This Advisory Opinion concerns the following issue as formulated from facts and/or circumstances furnished by a requestor. The Commission approved this opinion on July 12, 1996, basing its approval solely on the facts and circumstances stated herein.

May a sheriff form a monthly club and charge a $25.00 monthly fee to the members for the purpose of meeting to discuss and be updated on community matters and happenings in the sheriff's office?

The pertinent conflict of interest laws to be considered here are:

Code Section 25-4-101 states:

"The legislature declares that elective and public office and employment is a public trust and any effort to realize personal gain through official conduct, other than as provided by law, or as a natural consequence of the employment or position, is a violation of that trust. Therefore, public servants shall endeavor to pursue a course of conduct which will not raise suspicion among the public that they are likely to be engaged in acts that are in violation of this trust and which will not reflect unfavorably upon the state and local governments."

Code Section 25-4-103(b), (g)(i), (h), (1) and (p)(i) states:

"(b) 'Benefit' means any gain or advantage to the beneficiary, including any gain or advantage to a third person pursuant to the desire or consent of the beneficiary.

(g) 'Governmental' means the state and all political entities thereof, both collectively and separately, including but not limited to:

(i) Counties.

(h) 'Governmental entity' means the state, a county, a municipality or any other separate political subdivision authorized by law to exercise a part of the sovereign power of the state.

(1) 'Pecuniary benefit' means benefit in the form of money, property, commercial interests or anything else the primary significance of which is economic gain. Expenses associated with social occasions afforded public servants shall not be deemed a pecuniary benefit.

(p) 'Public servant' means:

(i) Any elected or appointed official of the government." Code Section 25-4-105 (1) states:

"(1) No public servant shall use his official position to obtain pecuniary benefit for himself other than that compensation provided for by law, or to obtain pecuniary benefit for any relative or any business with which he is associated."

I have been approached by individuals to form a monthly club that meets to discuss and be updated on community matters and happenings in the local sheriffs Office. We will meet once a month wherein for a $25.00 fee, the group will be fed a dinner in a formal setting, banquet style, and we will have speakers and topics of interest.

The difference in the monthly $25.00 fee less cost of the meal and expense of the meeting will be deposited in an election fund to be used in the 2000 election year. It will be reported yearly, as required by our election reporting laws for those individuals that donate over $200.00 in a given calendar year, NOT including expenses.

I and a local attorney agree that as long as the $200 or more is reported yearly as required, that it may be utilized in an election year.

Please advise if Ethics might concur or not for my records before implementing this endeavor.

First, the requestor is advised that the Secretary of State's Office and not this Commission has the statutory authority and responsibility to interpret and enforce the State's campaign finance laws. Therefore, the Secretary of State's Office should address your questions regarding what funds are to be reported as campaign contributions and when and how they are to be reported. In addition, the Attorney General's Office issues formal opinions on the campaign finance laws upon receiving a written request.

This Commission does find that the requestor's facts and circumstances raise serious concerns regarding the above cited Code Section 25-4-105(1) of the Mississippi Ethics in Government laws.

Code Section 25-4-105(1) prohibits public servants from using their official positions to obtain a pecuniary benefit for themselves other than that compensation provided for by law.

The requestor is clearly a public servant as he is the elected sheriff of the county. Also, the requestor is clearly obtaining a pecuniary benefit that is the net amount of the $25.00 fee to be placed in his re-election coffer.

The question here is whether the requestor is using his official position as sheriff to obtain this pecuniary benefit. It is necessary to look only as far as the requestor's own words to answer this question. In his letter, the requestor writes, "I have been approached by individuals to form a monthly club that meets to discuss and be updated on community matters and happenings in the local Sheriff's Office. We will meet once a month wherein for a $25.00 fee, the group will be fed a dinner in a formal setting, banquet style, and we will have speakers and topics of interest."

A sheriff forming a monthly club and charging a fee to citizens that wish "to discuss and be updated on community matters and happenings in the local Sheriff's Office" is clearly a use of the sheriff's official position to obtain a pecuniary benefit. Any meeting with the purpose of providing information concerning a public office, a sheriff's office or otherwise, must be open to and free of any charge to the public at large. A public office, including a sheriff's office, belongs to the public and information concerning it must flow freely to the public.

This is not to say that the requestor cannot hold banquet style campaign functions and those attending contribute a predetermined per plate charge. At these functions the requestor may discuss his record in office and any other matters that do not jeopardize the proper functioning of his office. However, the banquets should be clearly identified as campaign functions and not as "monthly club" meetings for those citizens interested in knowing what their sheriff's office is doing.

The issue presented by the requestor also must be viewed as it relates to Code Section 25-4-101, set forth above. This code section sets the tone for the conflict of interest laws as the Legislature's "Declaration of Public Policy." This public policy can be summarized as any

circumstance having the potential of creating suspicion among the public and reflecting unfavorably upon the state or local government should be closely reviewed by public servants with the intent to reduce or eliminate any suspicion on the part of the public which detracts from the public's trust in state or local government.

Citizens not joining the "monthly club" could logically assume that they would not be fully informed of the operations of the sheriff's office unless they paid the $25.00 fee thereby raising suspicions among them. Further, it is reasonable to expect that some citizens might initially understand that joining the "monthly club" and paying the $25.00 fee would benefit the sheriff's office and not the sheriff thereby reflecting unfavorably upon the county government.

Clearly, the Legislature included the above Public Policy in the State's conflict of interest laws to direct elected and public officials to avoid circumstances like the "monthly club" that violate the public trust by an effort to realize personal gain as a natural consequence of their public positions.

Therefore, the forming of the "monthly club" as described in the requestor's letter is prohibited by Code Section 25-4-105(1) and contrary to the Public Policy in Code Section 25-4-101.
 

Ronald E. Crowe Executive Director