Settlement  In the Matter of Joyce Campagnone

Date:	07/28/2015
Organization:	State Ethics Commission
Docket Number:	15-0005

Disposition Agreement

The State Ethics Commission (“Commission”) and Joyce Campagnone (“Campagnone”) enter into this Disposition Agreement pursuant to Section 5 of the Commission’s Enforcement Procedures.  This Agreement constitutes a consented-to final order enforceable in the Superior Court, pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, § 4(j).

On September 18, 2014, the Commission initiated, pursuant to G.L. c. 268B, § 4(a), a preliminary inquiry into possible violations of the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A.  On November 20, 2014, the Commission concluded its inquiry and voted to find reasonable cause to believe that Campagnone violated G.L. c. 268A, § 20.

The Commission and Campagnone now agree to the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

Findings of Fact

1.  Campagnone is a compensated full-time employee of the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District (“GLSD”), a regional municipal sanitary district, which includes several cities and towns, including the City of Methuen.  For purposes of the conflict of interest law, the GLSD is a municipal agency of the City of Methuen (and of its other member municipalities).  As an employee of the GLSD, Campagnone is a municipal employee of each of the member municipalities, including the City of Methuen.

2.  In 2010, Campagnone, while serving as a compensated full-time GLSD employee, was elected as a member of the Methuen City Council.  As a City Councilor, Campagnone is a Methuen municipal employee.  Methuen City Councilors are paid a monthly stipend of approximately $400.

3.  Section 20 of G.L. c. 268A prohibits a municipal employee from having a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a municipal agency of the same city or town, in which the same city or town is an interested party, of which financial interest the employee has knowledge or reason to know, except as specifically provided in the section. 

4.  One of the exemptions to § 20, referred to as the “city councilor’s exemption,” permits a municipal employee to also hold the elected office of city councilor, subject to several restrictions, including the following:

No such elected councilor shall receive compensation for more than one office or position held in a municipality, but shall have the right to choose which compensation he shall receive. 

5.  By letter dated January 22, 2014, the Enforcement Division informed Campagnone that § 20 prohibited her from receiving compensation as a full-time employee of the GLSD and also receiving a $400 monthly stipend for her service as a Methuen City Councilor.  The letter informed Campagnone that, as a Methuen City Councilor, she is a municipal employee of the City of Methuen.  The letter also informed Campagnone that, as an employee of a regional municipal sanitary district, she is considered to be a municipal employee of each of the member municipalities.  The Enforcement Division informed Campagnone that in order to comply with § 20, she could avail herself of the city councilor’s exemption, which would allow her to hold both positions if she complied with the exemption’s restrictions, including forgoing her monthly stipend as a city councilor.  Campagnone was instructed to provide documentation of her compliance with § 20 to the Enforcement Division within thirty days.

6.  Campagnone did not provide such documentation to the Enforcement Division.  Further, after being notified about her non-compliance with § 20, Campagnone, while receiving her GLSD compensation, continued to receive the $400 monthly stipend as a city councilor from February 2014 through November 2014, receiving a total amount of $4,000 in stipends.  Since December 2014, Campagnone has forgone the $400 monthly stipend for her service as a city councilor.

Conclusions of Law

7.  As a GLSD employee, Campagnone is a “municipal employee,” as defined by G.L. c. 268A, § 1, of each of the municipalities that are members of the sanitary district, including the City of Methuen.  As a City Councilor, Campagnone is a municipal employee of the City of Methuen.  For purposes of G.L. c. 268A, § 20, Campagnone’s GLSD position and her City Councilor position are positions or offices held in the City of Methuen.

8.  Except as specifically permitted by § 20 of G.L. c. 268A, a municipal employee is prohibited from having a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a municipal agency of the same city or town, in which the same city or town is an interested party, of which financial interest the employee has knowledge or reason to know.

9.  Campagnone’s employment with the GLSD is a contract with a municipal agency of the City of Methuen for purposes of the conflict of interest law.  As a compensated GLSD employee, Campagnone had, to her knowledge, a financial interest in her employment with the GLSD.

10.  When Campagnone became a City Councilor, her financial interest in her compensation as a GLSD employee raised an issue under § 20.  To retain that financial interest without violating § 20, Campagnone needed to comply with the city councilor’s exemption.  Under that exemption, she could receive compensation for either her GLSD position or her City Council position, but not both.  Even after being notified by the Enforcement Division that she was not in compliance with § 20, Campagnone did not comply with the city councilor’s exemption, but instead continued to receive both her GLSD compensation and her City Councilor’s stipend through November 2014.  Therefore, she violated § 20.

11.  Campagnone claims that she was not aware that she could not be compensated for her service in both her GLSD position and her position as City Councilor until she was so notified by the Enforcement Division on January 22, 2014.  Nevertheless, Campagnone continued to accept the monthly stipend for her service as a City Councilor from February 2014 through November 2014, receiving payments totaling $4,000.

Resolution

In view of the foregoing violations of G.L. c. 268A by Campagnone, the Commission has determined that the public interest would be served by the disposition of this matter without further enforcement proceedings, on the basis of the following terms and conditions to which Campagnone has agreed:

1. that Campagnone pay to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with such payment to be delivered to the Commission, the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) as a civil penalty for violating G.L. c. 268A, § 20;
2. that Campagnone make restitution to the City of Methuen in the amount of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000), which amount represents the total amount of the monthly city councilor stipends Campagnone continued to receive for 10 months (February 2014 to December 2014) after being notified by the Enforcement Division on January 22, 2014, of the    § 20 violation, with such payment to be delivered to the Commission; and
3. that Campagnone waive all rights to contest, in this or any other administrative or judicial proceeding to which the Commission is or may be a party, the findings of fact, conclusions of law and terms and conditions contained in this Agreement.

By signing below, Campagnone acknowledges that she has personally read this Disposition Agreement, that it is a public document, and that she agrees to all of the terms and conditions therein.