Editor's Note: This is the second in a two-part series on Waterford's Ethics commission and ordinance. Read the first part here.

The ethics ordinance establishes the Ethics Commission and outlines its procedures for handling any ethics complaints or requests for advisory opinions.

The seven members of the commission appointed by the Representative Town Meeting shall not be town employees or public officials, but they must be registered voters in the town. No more than four may be members of the same political party. Their terms are two years long and a member may only serve three consecutive terms.

They may rejoin the commission after a break of two years, Two of the members are considered alternate members. There needs to be a quorum of four members for the commission to conduct its business, but no more or less than five members “shall ever vote on any decision relative to a complaint.”

Members may have immediate family who are town employees or public officials, but they may not participate in any matters that involve the department or board for which the immediate family member is a member or employee.

The commission is “empowered to investigate or to cause to be investigated allegations levied against any town board, agency, commission, committee, official or employee of unethical conduct, corrupting influence, or illegal activities.”

If a town agency has an internal complaint procedure, such as a union contract grievance procedure, that procedure would take precedence over the procedures of the ethics ordinance.

“The Commission may issue subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum, enforceable upon application to the superior court, to compel the attendance of persons at hearings and the production of books, documents, records, and papers,” according to the ordinance.

One major limitation of the commission is the line in the ordinance that “The Commission shall not initiate investigations on its own volition.” This means the commission must wait for a complaint to be presented to it before it may investigate.

The ordinance empowers the commission to issue advisory opinions upon request and shall be bound by that opinion unless “different facts are presented” to the commission. The advisory opinion of the commission “…shall be an absolute defense in any action brought under the provisions of the code of ethics.” This assumes there is no new information that might change the opinion of the commission.

The commission also hears complaints. Complaints must be in writing, signed and acknowledged by the author of the complaint before either a judge of a court of record; a clerk or deputy clerk of a court having a seal; a commission of deeds or town clerk; a notary public; a justice of the peace; or an attorney admitted to the bar of Connecticut.

A major change to the ordinance is the inclusion of a form to use in filing an ethics complaint.

The ordinance goes into detail on the confidentiality of a complaint until resolved unless respondent requests it be made public. This provision does not prevent the commission from reporting the possible commission of a crime to the police or a State’s Attorney’s office.

The commission has strict guidelines regarding the time to notify the respondent of the complaint (7 days) and the time the respondent has to reply to the complaint (10 days). The commission then has 90 days to conduct an investigation and release a preliminary report. A person interviewed by the commission is entitled to representation by a representative or an attorney. The commission then has three business days to inform the complainant and the respondent and, if considered appropriate, the appointing authority or elected body, its opinion and a summary of the reasons for forming that opinion.

If requested by the respondent, the commission shall announce its opinion. The announcement shall be made, at a minimum, on the town website.

If the commission finds no probable cause for a complaint, it shall be dismissed and any records remain confidential unless release is requested by the respondent. If the commission finds probable cause to hold a hearing the respondent has ten days to waive the right to a hearing by the commission. If the right is not waived the hearing shall be held within 30 days of the notice of probable cause to the complainant and respondent.

The hearing shall be recorded and a written transcript made of the hearing. No hearing may be conducted with fewer than five members of the commission present. On completion of the hearing the commission has 10 business days to render a decision.

If there is no hearing, the commission has 30 days from the receipt of the hearing waiver to make a decision.

After a hearing on a complaint, the Ethics Commission makes a recommendation to the board, commission or agency to which the respondent is responsible and to the RTM if the respondent is an elected official or an RTM appointee. The appropriate person, board, commission, agency or the RTM will make the final decision regarding the recommendation of the Ethics Commission.

To the best of the knowledge of the author of this column, the Ethics Commission has not held any hearings since the ordinance was initially passed in June 1992.

Author's Note: The author drafted the original ethics ordinance that was passed by the RTM on June 1, 1992, while a member and then chairman of the Legislative and Administrative Standing Committee.

John W. “Bill” Sheehan is a member of the Waterford Board of Finance.