2005-14
ORDINANCE NO. 2005-14
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA,
FLORIDA; AMENDING THE CITY CODE BY
AMENDING ARTICLE VII "CODE OF ETHICS" OF
CHAPTER 2 "ADMINISTRATION", BY AMENDING
SECTION 2-396 "FURTHER ETHICS STANDARDS;
PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS" AT
PARAGRAPH (C) "FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON
TRANSACTIONS" BY RENUMBERING AND
REVISING EXISTING SUBPARAGRAPH (Hi) TO BE
SUBPARAGRAPH (iv) AND BY CREATING A NEW
SUBPARAGRAPH (Hi) TO PROHIBIT
INVOLVEMENT OF CITY PUBLIC OFFICERS AND
EMPLOYEES IN CERTAIN INVESTMENTS AND IN
CERTAIN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS; AND BY
CREATING ARTICLE IX "CAMPAIGN FINANCE
RESTRICTIONS" OF CHAPTER 2
"ADMINISTRATION" OF THE CITY CODE, BY
CREATING SECTION 2-420 "PROHIBITED
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VENDORS",
TO CREATE RESTRICTIONS UPON THE MAKING
OR RECEIPT OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OR WHICH ARE
DELIVERED, SOLICITED OR PROVIDED BY
VENDORS OF THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR
DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR PENALTY; PROVIDING FOR
INCLUSION IN CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of A ventura desires to adopt additional
supplementary ethics code provisions which expressly relate to investments and to real estate
transactions, and to further promote the ethical standards of the City by adopting campaign
finance reform provisions prohibiting political campaign contributions which are made,
solicited, delivered or provided by City vendors; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that the additional regulations and restrictions,
as provided herein, are in the best interest of the City.
Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 2
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF A VENTURA, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:.
Section 1. Recitals Adopted. That each of the above stated recitals is hereby
adopted and confirmed.
Section 2. City Code Amended. That Article VII "Code of Ethics" of
Chapter 2 "Administration" of the City Code of the City of Aventura is hereby
amended by amending Section 2-396 "Further Ethics Standards; Prohibitions and
Restrictions", to read as follows:
Section 2-396 - Further Ethics Standards; Prohibitions and Restrictions
(c) Further Restriction on Transactions.
(i) In the event that during the term of office of a member of the City
Commission, the City Commission grants an application (the "City
Approval") for a rezoning, variance, conditional use, or zoning code or
comprehensive plan amendment, upon the application of a person or entity
(the "Zoning Applicant"), no person then serving as a member of the City
Commission at the time of the City Approval shall then and for a period of
two years after the issuance of the City Approval, regardless of whether
still serving on the City Commission, perform any services for or directly
or indirectly accept any financial remuneration, any financial interest in or
any special private gain from the Zoning Applicant or from any successor
or assignee of the Zoning Applicant, as a result of or in relation to any
development which is enabled to occur as a direct consequence of such
City Approval. Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph (c )(i), the
restrictions and prohibitions of this paragraph (c )(i) shall not apply to a
member of the City Commission who has recused himself or herself from
participating in or voting upon the item of City Approval and has absented
himself or herself from the Commission meeting pertaining to such item.
(ii) This paragraph (c) shall not preclude the provision of services or the sale
or lease of goods by a member of the City Commission to persons who
subsequently, independently enter into a transaction with the developer,
1/ Proposed additions to existing City Code text are indicated by underline; proposed deletions from
existing City Code text are indicated by Olril,.thr.llgh; presently existing text is indicated by the absence of
any underlininl! or strikethrsHgks.
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 3
owner or operator of the property developed as a result of the City
Approval solely by such person's purchasing or obtaining a lease for a unit
in a building which was enabled to be built or redeveloped as a result of a
City Approval.
Oii) Pursuant to Section 2-11.1(0) of the Miami-Dade County Code and as
further specified herein:
ill No member of the Citv Commission or anv Citv officer or
employee shall acquire a financial interest in a proiect. business
entity or property at a time when he or she believes or has reason
to believe that the said financial interest will be directlv affected bv
his or her official actions or by the official actions by the City or
City agency of which he is an official. officer or employee.
(Q.l Anv member of the Citv Commission or anv Citv officer or
employee who participated in the City development approval
process concerning a residential development. shall be barred for a
period of two (2) years following such participation from
purchasing directly or indirectly any dwelling unit at a price which
he or she knows or should know is less than that which is then
being offered to the general public or from purchasing anv such
dwelling at a discounted price which he or she knows or should
know would constitute a gift requiring disclosure bv him or her
pursuant to Section 112.3148. Florida Statutes. In addition. at the
time of the closing of the purchase transaction. he or she shall file
with the City Clerk a disclosure affidavit confirming that any
purchase made complies with this paragraph (iii)(b). The
disclosure shall be made on an official City form which has been
prepared by the City Attornev for the purpose of disclosing any
such purchases.
fiHt (iv)The prohibitions of this paragraph (c), exclusive of subparagraph (iii)(a).
may be waived for a specific transaction by Resolution of the City
Commission which is adopted following a public hearing by a five-
seventh (517) (five member affirmative vote) of the City Commission, if
not contrary to other applicable ethics provisions, upon a finding that:
(1) The proposed transaction is consistent with the purposes of Article
VII of Chapter 2 of the City Code; and
(2) The transaction will not create or tend to create even the
appearance of any impropriety.
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
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(d) Applicability to Firms, Business Entities, Business Associates.
The restrictions and prohibitions which are imposed by paragraphs (a), (b)
and ( C) of this section upon any person, by virtue of that person's service
(or former service) as a member of the City Commission, shall also be
applicable to any firm or business entity in which such member of the City
Commission has an employment, independent contractor or material
interest and to any business associate of such member of the City
Commission. The terms "material interest" and "business associate" have
the meaning indicated by Section 112.312, Florida Statutes.
(e) Definitions.
Except as otherwise indicated herein or required by the context used
herein, the terms utilized herein which are defined in Section 112.312,
Florida Statutes, or in Section 2-11.1 of the Miami-Dade County Code,
shall have the meanings provided in such state statute and county code
provisions.
(f) Stricter provisions prevail.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair or diminish any stricter
ethical standards which are provided by Section 112.313, et. seq. of the
Florida Statutes, Section 2-11.1 of the Miami-Dade County Code or by the
provisions of the Charter and Ordinances of the City or by any applicable
federal law.
Section 3.
That the City Code of the City of Aventura, Florida, is hereby
amended by creating Article IX "Campaign Finance Reform", consisting of Section 2-
420 "Prohibited Campaign Contributions by Vendors", of Chapter 2 "Administration"
to read as follows:
Sec. 2-420. Prohibited Campailm Contributions bv Vendors.
A. General, Prohibition, Disqualification. Definitions.
ill W No vendor shall give. solicit for. deliver or provide a
campaign contribution directlv or indirectlv to a
candidate. or to the campaign committee of a
candidate. for the offices of mavor or commissioner.
Commencing on the effective date of this ordinance.
all proposed citv contracts. as well as reQuests for
proposals (RFP), reQuests for Qualifications (RFO),
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Ordin3I\ce No. 2005-14
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ill
ill
requests for letters of interest (RFLn. or solicitations
of bids issued bv the citv. shall incoroorate notice of
this section so as to notifv potential vendors of the
proscription embodied herein.
No candidate or campaign committee of a candidate
for the offices of mayor or commissioner. shall
deposit into such candidate's campaign account 3I\V
campaign contribution which is received directlv or
indirectly from a vendor or which such c3I\didate or
campaign committee knows or should know was
solicited by or for a Vendor or delivered or provided
by a Vendor. Candidates (or those acting on their
behalO shall ensure compliance with this code section
by confirming through examination of the official
vendor list which is posted on the Citv of Aventura
website to verifv the vendor status of anv potential
contributor. A candidate or the campaign committee
of a candidate shall not be in violation of this
paragraph (b) if the vendor was not listed as a vendor
in the Citv website at the time that the contribution
was received or deposited so long as the candidate or
the campaign committee of a candidate did not know
that the person or entitv was a vendor of the Citv.
Each prohibited act of giving. soliciting for.
delivering or providing a campaign contribution or
depositing a campaign contribution in violation of this
section shall constitute a separate violation. All
contributions deposited into a candidate's campaign
account in violation of this section shall be forfeited
to the city's general revenue fund.
ill ill A person or entitv. other than a then existing vendor.
who directly or indirectly makes a campaign
contribution to a candidate who is elected to the office
of mayor or commissioner shall be disqualified for a
period of 12 months following the swearing in of the
subiect elected official from serving as a vendor with
the city. A then existing vendor who directly or
indirectly makes a contribution to a candidate who is
elected to the Office of Mayor or Commissioner. shall
be disqualified from serving as a vendor with the City
for a period of twelve (12) months from a final
finding of a violation of this section. or from the time
of action on a waiver request by the City Commission
pursuant to paragraoh (B) below. in the event that a
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 6
waiver is sought bv the vendor. In the event that such
waiver request for a oarticular transaction is srranted.
the affected vendor shall nonetheless be disqualified
from serving as a vendor with the City as to anv other
goods. equipment or services to be provided bv the
vendor to the City. bevond the vendor goods.
equipment or services which are the subiect matter of
anV waiver which is granted. In the event such
waiver request is denied for a particular transaction.
the twelve (12) month disqualification period shall
continue to applv to both the particular transaction for
which the waiver was sought. as well as all other
vendor activities for the provision of goods.
equipment or services to the Citv during that twelve
(12) month period.
ill For purposes of this section. the term "disqualified"
shall be defined to include:
ill Termination of a contributor/vendor's
existing contracts with the citv. subiect to
the applicable waiver provisions of
paragraph B herein; and
(ill. Disqualification of a contributor's response
to solicitation requests for prospective
vendor contracts with the city. subiect to the
applicable waiver provisions of paragraph B
herein.
ffi As used in this section:
fill Vendor. ill A "vendor" is a person and/or entity who has
been selected by the City as the successful bidder
on a present or pending bid to provide to the City
goods. equipment or services. or has been approved
by the City on a present or pending award to
provide to the City goods. equipment or services.
prior to. upon or following execution of a contract.
or purchase order.
(ill. "Vendor" shall include natural persons and/or
entities who hold a controlling financial interest in a
vendor entity. The term "controlling financial
interest" shall mean the ownership. directly or
indirectly. of ten percent or more of the outstanding
capital stock in any corporation or a direct or
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 7
indirect interest of ten percent or more in a firm.
The term "firm" shall mean a comoration~
partnership. business trust or any legal entity other
than a natural person.
(iii) "Vendor" shall not include City officers or
employees.
(iv) For purposes of this section. "vendor" status
shall terminate upon completion of performance of
the agreement for the provision of goods. eQuipment
or services.
ill Services. For purposes of this section. the term "services"
shall mean the rendering by a vendor through
competitive bidding or otherwise. of labor.
professional and/or consulting services to the City.
including. but not limited to. the provision of
lobbving services to the City.
lfl Camoairm Contributions.
The term "campaign contribution" shall have the
meanmg which is ascribed to the term
"Contributions" pursuant to Section 106.01 L
Florida Statutes. as amended.
B. Waiver oforohibition.
ill Criteria for Waiver.
The reQuirements of this section may be waived by
the affirmative vote of five members of the City
Commission for a particular transaction after a
public hearing. upon finding that:
ill
The goods. eQuipment or services to be involved in
the proposed transaction are uniQue and the City
cannot avail itself of such goods. eQuipment or
services without entering into a transaction which
would violate this section but for waiver of its
reQuirements; or
ill
The business entity involved in the proposed
transaction is the sole source of supply as
determined by the City Manager in accordance with
procedures established by the City Manager; or
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
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w
An emergencv contract (as authorized bv Section 2-
253(5) of this Code) must be made in order to
protect the health. safetv or welfare of the citizens
of the Citv; or
fill.
A contract for the provision of goods. equipment or
services exists which. if terminated bv the Citv.
would be substantiallv adverse to the best economic
interests of the Citv.
(2) Limited Waiver.
Notwithstanding the denial of the Citv Commission
of a waiver request regarding the provision of
goods. equipment or services under an existing
contract pursuant to paragraph B( a) above. the Citv
Commission. mav bv the affirmative vote of five (5)
members of the Citv Commission after a public
hearing, grant a limited waiver concerning an
existing contract for the provision of goods,
equipment or services between a vendor and the
Citv upon finding that in order to protect the health.
safetv and welfare of the citizens of the Citv, it is
necessarv that the affected contract be continued for
a limited duration (not to exceed a period of six (6)
months) in order for the Citv to obtain a
replacement vendor.
ill Full Disclosure.
Anv grant of a waiver or limited waiver bv the Citv
Commission must first be supported with a full
disclosure of the subiect campaign contribution.
C. Imolementation.
The Citv Manager is authorized to adopt additional
procurement procedures for goods, equipment or
services to implement this section. These
procedures shall provide for the assemblv.
maintenance and posting of an official Citv vendor
list as referenced herein.
D. Penaltv.
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 9
The Ethics Commission created pursuant to Miami-
Dade Countv Ordinance 97-105. shall have orimarv
iurisdiction for enforcement of this Section 2-420 of
the Citv Code. A finding bv the Ethics Commission
that a oerson violated this section. shall subiect such
person to an admonition or public reprimand and/or
a fine of $250.00 for the first such violation. and
$500.00 for each subsequent violation.
E. Aoolicabilitv.
This section shall be applied onlv prospectivelv to
campaign contributions which are made after the
date of adoption of this section.
Section 4.
Severabilitv. That the provisions of this Ordinance are declared
to be severable and if any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance shall for
any reason be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining sections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this Ordinance but
they shall remain in effect, it being the legislative intent that this Ordinance shall stand
notwithstanding the invalidity of any part.
Section 5.
Penaltv.
That Section 2 of the Ordinance shall be subject to
enforcement pursuant to City Code Section 2-394; and Section 3 of this Ordinance shall
be subject to enforcement as provided in new Section 2-420(D) as provided therein
above.
Section 6. Inclusion in the Code. That it is the intention of the City
Commission, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall
become and be made a part of the Code of the City of A ventura; that the sections of
this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intentions; and that
the word "Ordinance" shall be changed to "s ection" or other appropriate word.
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 10
Section 7. Effective Date. That upon adoption on second reading this
Ordinance shall be effective immediately and shall be applied prospectively only.
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Weinberg, who moved its
adoption on first reading. This motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Auerbach, and upon
being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Bob Diamond yes
Commissioner Harry Holzberg yes
Commissioner Billy Joel yes
Commissioner Michael Stem yes
Commissioner Luz Urbaez Weinberg yes
Vice Mayor Zev Auerbach yes
Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Diamond, who moved its
adoption on second reading. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Auerbach, and
upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Zev Auerbach yes
Commissioner Bob Diamond yes
Commissioner Harry Holzberg yes
Commissioner Michael Stem yes
Commissioner Luz Urbilez Weinberg yes
Vice Mayor Billy Joel yes
Mayor Susan Gottlieb yes
PASSED AND ADOPTED on first reading this ~day of September, 2005.
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Ordinance No. 2005-14
Page 11
PASSED AND ADOPTED on second reading this ~day of October, 2005.
~,;) ~tv
san Gottlieb, Mayor
ATTEST:
J ,I) l
~4:)I.lJI') t1 ())P,C~
:rire a M. Soroka, ~1\lc i
~J Clerk ()
Approved as to Form and Legal Sufficiency:
rvI~
City Attorney
~
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