Board of Ethics

The Board of Ethics of the City of Mount Vernon Minutes of the meeting of March 3, 2022 The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, and attendees were: John McGlynn, Curtis Brewington, Blair Hoplight, and Ed Byrnes. A motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed minutes for 2/24/22. Approved 4-0. The members learned some personal information about each other when each member took a turn in talking a little about his family, his work background, and his thoughts about being a part of the Board. Progress being made on Board goals Ed reported that since the last Board meeting, he and John went to City Hall for the purpose of isolating certain documents in the Board’s secure ling cabinet at the City Clerk’s of ce. Pursuant to the city’s policy, which is consistent with the Retention and Disposition Schedule for N. Y. Local Government Records, certain documents can be isolated and eventually destroyed. One type that is eligible for destruction is a Financial Disclosure Statement that is more than 7 years old. John and Ed isolated those types of documents and they were put into a separate cabinet. A Records Destruction Authorization form, which had been approved by Ms. Walters, Deputy City Clerk (and Acting City Clerk) was signed by John, Ed, and Ms. Walters for those documents, and they will eventually be destroyed by the city. Actions taken by the Board at this meeting Votes were taken on motions that were made to revise seven rules of the Board’s Rules and Regulations. The motions were made and seconded, and discussions took place. The votes were unanimous in favor of each of the motions, and the Rules were revised, as follows: A. The phrase “a majority of the Board”, which was found in Article V - Investigations, §6 was changed to a majority of the members present. B. The phrase “upon majority vote” which was found in Article V, §7 was changed to upon majority vote of the members present. C. The phrase “majority of the members” which was found in Article II, §7 was changed to majority of the members present. D. The phrase “majority of the members”, which was found in Article II, §3 was changed to majority of the members present. fi fi E. Article IV - Meetings, §6 did read as follows: “Voting by proxy is prohibited.” The rule, as revised, now reads as follows: Voting on motions. When a motion is made and seconded, the motion can be approved by a vote of a majority of the members present. Voting by proxy is prohibited. F. Article II-§6(c) did read as follows: “Keep the minutes of Board meetings, and make them available to the public upon a request to the Board.” That sentence was replaced, as follows: Keep the minutes of Board meetings in a secure locked cabinet at City Hall, and make them available to the public upon a request to the Board. The key(s) to the cabinet will be kept only by the Board. G. Regarding the Secretary’s power and duties, Article II, §6(b) did read, as follows: “Distribute the minutes of all Board meetings to members”. This sentence was replaced, as follows: Distribute the proposed minutes of all Board meetings to members. Upon approval of the proposed minutes by a majority of the members present at a subsequent meeting of the Board, it is authorized that the Secretary’s notes that were taken at such previous Board meeting, as an aid in the preparation of the minutes, can be promptly destroyed. The members made no decision concerning the date of the next Board meeting, and all agreed to end the meeting at 8:00 p.m.