Advisory Opinion 94-7-1101
WPCD/Board Membership

ISSUE: WHETHER MEMBERSHIP ON A COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD WOULD PRECLUDE A CONSULTING FIRM FROM SUBMITTING, INTERVIEWING, AND BEING SELECTED FOR PROJECTS WITH A KING COUNTY DEPARTMENT BASED ON A CONFLICT OF INTEREST UNDER THE CODE OF ETHICS?

Opinion: In this instance, the Board of Ethics finds that the board member's participation on the Industrial Waste Advisory Board would not preclude his firm from submitting, interviewing, or being selected for projects with King County because the board is purely advisory and does not participate in the contractual process.

Mere membership on a board or commission by an industry or business representative would not create a conflict of interest when members often have only an attenuated relationship to the contractual process. It is when a board or commission member participates in decision-making and gains, or appears to gain, a competitive advantage through this participation that a conflict of interest arises.

Statement of Circumstances: A member of the Industrial Waste Advisory Board is employed by a multi-discipline consulting engineering firm which serves municipal and industrial clients throughout the western United States. This board member would like the Board of Ethics to decide whether his representation on the Industrial Waste Advisory Board could prevent his company from bidding for projects with Metro.

Analysis: The Industrial Waste Advisory Board advises the Water Pollution Control Department (WPCD) director on implementing regulations and setting pollution control standards. The department may also solicit board feedback on how an industry might be affected by regulations and standards, and ask for recommendations on how specific pollution control problems might be resolved. Under some circumstances, the board may evaluate the merits of a request for reconsideration for fines or assess WPCD actions against an industry. Board members from industry are nominated by industry business associations or are selected from businesses that are representative of the industries in King County that discharge into Metro's sewage system.

The Code of Ethics establishes standards which ensure that the private conduct and financial dealings of public officials and employees present no actual or apparent conflict of interest between the public trust and private interest. When private citizens agree to membership on public boards and commissions, they also agree to uphold this standard. Although public agencies and business or industry representatives may often find the balance between public and private interest difficult to achieve, it is important that public agencies gain the participation of stakeholders in the development of public policy.

A conflict of interest is dependent on many factors. For most board and commission members, a conflict of interest can arise when members participate in or advise on a County action and when such participation or advice gives them, or the organizations they represent, a competitive advantage over others in a contractual situation. Membership on a King County board or commission by business or industry representatives does not in and of itself create a conflict of interest if these members have only an attenuated relationship to the contractual process. Under these conditions, a business or other organization would not be precluded from submitting, interviewing, or being selected for projects with the County.

References: King County Code of Ethics, section 3.04.030.

ISSUED THIS ___________ DAY OF ___________________, 199__.

Signed for the Board: Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair

Members:

Dr. J. Patrick Dobel, Chair
Timothy Edwards, Esq.
Rev. Paul Pruitt

cc:

Gary Locke, King County Executive
Metropolitan King County Council Members
Susan Baugh, Director-Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Daryl Grigsby, Director, Water Pollution Control Department
Department Directors and Division Managers
Robert I. Stier, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Counsel to the Board of Ethics
Elsie Hulsizer, Program Manager, Industrial Waste Section, WPCD
Denise Healy, Senior Industrial Waste Investigator, Industrial Waste Section, WPCD