Advisory Opinion 94-4-1095
Public Works/Outside Employment

ISSUE: WHETHER AN EMPLOYEE MAY ENGAGE IN OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT WHICH IS RELATED TO HIS RESPONSIBILITIES AS A COUNTY EMPLOYEE?

Opinion: The Board of Ethics advises the employee not to prepare legal descriptions that could later come under his review as a County employee. If the employee were to review his own descriptions, this could give the appearance that impartial and independent judgement was being impaired. The Board also cautions the employee that he should not accept any work for clients regarding road vacations, when such work could interfere with the employee's official responsibilities for King County.

Statement of Circumstances: An employee in the Department of Public Works acts as the County's Vacations and Boundaries Coordinator. His official responsibilities include reviewing legal descriptions submitted by local governmental entities-primarily fire and sewer districts-for the Boundary Review Board. The employee also writes legal descriptions, at no cost to applicants, for proposed incorporations, annexations, and mergers. The employee would like to open his own private consulting firm to perform title research and to advise the public on private title matters. This work would include consultation on and the writing of legal descriptions for areas within King County. The employee has asked the Board of Ethics to determine whether his area of intended outside employment could present a conflict of interest under the Code of Ethics?

Analysis: When a Notice of Intent is filed with the Boundary Review Board, it is accompanied by a legal description of affected areas. Because the Boundary Review Board has no staff to review the descriptions for accuracy, they are submitted to the Engineering Services Section of the Department of Public Works. Once reviewed, the Engineering Services Section returns the descriptions to the Board with suggestions and recommendations. An applicant may accept or reject these recommendations, but must provide justification if a recommendation is rejected. Legal descriptions may be prepared by law firms or engineering consultants. The author of a legal description has no impact on a decision by the Boundary Review Board. Given these facts, the Board of Ethics sees several areas of potential concern.

Although authorship of a legal description may not have a direct impact on an action by the Boundary Review Board, the fact that the employee can affect whether the Boundary Review Board accepts the legal description as written suggests that the employee is a responsible participant in a County action. The Code of Ethics defines participation as

to be involved in a county action personally and substantially as a county employee either directly, or through others through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation or otherwise. (Section 3.04.017 (J))

The employee is clearly in a position to make recommendations and suggestions which can affect a County action, i.e., the acceptance of a legal description to support a Notice of Intent. The Board is also concerned that there might be a perception that the employee could be soliciting potential clients through his King County position. A corollary to this concern might be a perception on behalf of potential clients that they could gain an advantage by having the employee prepare a legal description which he might later review.

References: King County Code of Ethics, sections 3.04.017 (J) and 3.04.030 (I).

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

JPD/mag

cc:

Gary Locke, King County Executive
Metropolitan King County Council Members
Susan Baugh, Director-Ombudsman, Office of Citizen Complaints
Paul Tanaka, Director, Department of Public Health
Robert I. Stier, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Counsel to the Board of Ethics
Harold Taniguchi, Interim Manager, Roads and Engineering Division
William S. Vlcek, Manager, Engineering Services Section
Pete Ringen, Acting Manager, Design Support Section