Ethics Commission considers conflict of interest case

CENTREVILLE — A special advisory opinion meeting by the Queen Anne’s County Ethics Commission called into question whether a person subject to the ethics code solicited to be an exclusive vendor at a County event would have a conflict of interest.

During the July 8 meeting, the ethics commission considered the question, “If a person subject to the ethics code has been solicited by a county employee to be an exclusive vendor at a county event would it violate the ethics code?”

An advisory opinion was sought by alternative member of the Ethics Commission Mark Cascia to determine if it would be a conflict of interest.

The request for opinion was initially brought forward after Cascia, owner of Cascia Vineyards and Winery in Stevensville, was approached about possible participation in a single event to be held on County property.

In addition to the Ethics Commission, Cascia also serves on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

Prior to the advisory opinion being discussed by the Board, Cascia determined that he was not going to be involved in the event, however decided not to withdraw the request for the advisory opinion as it would provide guidance in the future to all persons subject to the code.

The Ethics Commission put emphasis on the person subject to the ethics code serving as an “exclusive” event vendor and considered “solicited versus unsolicited” and “direct versus indirect” compensation. The Commission also discussed differentiations between County sponsored events and separate nonprofit organization hosted events held on County property.

In the Public Ethics Code, all officials, employees, members of all Queen Anne’s County Boards and Commissions are subject to the provisions of the Conflicts of Interest.

In general, QAC Commission members cannot participate in any matter in which a contract would result in a conflict of interest between the official and official duties, the Ethics Commission noted.

The Ethics Commission found the question to be a Conflict of Interest under the Ethics Code [Section 8-11(a)(1)] and directed attorney Crystal Richard to write up an advisory opinion.

The Queen Anne’s County Ethics Commission administers the County’s Public Ethics Law (Chapter 8 of the Queen Anne’s County Code) by encouraging and enforcing compliance with its requirements. The Commission does so by various educational and informational outreach efforts, issuance of Advisory Opinions, consideration and resolution of Complaints, ensuring compliance with public financial disclosure requirements of various County officials and employees, and overseeing lobbyist registration and annual reporting requirements.

Regular Ethics Commission meetings are held the third Monday of the month starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Ethics Commission will next meet July 22.