§ 2-67. Definitions.

Business means any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, organization, self-employed individual and any other entity operated for economic gain, whether professional, industrial, or commercial, and other entities, which for purposes of federal income taxation are operated as non-profit organizations.

Confidential information means information which has been obtained in the course of performing official duties as an officer or employee.

Contract means any written or otherwise established agreement, lease, claim, account, or demand against any person, to which the county is an actual or otherwise interested party.

Gifts and favors means anything of value given by or received from a prohibited source. Prohibited source means any person, business, or entity that the involved officer or employee knows or should know:

(a)

Is seeking official action from the county; or

(b)

Is seeking to do or is doing business with the county; or

(c)

Represents a person who is seeking official action from the county or who is seeking to do or is doing business with the county; or

(d)

Has interests that may be affected by the performance or non-performance of official duties by the officer or employee; or

(e)

Is a registered lobbyist in accordance with state law.

Exemption: Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, "gifts and favors" shall not mean and include, and shall not be intended to prohibit, the donation, sale, lease, conveyance or transfer of residential real property between and among any banking institution, charitable organization, or nonprofit business or entity and Fulton County police officers, firefighters or emergency medical technicians ("First Responders") participating in the Fulton County Homes for First Responders Program, a public-private initiative, pursuant to which such real property is donated, sold, leased, conveyed or transferred to and occupied by Fulton County First Responders.

Immediate family means an officer or employee and the spouse of an officer or employee, as well as the parents, children, brothers, and sisters of an officer or employee.

Intent means the state of mind in which a person seeks to accomplish a given result through a deliberate course of action. Intent is the design, resolve, or determination with which a person acts, and which can seldom be proved by direct evidence, but must usually be proved by circumstances from which intent may be inferred.

Intent to influence means to deliberately and willfully act in a manner chosen and designed to exert power over others, or to modify or affect the actions of others, even if in a gentle, subtle, or gradual fashion.

Interest means any financial interest or personal interest or any other direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit held by or accruing to an officer or employee as a result of a contract or transaction which is or may be the subject of an official act or action by or with the county. Unless otherwise provided, the term "interest" does not include any remote interest. For purposes of this code of ethics, the term financial interest means any interest which shall, directly or indirectly, yield a monetary or other material benefit to the officer or employee, or to any person employing or retaining the services of the officer or employee, or to the immediate family of the officer or employee; and, the term personal interest means any interest arising from relationships between the officer or employee and members of his or her immediate family or from associations with any business, whether or not a financial interest is involved. For the purposes of this code of ethics, and without being limited thereto, an officer or employee shall be deemed to have an interest in matters and transactions involving:

(a)

Any person in his or her immediate family;

(b)

Any person with whom a contractual relationship (either written or implied) exists, whereby he or she may receive any payment or other benefit, including any agreement for employment; and

(c)

Any business in which he or she is a director, officer, employee, prospective employee, or substantial shareholder.

Matter or transaction means the subject of any official act or action by an officer or employee or any governing body of the county or any county agency.

Officer or employee means any elected officer of the county, any person appointed to a county board, commission, or agency by the board of commissioners, any person employed by the county, including contractual employees, and any person retained by the county or any agency of the county in a consulting capacity, who is exclusively obligated to the county for a period of 90 or more days. This definition does not include members of advisory boards having no decision-making authority; provided, however, that county employees serving on the Advisory Committee of the Atlanta/Fulton County Water Resources Commission continue to be included within this definition while serving on that advisory committee. This definition includes retired former employees and other former employees of the county during any period in which they are later employed or retained by the county or any county agency.

Official act or action means any executive, legislative, administrative, appointive, ministerial, or discretionary act taken by the board of commissioners or the county manager, as well as any such act taken by any other officer or employee in the performance of his or her official duties.

Paid means the receipt of, or right to receive, a salary or a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee for services.

Participate means to take part in any official act, actions, or proceedings personally, and to take part in such acts, actions, or proceedings as an officer or employee for the purpose of performing a duty, granting or denying approvals, rendering decisions, or failing to so act or perform such a duty.

Participation in contracting means, with respect to current officers and employees as well as former officers and employees during the time periods set forth in section 2-77(b), to take part in any official act, actions, or proceedings personally, which acts, actions, or proceedings involve county contracts, and to take part in such acts, actions, or proceedings as an officer or employee for the purpose of performing a duty, or otherwise to grant or deny approvals, make recommendations, prepare any part of purchasing specifications or solicitations for bids or proposals, to influence the content of such documents, to render advice regarding such documents or contracts or the interpretation or meaning of county regulations and policies relevant to such documents or contracts, to investigate, audit, review, or make any ruling or determination regarding any proceedings or applications relating to such documents or contracts or related sub-contracts, or to attempt to or actually influence the official acts, actions, proceedings, or decisions of others.

Person means any individual, business, representative, fiduciary, trust, or association.

Reprimand means an action taken by the board of ethics, which constitutes and transmits a public disapproval of the conduct of an officer or employee.

(Code 1983, § 23-9-2; Ord. No. 99-0456, §§ 1, 2, 3-17-99; Ord. No. 03-1405, § 1, 11-19-03; Res. No. 03-1531, 2-4-04; Res. No. 05-0975, 8-17-05; Res. No. 06-1102, 10-18-06; Ord. No. 12-1150, 1-19-13; 15-0667, Exh. C(Ord.), 8-5-15)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.