Advisory Opinion No. 1995-5
Of Department Of Veterans
Affairs Also
Serving As Selectman In
First, a public officials state responsibilities must take
precedence over any outside employment.
Of course, the non-state work must not be performed on state time. Also, the Code prohibits the acceptance of
outside employment which would impair the independence of judgment of the
official with regard to his or her state duties. See Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84(b). So, for example, if the outside job interferes
with the state officials ability to perform his or her state job properly (e.g.,
is time-consuming or requires frequent absences), then Conn. Gen. Stat.
§1-84(b) is violated, and the outside work should be discontinued. Mr. Phelps states that he is the
minority-party member of a three-member Board of Selectmen. He is paid $1000.00 per year for his
participation. The Board usually meets
twice a month in the evening. Thus, it
does not appear that his acceptance of the municipal position will interfere in
this manner with the performance of his state duties. Secondly, if in his state position, Mr. Phelps is required
to make recommendations or decisions regarding the disbursement of a limited
quantity of state funds to various municipalities, including Waterford, his
position with Waterford could inadvertently impair his independence of judgment
under §1-84(b). To avoid the possible
conflict, if such an issue should arise, Mr. Phelps can simply turn the particular
matter over to the Commissioner to handle personally or assign to another
Deputy Commissioner. Thirdly, Conn. Gen. Stat. §5-266a-1 bars classified state
employees from holding elective municipal office under certain
circumstances. Mr. Phelps is an
appointed official rather than a classified state employee, however. Therefore, this restriction does not apply to
him. Finally, the State Ethics Commission notes that Conn. Gen. Stat.
§4-8, a section of state law outside the jurisdiction of this Commission,
states that a deputy appointed by a department head shall devote full time to
their duties with the department or agency and shall engage in no other gainful
employment. Mr. Phelps should check
with the Office of the Attorney General to determine that his municipal
position will not conflict with this additional requirement. By order of the Commission, Rev. William Sangiovanni
Chairperson