E. The town board reaffirms by this ordinance that a town official or employee holds his or her position as a public trust, and any effort to realize personal gain through official conduct is a violation of that trust. This ordinance does not prevent any town official or employee from accepting other employment or following any pursuit that in no way interferes with the full and faithful discharge of his or her duties to this town. The town board recognizes all of the following:

1. That town officials and town employees are drawn from society and, therefore, cannot and should not be without all personal and economic interest in the decisions and policies of government.

2. That town officials and town employees retain their rights as citizens to interests of a personal or economic nature.

3. That standards of ethical conduct for town officials and town employees need to distinguish between minor and inconsequential conflicts that are unavoidable in a free society and conflicts that are substantial and material.

4. That town officials and town employees may need to engage in employment, professional, or business activities, other than official duties, in order to support themselves or their families and to maintain a continuity of professional or business activity, or may need to maintain investments, which activities or investments do not conflict with the provisions of this ordinance.

This ordinance, adopted pursuant to s. 19.59, Wis. stats., by a majority of the town board on a roll call vote with a quorum present and voting and proper notice having been given, provides for the town to regulate, permit, or limit certain acts of certain town officials and town employees in the town.

A. “Anything of value” means any money or property, favor, service, payment, advance, forbearance, loan, or promise of future employment to a town official or employee, but does not include compensation and expenses paid by the town board, fees and expenses that are permitted and political contributions that are reported under ch. 11, Wis. stats., or money or hospitality extended for a purpose unrelated to town business by a person other than an organization.

B. “Associated,” when used with reference to an organization, includes any organization in which an individual or a member of his or her immediate family is a director, officer, or trustee, or owns or controls directly or indirectly, and severally or in the aggregate, at least 10% of the outstanding equity or of which an individual or a member of his or her immediate family is an authorized representative or agent.

C. “Ethics board” means the Town Ethics Board of the Town of ________.

D. “Gift” means the payment or receipt of anything of value without valuable consideration.

E. “Immediate family” means parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, parents-in-law, grandparents-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, spouses, fiancées or fiancés.

F. “Income” has the meaning given under Section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code.

G. “Internal Revenue Code” has the meaning given in s. 71.01 (6), Wis. stats.

H. “Ministerial action” means an action that an individual performs in a given state of facts in a prescribed manner in obedience to the mandate of legal authority, without regard to the exercise of the individual’s own judgment as to the propriety of the action being taken.

I. “Nominal value” means having negligible, inconsequential, or slight value and not any substantial value. Examples include pens, hats, date books, calendars, or key chains having a value of less than $5.

J. “Organization” means any corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, enterprise, franchise, association, trust, or other legal entity other than an individual or body politic.

K. 1. “Security” has the meaning given in s. 551.102 (28), Wis. stats.

2. “Security” does not include a certificate of deposit in a bank, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or similar association organized under the laws of any state or the federal government; a defined benefit retirement plan, an annuity, a money market fund, a mutual fund, or an exchange-traded fund or exchanged-traded note.

L. “Substantial value” means having more than nominal or inconsequential value or having merchantable value. Any item or service with a value of $5 or more is presumed to have substantial and not nominal or inconsequential value.

M. “Town” means the Town of ________, ________ County, Wisconsin.

N. “Town board” means the board of supervisors for the Town of ________, ________ County, Wisconsin, and includes designees of the board authorized to act for the board.

O. “Town clerk” means the clerk of the Town of ________, ________ County, Wisconsin.

P. “Town employee” means any individual who is not a town official, and who holds an office or position in the service of the town [if applicable, not including an office or position subject to the jurisdiction of the town fire and police commission].

Q. “Town official” means any individual holding any of the following:

2. An appointive town office or position in which an individual serves for a specified term, except a position limited to the exercise of ministerial action or a position filled by an independent contractor.