Philadelphia Board of Ethics Meeting Minutes

September 18, 2019 – 1:00 p. m. One Parkway Building

1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor

Board Present Michael H. Reed, Esq., Chair Judge Phyllis Beck (Ret.), Vice-Chair Sanjuanita González, Esq. Brian McCormick, Esq. JoAnne Epps, Esq.

Staff Present J. Shane Creamer, Jr., Esq.Nedda Massar, Esq.Michael Cooke, Esq.Jordana Greenwald, Esq.Jordan Segall, Esq.Thomas Klemm, Esq.Bryan McHaleHortencia VasquezEileen Donnelly

I. Meeting Minutes

By a 4-0 vote, the Board approved the minutes of the Public Session Meeting held on July 22, 2019, as presented. Board Member Epps abstained from voting on the minutes because she did not attend the July 22, 2019 public Board meeting.

II. Executive Director’s Report

Mr. Creamer presented to the Board the Executive Director’s Report, a copy of which is attached as Attachment A.

In response to Mr. Creamer's update about campaign finance filing compliance, Board Member Epps asked whether filers must manually enter contributions on both a 24 hour campaign finance report and the Cycle 3 report or if a transaction entered into a 24 hour report auto-populates on the Cycle 3 report. Staff members explained that the Campaign Finance Filing System as currently configured requires manual entry of the transaction in both the 24 hour report and the Cycle 3 report but noted that Staff has raised with the Office of Innovation & Technology the possibility of automating the process.

III. General Counsel’s Report

Mr. Cooke presented to the Board his General Counsel Report, a copy of which is attached as Attachment B.

APPROVED BY BOARD OF ETHICS ON 10/16/19

IV. Proposed Amendments to Regulation 8 (Political Activity)

Mr. Cooke discussed with Board members the status of the proposed amendments to Regulation 8. He began by providing the procedural history regarding the amendment process that began in June 2019 and culminated in the July 2019 public hearing.

Mr. Cooke then outlined Staff’s plans for the amendments going forward. This included: (a) presenting at the current Board meeting a proposed revised version of the amendments and making any modifications thereto requested by the Board; (b) inviting comments from the public prior to the October Board meeting; (c) presenting a draft Hearing Report to the Board at the October Board meeting.

The Board expressed its approval of Mr. Cooke’s plan.

Mr. Cooke then presented the revised amendments to the Board. He discussed noteworthy revisions made as a result of the July 2019 public hearing. During this time, Board members suggested several modifications to the revised version.

Afterwards, Mr. Cooke invited Board members and members of the public to contact the Board’s Staff, up until the week before the October Board meeting, regarding any other questions or comments they had regarding the revised version.

At this time, Chair Reed then instructed Board Staff to appropriately notify the public about the revised version of the amendments and the invitation to submit additional comments. Mr. Cooke assured the Board that the information would be made available to the public.

V. Ethics Manual for City Officers and Employees

Ms. Greenwald discussed with Board members an educational document prepared by Staff entitled “City of Philadelphia Ethics Manual for Officers & Employees.” Ms. Greenwald summarized the general purpose of the Manual, its contents, and Staff’s plans to publish and distribute the document starting in October 2019.

The Board expressed its approval of Staff’s plans for publication and distribution of the Ethics Manual.

Ms. Greenwald invited Board members to contact Staff members regarding any additional questions or comments they had regarding the document.

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VI. Annual Report

Ms. Massar discussed with Board members the draft copy of the Board’s FY2019 Annual Report that had been provided to the Board.

After Ms. Massar’s presentation and pursuant to her request, Chair Reed requested a motion to: (1) approve the draft of the FY2019 Annual Report, as presented; (2) grant authority to Chair Reed to approve any necessary non-substantive subsequent edits to the Annual Report before it is published; and (3) direct staff to notify the required recipients under the Philadelphia Code that the Annual Report has been published on the Board’s website.

After a motion that was duly seconded, by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the actions noted above.

VII. Appointment of Michael Cooke as General Counsel

Chair Reed discussed with the Board Mr. Cooke’s current role as Acting General Counsel following the departure of the former General Counsel, Maya Nayak, earlier in 2019. Chair Reed explained that the Board had been pleased with Mr. Cooke’s service in this acting position and highlighted Mr. Cooke’s performance during the last several months. Based on this performance, Chair Reed requested a motion to appoint Mr. Cooke as General Counsel effectively immediately.

After a motion that was duly seconded, by a 5-0 vote, the Board approved the appointment of Mr. Cooke as General Counsel effective immediately.

The Board congratulated Mr. Cooke on his new position.

VIII. Questions/Comments

Adam Bonin requested more information regarding the comment process regarding the amendments to Regulation 8. Mr. Cooke further explained the process to Mr. Bonin.

Ellen Kaplan, the Chief Integrity Officer, discussed the Executive Branch’s current plans (the subject of which is discussed in GC Op. 2019-504) to detail various Executive Branch employees and utilize them as “rovers” for the City Commissioner’s Office in the upcoming November 2019 Elections. She stated that she would keep the Board informed about this planned course of action. She also requested assistance from the Board’s Staff in educating these detailed employees regarding the City’s political activity restrictions. The Board agreed to coordinate with Ms. Kaplan regarding these educational efforts.

Mary McDaniel, City Council’s Chief Ethics Officer, noted that she was expecting a large influx in new City Council employees following the Election in November 2019. She expected that many of such individuals would need ethics training and wanted to begin coordinating with

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Board Staff regarding such future trainings. Mr. Cooke agreed to coordinate with Ms. McDaniel regarding this issue.

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Chair Reed made the following announcement regarding Board sessions that had been held and that would be held pursuant to Sections 708 and 716 of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act:

(1) the Board met by email on August 16th through 19th and August 29th regarding personnelmatters;

(2) the Board met by email on August 31st through September 3rd and September 9th regardingnon-public advice; and

(3) the Board will meet after today’s public meeting to address non-public advice, confidentialenforcement matters, and personnel matter

The Public Session Meeting of the Board was adjourned at approximately 2:20 p. m.

Attachment A

Attachment B

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GENERAL COUNSEL REPORT

TO: Board Members

FROM: Michael J. Cooke, Acting General Counsel

DATE: September 13, 2019

I. Advisory Opinions

On September 4, 2019, the Board issued Non-Public Board Opinion 2019-003, which provided guidance to a City employee on the application of City and State ethics rules to job searches conducted by City officers and employees. We have posted a redacted version of the Opinion on the Board’s website and distributed it via email.

II. Training

Since the July meeting, we have had a fair amount of training activity:

On August 1st, Jordana and I visited the District Attorney’s office to give DA Krasner his annual ethics training.

On August 12th and September 9th, Jordana and I presented ethics training to a group of recently hired City employees as part of the City’s onboarding program.

On August 14, Nedda and Jordana presented ethics training to a group of newly hired employees of the Sheriff’s office.

On September 10th, Jordana and I presented ethics training to newly hired employees of the District Attorney’s office.

On September 12th, Bryan and I, in conjunction with the City Commissioner’s office, presented the first of three campaign finance training sessions we are offering this Fall.

Next week, Jordana and I will return to the DA’s office for another round of ethics training.

Lastly, we are finalizing a new lobbying training curriculum which we hope to launch before the end of the year.

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF ETHICS

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III. Conflicts Form Letter

Related to our work on the Ethics Manual, we have created a form letter that City officers and employees can use to disclose conflicts of interest as required by Code Section 20-608. A copy of the letter can be found following my report at Tab A. We will post the form letter on the Board’s website and be sure to reference it during trainings.

IV. Right to Know Officer

Staff Attorney Tom Klemm has assumed the role of the Board’s official Right to Know Officer. As such he will field, process, and log requests for documents we receive from members of the public, as required by the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law and in consultation with the Law Department. He takes over these duties from our Deputy Executive Director, Nedda Massar

V. Informal Guidance

Following this report at Tab B, you will find a chart that summarizes the informal guidance Board Staff provided July 6, 2019 through September 6, 2019.

TAB A

{DATE} VIA CERTIFIED MAIL Board of Ethics c/o General Counsel One Parkway Building 1515 Arch Street 18th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 Department of Records c/o Commissioner City Hall Room 156 Philadelphia, PA 19102

{DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY HEAD} {STREET ADDRESS} {STREET ADDRESS} {CITY STATE ZIP}

Re: Public Disclosure and Disqualification under City Code §20-608 This letter is intended to comply with the requirements of City Code Sections 20-607 and 20-608 regarding conflicts of interest. I have identified a conflict of interest that I believe requires public disclosure and disqualification under Section 20-608. Disclosure

Name: City Dept./Agency/Board: City Title/Position:

I could take official action that would impact a financial interest held by (check all that apply):

me an immediate family member a business of which I am a member another member of a business of which I am a member a potential employer other ______________________________

Describe the nature of the financial interest, such as the type, percent, and/or dollar value of an ownership interest (attach additional pages if needed):

Identify the official action(s) you could take that would impact the interests described above.

Disqualification I hereby disqualify myself from taking any official action that would impact the financial interest(s) described above. I understand that if my financial interest(s) or my City duties change I may be required to submit additional or updated letters to comply with Section 20-608. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at (___) ____-_____ or __________@______. Respectfully, ______________________

TAB B

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SUMMARY OF INFORMAL GUIDANCE PROVIDED, JULY 6, 2019 – SEPTEMBER 6, 2019

General Topic

Monthly total (ytd. total)

Email Phone Email

& phone

In-person Examples of guidance

Campaign Finance

40

(767)

10

23

6

1

▪ Campaign raffling firearm to raise campaign funds ▪ Candidate hosting radio talk show ▪ Coordinated and independent expenditures ▪ Definition of “contribution” and “material omission” under City Campaign Finance Law ▪ Doubling of contribution limits ▪ Establishment and utilization of litigation fund committees ▪ Permissibility of contributions from limited liability companies and partnerships ▪ Reporting expenditures related to ballot challenges ▪ Rules regarding placement of campaign banners and disclosure rules regarding who paid for such banners ▪ Single candidate political committee/checking account requirement ▪ Transition and inauguration committees, including rules regarding when such entities can be formed and expenditures by these entities ▪ Using crypto-currencies to make and accept campaign contributions

2

General Topic

Monthly total

(ytd. total) Email Phone

Email &

phone

In-person Examples of guidance

Conflicts

13

(63)

4

2

6

1

▪ City advisory group compensating members for their service ▪ City employee accepting event tickets from non-profit in exchange for services ▪ City employee accepting payment for outside work from entity that sometimes receives City funding ▪ City employee accepting legal referral fees for referrals related to non-City parties and legal matters ▪ City employee who, as part of City employment, has interactions with former private employer ▪ City employee’s membership on board of non-profit ▪ Disclosure and disqualification requirements, including timing regarding disclosure letters ▪ Outside employment ▪ Using City funds to fund non-profit associated with City Councilmember at the request of Councilmember

3

General Topic

Monthly total (ytd. total)

Email Phone Email

& phone

In-person Examples of guidance

Gifts

11

(39)

1

5

5

▪ City employee accepting discount card from former client ▪ Disclosure rules regarding accepting free event tickets ▪ Entity that receives grant from City agency giving award and related gifts to head of City agency ▪ Free event tickets for certain City employees ▪ Gift rule exception regarding travel and related expenses that benefits the City ▪ Member of RFP review committee accepting event tickets from firm that has contracts with City ▪ Non-profit entity, with minimal interaction with the City, providing travel expenses for candidate who is currently City employee ▪ Prohibition regarding soliciting gifts ▪ Raffles and door prizes for City employees attending event ▪ Restrictions as applied to law enforcement officers

Financial Disclosure

9

(1,174)

9

▪ Amending previously filed forms ▪ Assisting filers and human resource managers with accessing and utilizing online filing system and with technical issues related to filing system ▪ Explaining filing and disclosure requirements to various filers and human resource managers, including candidates for elective office

4

General Topic

Monthly total (ytd. total)

Email Phone Email

& phone

In-person Examples of guidance

Political Activity

7

(52)

3

1

3

▪ Application of restrictions to Civil Service-exempt employees ▪ City allowing candidate to operate table at City-administered event open to public ▪ City employee wearing earrings during work that have name of current elected official who is also a candidate for re-election ▪ City program asking participants to support federal legislation related to program ▪ Elected official soliciting contributions ▪ Fundraising for expenses related to inauguration activities ▪ Using City-related funds for flyer referencing political party ward

Lobbying

6

(96)

1

5

▪ Expense reports, including affiliations and terminations ▪ Registration requirements, including affiliations and affirmations of a lobbyist/lobbying firm/principal ▪ Technical assistance with information searches on the Philadelphia Lobbying Information System

Post-employment

4

(27)

4

▪ Former City employee serving on City department’s RFP review committee ▪ Former employee accepting job with private employer when new position would have no intersections with City or employee’s prior City work ▪ Former employee of Mayor’s office accepting private position working on City-related contracts ▪ Former employee of Mayor’s office working at research position with state legislative political caucus

5

General Topic

Monthly total (ytd. total)

Email Phone Email

& phone

In-person Examples of guidance

Representation

2

(2)

1

1

▪ City employee’s membership on board of non-profit ▪ Member of City advisory commission mediating dispute between head of City department and for-profit business when a friend of the member is owner of for-profit business

Other

10

(37)

3

6

1

▪ City employee’s residency requirement ▪ City employee suing the City ▪ Code Chapter 17-1400 (Non-Competitively Bid Contracts; Financial Assistance) ▪ Harassment at work ▪ Process for candidates to be included on City ballot ▪ Process for getting outside employment approved by proper City authorities