2022-07-28 - Ethics Commission - Agenda Packet T
Meetin of the Villa a of Buffalo Grove Fifty Blvd
gg Buffalob u Grprove, IL 60089-2100
Ethics Commission Phone:847-459-2500
Regular
Trustee Conference Room
July 28, 2022 at 7:00 PM
I. Call to Order
II. Minutes Approval
1. Ethics Commission - Regular- Jun 21, 2022 7:00 PM
III. Discussion of Ethics Commission Workplan
1. Discuss Ethics Commission Workplan (Dane Bragg) (Staff Contact: Dane Bragg)
IV. Questions from the Audience
Questions from the audience are limited to items that are not on the regular agenda. In
accordance with Section 2.02.070 of the Municipal Code, discussion on questions from
the audience will be limited to 5 minutes and should be limited to concerns or comments
regarding issues that are relevant to commission business. All members of the public
addressing the Ethics Commission shall maintain proper decorum and refrain from making
disrespectful remarks or comments relating to individuals. Speakers shall use every attempt to
not be repetitive of points that have been made by others. The Ethics Commission may refer
any matter of public comment to the Village Manager, Village staff or an appropriate agency for
review.
V. Adjournment
The Ethics Commission will make every effort to accommodate all items on the agenda by
10:30
p.m. The commission, does, however, reserve the right to defer consideration of matters to
another meeting should the discussion run past 10:30 p.m.
The Village of Buffalo Grove, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requests that
persons with disabilities, who require certain accommodations to allow them to observe and/or
participate in this meeting or have questions about the accessibility of the meeting or facilities,
contact the ADA Coordinator at 459-2525 to allow the Village to make reasonable
accommodations for those persons.
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ETHICS COMMISSION OF THE VILLAGE OF
BUFFALO GROVE HELD VIA AUDIO/VIDEO CONFERENCING
TUESDAY,JUNE 21,2022
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rybarczyk called the meeting to order at 7:09 P.M. This meeting was held at Village Hall,50 Raupp
Boulevard,Buffalo Grove
ROLL CALL
Voice vote indicated all commissioners were present: Chair Rybarczyk,Commissioners Scott,Patel, Abella,
Hughes,and Yang. Also present were Dane Bragg,Village Manager,Patrick Brankin,Village Attorney,and
Trustee Joanne Johnson. p
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APPROVAL OF MINUTES (n
Commission Yang made a motion to approve the minutes of April 5,2022. Second by Commissioner Patel.
Motion approved by unanimous voice vote. Commissioner Hughes abstained
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MEMBERS a
Introduction of Tom Hughes as a member of the commission. o
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INTRODUCTION OF TRUSTEE LIAISON N
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Trustee Joanne Johnson was introduced as the new liaison from the Board of Trustees. _
NEW BUSINESS p
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Discussion of the Ethics Commission work plan was introduced by Village Manager Dane Bragg.
Commissioners Abella and Patel worked with the Village Manager and Village Attorney Brankin to develop a
work plan to outline the concepts for future work of the commission.The group met online in early June. Village
Manager Bragg presented the document for discussion.
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The subcommittee's position was to start small and build on responsibilities over time. A key initial focus was CL
on the education of committees, boards,and volunteers. Training for both new and existing volunteers was U
recommended,either one-on-one,online, or in a group format.A discussion of flexibility in the training was a
discussed.
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A suggestion was made to offer training during existing committee meetings. A suggestion was made to have the
committee chairs be potentially responsible. A concern was raised about asking those individuals to become
trainers and ensuring uniform presentation of information. Discussion about commissioners versus volunteers in
terms of responsibilities as a dividing line for what type of training is required.
Committee responsibilities may impact the ethical implications and as a result,the training required. The focus
is on ensuring that all volunteers understand the Illinois State Employees Ethics Act so that volunteers do not
inadvertently act irresponsibly. The consensus appeared to be that training should be tailored to specific
commissions with abbreviated versions for volunteers. The use of any existing state handouts is encouraged.
The goal would be to conduct training on an annual basis.
The working group will develop a proposal that includes an outline of the steps for implementation of the
training program and an outline of the curriculum for commission approval and presentation to the Village
Board.
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A review of Procurement and Other Policies was discussed.It was suggested that Village Staff Member,Brett
Ivig would educate the commission on the current state of village policies and then would review the policy
annually or as needed. Commission would provide recommendations for any changes that might be required to
be presented to the Village Board. Commission agrees to this recommendation of the working group.
A review of Local Ethics Disclosures was discussed. This policy has been in place for many years and is
duplicative of other county requirements. Anyone with any fiduciary or volunteer responsibility is required to be
filled out. However,the forms are not reviewed for content. The recommendation is to start small and simply
review the forms for completion. If they are not complete, someone,to be determined, would follow up. A
recommendation was made that because the county disclosure forms are fairly complex and duplicate
information covered in the village form,perhaps the commission could recommend to the board that the county
forms would serve both county and local purposes. The commission agreed to make a recommendation to the
Village Board to review the usefulness of the local disclosure form.
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The commission set its next meeting date to occur on Thursday,July 28,2022,at 7:00 PM. p
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QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE Q
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No members of the public were in attendance.
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ADJOURNMENT
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Moved by Yang seconded by Abella,to adjourn the meeting. Upon voice vote,the vote was unanimous. o
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Motion declared carried. N
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The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 P.M. N
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Lenna Sc t, Secretary of the Commission
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APPROVED BY ME THIS DAY OF 2022
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Chair,Ethics Commission
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Information Item : Discuss Ethics Commission Workplan
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Recommendation of Action
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Staff recommends discussion.
Staff presented possibilities to expand the responsibilities of the Ethics Commission at the April 4, 2022
Committee of the Whole meeting. At that time, the Village Board requested additional details including a
work plan, process and resource allocations based on three core functions:
1. Educating other boards, committees and commissions, staff and vendors on the State Officials
and Employees Ethics Act requirements and avoiding potential infractions;
2. Periodic review of procurement and other policies for ethical conduct requirements, make
recommendations to the Village Board regarding same; and
3. Review of annual local ethics disclosures for compliance with Village code.
Since that time, the Commission has met twice, as well as appointed a working group to develop the work
plan items contained in this memorandum. The Commission seeks approval from the Village Board of the
recommended changes. Further, an amendment to Section 2.49 of the Municipal Code will be required to
effect the proposed changes.
The attached memorandum details the inputs and outputs of the three functions, by category.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Ethics Commission Work Plan and Process Flow-July 2022 (DOCX)
Trustee Liaison Staff Contact
Village Manager Bragg Dane Bragg, Office of the Village Manager
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Updated: 7/26/2022 2:39 PM Page 1
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Ethics Commission Work Plan & Process Flow
July 2022
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Background 0
Staff presented possibilities to expand the responsibilities of the Ethics Commission at the April 4, 2022 �
Committee of the Whole meeting. At that time,the Village Board requested additional details including 0
a work plan, process and resource allocations based on three core functions: y
1. Educating other boards, committees and commissions,staff and vendors on the State Officials 0
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and Employees Ethics Act requirements and avoiding potential infractions; U)
2. Periodic review of procurement and other policies for ethical conduct requirements, make
recommendations to the Village Board regarding same; and w
3. Review of annual local ethics disclosures for compliance with Village code. M
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Since that time, the Commission has met twice, as well as appointed a working group to develop the o
work plan items contained in this memorandum. The Commission seeks approval from the Village N
Board of the recommended changes. Further, an amendment to Section 2.49 of the Municipal Code will C14
be required to effect the proposed changes. 3
This memorandum details the inputs and outputs of the three functions, by category. 3
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Strategy/Process
The Ethics Commission seeks to become a resource for other boards, committees and commissions for U
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education and support to prevent infractions of state or local ethics regulations. As such,the a
Commission seeks to educate new appointees and provide refresher training on current topics related =
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to ethics on an annual basis, on a convenient schedule and using vetted sources of information. The =
Commission sees its work as organic, developing more capacity as Commissioners become more familiar a
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with ethics regulations and the workings of the Village's committees, boards and commissions. c
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Initiative I. ...... Educating Beards, Cornmittee.s and Commissions
The Commission will focus content on the State Employees Ethics Act, municipal code considerations as c
well as required local and county disclosures (statement of economic interest and ethics reporting). The V
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requirements of the Act will be covered, including definitions of prohibited source, gifts,what to do if a
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gift is offered, etc. Example scenarios will be reviewed and previously vetted state guidelines will be w
distributed.
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Each committee, board or commission has unique characteristics and requirements. Some, such as the
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Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and pension boards have
broader requirements under law, while others such as the Farmers Market Committee and Buffalo Q
Grove Days, rely primarily on volunteers to staff events. As such,the Ethics Commission seeks to tailor
training based on each entity's unique characteristics, with a base curriculum for all appointees. The
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Commission will attend regularly scheduled meetings of various boards, committees and commissions to
present materials in a timely and brief manner,thereby reaching the largest segment of appointees at
one time.
Based on the timing of Village Board approval,the Commission would provide an introductory training
in 2022, with full training to occur in June/July of 2023, after annual appointments have been approved.
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For board, committee or commission members who cannot attend a training at their respective entity's c
regular meeting, online or in-person options will be provided. Committee, board and commission chairs
will be responsible to ensure each member of their entity receives training at least once annually. c
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Resources a)
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Office of E e u�u.tuy� Vu�slp...qor euneraV Eth._cs."Frau.nJ n (Gifts and Political Activities) a
,MUD I�_ew V..�ii1 e Orientation E�Ihii_cs Trailiniin (State Employees Ethics Act and Examples) �
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Allocated Costs 0
It is anticipated that the Village Attorney will need to support and assist the Commission in developing =
educational materials for this initiative, as well as accompany Commissioners to various meetings for 2
presentations. 16 hours have been allotted for this purpose. In addition,the Village Manager and
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Assistant to the Village Manager will provide in-kind support through attending Commission meetings, E
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assisting with curriculum development and training commissioners. 24 hours have been allotted for this v
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purpose. In total, staff and attorney time allocations will cost $6,000.
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Initiative 2 Review of Procurement and Other Policies E
The Commission seeks to work cooperatively with the Chief Procurement Officer to review existing U
policies and proposed changes to policies covering procurement to ensure the highest standard of ethics Q
for Village employees, contractors and appointees. The Commission would review current policies with
the CPO the first year, with review of changes to policies in subsequent years. The Commission would
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work with the CPO to recommend changes to procurement policies, subject to Village Board review and
approval.
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Allocated Costs
It is anticipated that the Chief Procurement Officer will prepare a review of existing policies as it relates w
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to ethics and disclosures for the Commission, including attending a Commission meeting annually and M
preparation of any recommended amendments for Village Board review. 8 hours have been allotted for N
this purpose. In total, staff time allocations will cost $600.
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lnitiative 3 Review of I....ocal Ethics Disclosures
State-mandated ethics disclosures have broadened significantly in the last few years, requiring 3
additional disclosures through County channels. The Village of Buffalo Grove was an early pioneer in .°
requiring local disclosures, but much of the local disclosures overlap the expanded County reporting y
requirements. The Commission recommends reviewing the efficacy of the local reporting requirement c
vs. County reporting requirements with a recommendation to the Village Board. a
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Allocated Costs °
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It is anticipated that the Village Attorney will need to support and assist the Commission in reviewing
disclosure requirements for local and county reporting, applicability to various appointees, and
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preparing a recommendation for the Commission. 8 hours have been allotted for this purpose. In };
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addition, the Village Manager and Assistant to the Village Manager will provide in-kind support through °
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developing process flows and reports. 8 hours have been allotted for this purpose. In total, staff and s
attorney time allocations will cost$2,300. `6
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Summary of Mocated Costs
Educating Boards,Committees and Commissions $6,0000
Review of Procurement Policies $600
Review of Local Ethics Disclosures $2,300
Total $8,900 Y
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