Town creates new policy for handling conflicts of interest

The Princeton Council passed a new policy governing the procedure through which Council members recuse themselves from decisions in which they have a personal conflict of interest at a meeting on Monday evening. The policy will allow the Council to consult with either a municipal attorney or a conflict of interest representative to determine whether recusal is necessary.

The new policy may affect Council decisions regarding the University, as several Council members have ties to the University. Councilwoman Heather Howard, for example, is a professor in the Wilson School. Mayor Liz Lempert also received criticism last January for not excusing herself from a Council decision on the annual payment-in-lieu-of-taxes the University makes to the town budget. Lempert’s husband is a tenured University professor. Furthermore, both candidates for mayor last November had spouses employed by the University.

In response to a query at the last meeting about whether a Council member may participate in Council discussions on a topic from which he has recused himself, attorney William Bradford Middlekauff said that a Council member should leave the Council table at the front of the meeting room during the discussion. The mayor or Council president may then decide whether the recused member must leave the room entirely.

The policy does not create standards any different from the New Jersey local government ethics law. Middlekauff added that if any town policy created standards that differed from the state’s, the state law would overrule the policy. Rather than establish new standards for conflicts of interest, he explained that the policy would only set new guidelines for the procedure of identifying conflicts of interest.

“This policy is in many ways a procedural element,” Middlekauff said. “It does not say, ‘Here is a list of situations where there is a conflict; here is a list of situations where there isn’t a conflict.’ ”

Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller suggested the possibility that Princeton, like many other communities, could adopt a local ethics board. The ethics board would then replace the municipal attorney as the authority that decides when Council members should recuse themselves.

Middlekauff said that Princeton could consider establishing an ethics board since state law includes a framework for such a board, which would deal with other issues beyond conflicts of interest.

Councilwoman Jo Butler said she felt that the policy should draw “bright lines” about specific cases when a Council member should or should not be recused from a decision. Butler expressed a concern that the policy was discussing nebulous possible interests rather than discussing the kinds of situations that the Council encounters regularly.

“One of the objectives of having a conflict of interest policy is communicating to our constituents how we intend to interpret local ethics laws,” she said. “We have an obligation to be clear and consistent.”

She noted that firmer guidelines could help protect the Council against litigation and the possibility that a decision might be overturned. Middlekauff said that nothing in the new policy would prevent the Council from establishing bright-line rules in the future.

Several Council members mentioned the possibility that the Council could reexamine the policy in six months to evaluate it.

However, despite discussion about the unfinished nature of the policy, the council as a whole expressed support for immediate action. Councilman Bernard Miller, for example, acknowledged the large number of “TBDs” associated with the policy but said that the council needs to have a process in place.

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“We have a policy,” Councilman Lance Liverman said. “It may not be the best in the world, but we need to have something in place, and I think we’re moving forward.”

Correction: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that both candidates for Princeton mayor last year had spouses who were University professor's. One candidate was married to a professor, while the other was married to an administrator. The 'Prince' regrets the error.