bribe, substantial gift, or special consideration as a result of a transaction or business dealing involving the Tri-County Board.
 
No employee of the Tri-County Board may serve as a member of the Board of any agency with which the Tri-County Board has entered into a contract for the provision of services or facilities.  No employee shall serve as an employee of an agency with which the Tri-County Board has entered into a contract for the provision of services or facilities.  No employee may be related to a commissioner of a county in the Tri-County Board’s service district of Darke, Miami or Shelby Counties.
 
All Tri-County Board employees may make voluntary financial contributions to political candidates or organizations, circulate nonpartisan petitions, sign nominating petitions in support of individual, attend political rallies, and work as a precinct election official/poll worker.
 
If you are a classified employee, you may not engage in partisan political activities, such as soliciting contributions for a party or a candidate or circulating nominating petitions for a partisan campaign.  If you are an unclassified employee, you may generally participate in any political activities, but may not do so during regular work hours.  There are prohibitions against employees running for elected office.  Before planning to do so, you should check with the Executive Director.