The Top 7 Things Public Servants Need to Know About Owning a Company

 

1. Full-time public servants may not own any company that has business dealings with any City agency, unless they receive permission from their agency head and the Board.

2. Part-time public servants may not own any company that has business dealings with their own City agency unless they receive permission from their agency head and the Board.

3. A public servant owns a company if that public servant (or his or her spouse, domestic partner, or unemancipated child) owns more than 5 percent of the company.

4. A public servant can request permission to own a company that has business dealings (also called a “waiver”) by using the Waiver Form on the Board’s website or by contacting your agency’s Ethics Liaison. If the agency supports the waiver request, it will forward the request to the Board for final approval.

5. Business dealings with the City include contracts, funding grants, recurring permits, and being subject to certain City regulations.

6. Full-time public servants may not seek business (including responding to Requests for Proposals) for a company they own from any City agency; part-time public servants may not seek business from their own City agency.

7. Public servants may not use any City time or resources to perform work for a company they own.

 

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