Whether you are just starting out in the profession or on the cusp of retirement, actual or perceived conflicts of interest are a fact of life for a profession very much in the public eye.

By its definition, a conflict of interest is when personal interests or loyalties compete with professional obligations—and why the ICMA Code of Ethics mentions conflicts of interest or the appearance of one more than 10 times.

This month’s column focuses on questions related to the commitment to integrity in Tenet 3 and Tenet 12, as well as guidelines on gift and endorsements. The substance of ethics questions asked and how staff answered them follow. The ICMA Executive Board’s Committee on Professional Conduct provides oversight of the ethics program and reviews the questions we receive when meeting monthly.

I have been asked by our state’s university extension office to serve on their nominating committee. This would involve suggesting people in the county they might encourage to run for elected positions on the extension council. I have no affiliation with the group or the university. Our organization has not used the extension’s services directly, although we could for some future projects. Do I have a conflict?

The request of you now is service on a nominating committee. Although your city does not currently use the university’s extension services, you are correct that they could respond to an RFP in the future. While the ask now may not create a conflict of interest in actuality, it would create the appearance of one and it would be better to decline. Your governing body or community members could also see your service on the nominating committee as endorsing a slate of candidates and that is yet another reason to decline. The Executive Board’s Committee on Professional Conduct’s advice to members on board/commission service is available at icma.org/page/volunteer-service.

A prospective business is interested in moving to our community and has extended an offer to visit their headquarters in another state. Is it okay if that company pays a portion of the trip?

You should decline any invitation for this company to pay all or a portion of the trip expenses. If there is a need to visit headquarters, the city should pay the entire expenses incurred. The company may expect some special treatment or consideration in the future if they paid all or a portion; permitting and code enforcement immediately come to mind. Tenet 12 with its guideline on gifts is applicable.

Is there a concern with using a private credit card that accrues points/miles for organization purchases when the cost of the purchase is the same or less than when using a work-issued credit card? In this case, reimbursement would be requested for the purchase at a later date. In some cases, such as booking flights for the ICMA conference when family members are joining an ICMA attendee, using a personal credit card is unavoidable if you want to sit together on the plane. Is there any issue with that?

Does your city have a purchasing policy and purchasing cards? If there is not one in place, it could be useful in the future to have one. Generally, city purchasing cards or purchase orders should be used for purchasing city needs so the benefits of accruing points or miles does not fall to individual personal credit cards. Tenet 12 of the Code with its guideline on gifts is on point here. It is a good idea to see what the state in which you are located permits and if gifts are addressed in the organization’s personnel manual.

The crux of the issue is the employee should not accrue any gift that does not meet the Code, state, or local government’s definition of de minimus value. Some states do not allow accepting any gift. It is important to maintain public confidence in the local government and accruing rewards would be a gift as a part of this effort. In making purchases on behalf of the city, rewards should be accrued in accordance with any state policy, or if there is not a set amount, then generally declined.

For your own personal work travel, yes, there may be situations like the one you have outlined where you need to use a personal credit card to book air travel to sit together as a family. It is okay to use a personal credit card and then have the city reimburse you.

By asking the question, it is good to assess Tenet 3 with its focus on honesty and integrity with its guideline on public confidence. You should disclose your approach to purchasing to HR or your governing body so they understand your commitment here, and it models the kind of conduct the organization expects.

The county works closely with the local university on a number of items. One item is the annual goals and objectives workshop that the university’s public affairs division moderates for the county. Due to this longstanding relationship, the university lead requested that I participate in a video endorsement. Please let me know if participating in any sort of endorsement would be a violation of the ICMA Code of Ethics.

This effort would be for a recognized educational institution as the endorsement guideline permits. You should ask the purpose of the video—is it for marketing purposes and will it be on the website? You should also consider (1) whether this video is intended to capture other local governments as clients; (2) in the event this division no longer meets your expectations, your endorsement is on video and you would not be able to retract it; and (3) the perception of others in local government that may cause you to explain the situation does not violate the Code and is permitted, but it will require your time and effort to share this fact.

I have been presented with a support letter for a local doctor to be submitted to the state health department supporting the doctor’s application to establish a specialty laboratory. Could I sign this type of support letter under the ICMA Code of Ethics?

You should not sign this support letter because it would be an endorsement of this doctor in Tenet 12 and the relevant endorsement guideline. The doctor may be coming to you as the city manager to sign this letter, and in the unforeseen circumstance this doctor does something illegal or unethical, you do not want to be on record as supporting this application, so it becomes a measure for your protection as well.

I have another question on a different request for a support letter. A representative of the local college requested I send a support letter for a sports complex project they want to build. Is this type of support letter permissible?

This support letter for a college athletic complex is different than the one for the doctor because that complex could serve to economically benefit your local government. This is provided for in (3) of the endorsement guideline.

I received a request from a previous supervisor who was a department director to recommend them for another similar position. Should I write this recommendation letter? Is it ok to write academic recommendation letters for students or interns? Can I use my jurisdiction’s letterhead?

It would be an issue for you to write a letter of recommendation, especially for an individual applying to a position in your organization. The issue with these letters is they reflect a defined moment of time and do not provide you with any ability to have a conversation with the hiring authority. That individual could use that letter even several years in the future where you may not be able to speak to their character or ability. On the off chance there is some ethical lapse, you do not want to be on the record as writing a letter of recommendation.

Your support will have a great impact by serving as a verbal reference instead of writing a letter of recommendation. Thinking though the example of a required school application, that is for a very specific academic endeavor, limited to the application time frame, so it’s more acceptable to write a letter in this capacity. If you know this individual from your official role, then it would make sense to use letterhead.

JESSICA COWLES is ethics director at ICMA (jcowles@icma.org).