To the editor:

Article 18 of the General Municipal Law (incorporated into each of the respective Codes of Ethics of the Village of Pelham and the Village of Pelham Manor) requires all municipalities in New York  to protect against conflicts of interest that may impair the judgment of a municipal official including, without limitation, nepotism.

The applicable laws provide, among other things,  that:”(a public official) shall not invest or hold any investment, directly or indirectly, in any financial, business, commercial or other private transaction which creates a conflict with his official duties, … (nor) engage in, solicit, negotiate for or promise to accept private employment or render services for private interests when such employment or service creates a conflict with or impairs the proper discharge of his official duties.”

Modeled after the State Ethics Laws, these laws further require the municipality to implement policies and procedures designed to disclose conflicts to the public and therefore protect the public from the effects of any potential conflict.

The Village of Pelham, however, does not have such a vetting process and based on my Freedom of Information Law requests that were not fulfilled, upon information and belief, does not require written disclosure of potential conflicts or have a chief ethics officer to implement and oversee the process to ensure compliance. It is my observation that this gap has led to lucrative jobs being awarded via nepotism and the village permitting officials to engage in private employment while holding full-time positions in the village, without any vetting process whatsoever.

Why should you care?  1.) Nepotism and cronyism circumvent equal access to lucrative jobs, and 2.) Prohibiting conflicts of interest ensures that all village staff perform their duties with objectivity, equitably servicing each and every citizen without thought to the effect on private clients’ relationships within the village as well as ensuring that all staff devote full-time attention to village affairs, without outside interests affecting judgement or availability.

I call for the Village of Pelham to immediately develop the appropriate conflicts disclosure questionnaire for  current village staff in all departments. In addition, a Chief Ethics Officer should be appointed with investigative and disciplinarity powers.

Although I am less familiar with the Village of Pelham Manor, which is holding an election next week, any such conflicts should be disclosed by  the current candidates running for mayor and trustees as well as by future candidates in both villages.

It is crucial to have the appropriate disclosures from the candidates prior to the upcoming election and therefore to delay  the election to obtain critical information so that citizens are able to  make informed decisions.

Patricia Yak

9 Third Avenue