No code = conflict of interest

How many votes should a councilperson have on town issues? This is a question that has come up at town meetings and during the election forums sponsored by the Valley Service Organization.

Most candidates at the forums agreed there is not a problem as long as they vote the same way on the board as they do on the council.

Citizens and town board members don’t always agree.

What has caused concern is the potential for a council member who serves on a board to disagree with a board recommendation and vote against it. The council member then has influence to persuade the council to not accept the board’s recommendation even when it has majority approval.

Mayor John Zeiger said the town started appointing council members to boards at a time when the town was having a hard time finding volunteers to serve on boards.

Serving on any board is not easy; but serving on a municipal board can take up a lot of time, especially if the person serving is serious about their position. From the Saratoga Sun’s point of view, the board members who serve our community are committed to their job.

Board members need to learn the bylaws, ordinances that affect their board and stay on top of changes coming to the community.

What happens if the councilperson disagrees with the board he/she serves on and he/she is in the minority? Does that councilperson have to pass on the recommendation to the council without bias?

This is when it gets complicated. This is when the councilperson has influence that a board does not.

If the councilperson takes the recommendation to the board and tells the council he disagrees with the recommendation, is he working in the best interest of the board or the best interest of the council. What is the hierarchy of the of a person elected to one position and appointed to another?

Last year there was heated debate between Steve Wilcoxson who is a Councilman and has been appointed to the Planning Commission and Chris Shannon who serves on the Planning Commission. Shannon has accused Wilcoxson of subverting the Planning Commission recommendations to the Town Council. Wilcoxson has said, “My job and my primary function is to serve the people of the community, not serve that Planning Commission.” “I am not here to give a stamp of approval,” said Wilcoxson in Oct. 2013.

Mayor John Zieger has said the council-board representative position is not defined in Saratoga Municipal Code. The Saratoga Sun believes this is where the problem lies.

Right now there is no definition of the obligations and responsibilities of someone serving on both the Town Council and a town board. This matter could be resolved simply by making an addition to the municipal code.

The Saratoga Sun feels that a council-board liaison position should be created wherein a council member is a non-voting member of a board and is responsible for relaying the activities of that board to the Town Council. Because the liaison would be a non-voting member of the board there would be no conflict of interest between board and council decisions.

This would not preclude a councilperson from serving on a board outside of a liaison capacity, and in that instance the councilperson should recuse themselves from council matters regarding that board.

Zieger has said, “The whole reason having that council person on the board is so that the council person can report back to the council in a meeting.” That role has not been defined in code, and this means that council members are free to act as they wish at this point.

Wilcoxson has justified his dual role by saying, “When I am at the Planning Commission meetings, I am there as a Planning Commission member, and I am doing what other members are doing. After that point in time, once a vote is done, I have another obligation. I have the obligation to the people that voted me into the council.” This statement only points out the inherent conflict of interest in a person that votes on both the council and a board.

The Saratoga Sun strongly feels that it is time for the town to codify the roles those who are willing to go above and beyond by serving on both the Town Council and town boards. They are already going above and beyond, let’s make their job a little easier by defining their roles more clearly.