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i. Use the City logos for personal or private benefit or modify the logos in any way <br />not approved by the logo manual. Elected and appointed officials are not permitted <br />to use City logos or emblems when engaging with the public unless the official has <br />obtained approval from the appropriate Council, board or commission. The <br />appearance of City logos can confuse the public into believing that views or <br />opinions expressed constitute the position of the City. The use of City logos is <br />further governed by the City Logo Guide. <br />j. Hold incompatible offices. No elected person can be a full-time employee of the <br />City, and part-time positions must be analyzed for compatibility of the two <br />positions. <br />k. Represent through written or oral means as an elected or appointed member of <br />the body, a position that is in conflict to that of the City Council, board or <br />commission, or a position that is premature to an action before the City Council, <br />board or commission without clearly stating that the position is their own position <br />and not the position of the City. <br />l. Use the person’s elected or appointed position to impede the efficiency of the <br />body’s decision-making. <br />m. Encourage or participate in the manner that erodes order and decorum at a <br />meeting. <br /> <br />Except as prohibited by the provisions of Minnesota Statute Section 471.87, there is no <br />violation of item b. of this section for a matter that comes before the council, board, or <br />commission, if the member of the council, board, or commission publicly discloses the <br />circumstances that would violate these standards and refrains from participating in the <br />discussion and vote on the matter. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a contract <br />with an elected or appointed official under the circumstances described under Minnesota <br />Statute Section 471.88, if proper statutory procedures are followed. <br /> <br /> Subd. 3. Standard of Conduct — Ex Parte Communication. An ex parte <br />communication means an oral or written, off the record communication made between an <br />interested party (such as an applicant or citizen in favor/opposition to a proposed <br />application/project) and elected leaders, board members, and commissioners outside of <br />a public meeting, intended to influence a decision. Ex parte communications may present <br />a concern in the context of quasi-judicial actions (where the government body takes action <br />based on a prescribed standard that affects an individual or small group of citizens, such <br />as whether to grant a conditional use permit) as compared to legislative actions (where <br />the action affects the population as a whole, such as whether to amend the zoning code). <br />Additional examples of quasi-judicial actions are whether to grant a variance or a special <br />use permit, and an appeal to the City Council of the Heritage Preservation Commission's <br />decision not to grant a Certificate of Appropriateness. Elected leaders, board members, <br />and commission members should not engage in ex parte communications in quasi-judicial <br />actions because of the concern about the appearance of impropriety and potential for <br />public body's decision to be verturned by a court of law if the ex parte communication led <br />to a biased decision. Avoiding ex parte communication in quasi-judicial actions allows <br />each decision maker to be given the same information at the same time, on which to <br />make a decision. <br />48