Inquiry & Complaint Procedure

It is the intention of the Denver Board of Ethics in these Rules of Procedure to establish procedures that are timely and that are fair to officers, officials and employees of the City and County of Denver and also to citizens who wish to report possible violations of the Code of Ethics. These Rules of Procedure are intended to set forth the procedures to implement the requirements of Chapter 2, Article IV of the Denver Revised Municipal Code (Code of Ethics) enacted by the Denver City Council on January 29, 2001, signed by the Mayor of Denver on January 31, 2001 and effective upon February 2, 2001, and any amendments thereto.

Board of Ethics (or Board) – The Board appointed by the Mayor and the City Council of the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado, pursuant to Article IV of Chapter 2 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code.

Code of Ethics (or code) – Article IV of Chapter 2 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code, as it may be amended from time to time.

Employee – any person in the employ of the city or of any of its agencies or departments.

Officer – any of the following: the Mayor, the Auditor, the members of City Council, the Clerk and Recorder, the Manager of Public Works, the Manager of Parks and Recreation, the Manager of Finance, the Manager of Environmental Health, the Manager of General Services, the Manager of Safety, the City Attorney, the Manager of Human Services, the Manager of Aviation and the Manager of Community Planning and Development.

1. There shall be a Chair and a Vice-Chair elected by the Board each year at the last meeting prior to June 1 or at a meeting as close to that date as practicable. 
2. The Chair, and in the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair, shall:
   1. Preside at all meetings.
   2. Administer oaths to or accept affirmations from all persons who wish to testify at hearings. 
   3. Decide all points of order, procedure and evidence unless overruled by a majority vote of the board. 
   4. Issue subpoenas, if authorized by the Board. 
3. In the absence of both the Chair and the Vice-Chair, a Chair Pro-Tem shall be elected by a majority of the members present.

1. All meetings shall be open to the public except for: a) deliberations on inquiries; b) deliberations on requests for advisory opinions if a motion has been passed to deliberate in executive session and c) those exceptions set forth in the Open Meetings ordinance of the City and County of Denver (2-31, et seq. DRMC). Board meetings shall be scheduled as needed either by a ruling of the Chair or by a majority vote of the Board. (amended on November 20, 2013) 
2. Written minutes of Board meetings which are open to the public shall be taken either by a designated Board member or a designated staff member. 
3. A quorum shall consist of three (3) members. 
4. If any member of the Board desires to abstain from participating in a particular case, he/she shall announce that fact on the record, stating the reason for such abstention. 
5. At least five days’ written notice of all meetings shall be given to all Board members, except that a quorum may waive the five day requirement provided any applicable notice requirements of Denver’s open meetings law (DRMC Sec. 2-35) are met.

• Any current or former or prospective officer, official or employee or the appointing authority of a non-elected officer, official or employee may submit a written request to the Board for an advisory opinion on whether any conduct by the officer, official or employee would constitute a violation of the Code of Ethics. 
• The Board or its designee may request any additional information deemed necessary to render an advisory opinion. 
• The Board shall render an advisory opinion in writing to the person who requested the opinion no later than six weeks from the time it received the request, unless the person who requested the opinion has withdrawn the request in writing, or unless requested additional information has not been received by the Board, or unless the Board has given written notice to the person requesting the opinion explaining the reason for the delay and stating an expected issuance date.
• The Board may publish advisory opinions with such deletions as may be lawful and necessary to prevent disclosure of the identity of the individual involved. The Board may also publish guidelines based on an advisory opinion if the subject of the opinion may be of general interest and guidance. 
• If the Board has a belief, based in fact, that an advisory opinion has not been complied with it shall inform the person, the person’s appointing authority and the City Attorney in writing and shall request the appointing authority to take appropriate action after consulting with the City Attorney.

1. Any current, former or prospective officer, official or employee may submit a written request for a waiver of any provision of the Code of Ethics to the Board. 
2. The Board or its designee may request any additional information deemed necessary to determine whether a waiver should be granted. 
3. The Board shall place all requests for waivers on its agenda and shall conduct its consideration of any requested waiver at a meeting open to the public. 
4. The Board shall render a decision in writing to the person who requested the waiver no later than six weeks from the time it received the request, unless the person who requested the waiver has withdrawn the request in writing, or unless requested additional information has not been received by the Board, or unless the Board has given written notice to the person requesting the waiver explaining the reason for the delay and stating an expected issuance date. 
5. The Board may grant a waiver for conduct that constitutes or may constitute a literal violation of the Code of Ethics, but where the Board determines that a waiver will serve the best interests of the city.

1. Any person may file an official written inquiry or complaint (hereinafter "complaint") with the Board asking whether a current officer, official, or employee has failed to comply with the Code of Ethics.
2. Unless a complaint meets the requirements of Subsection (a) of this Section (2), a complaint must be in writing on a form approved by the Board, be signed, and show the home or business address of the person who submitted it. The form shall contain a statement that must be signed and which states that, to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable reflection, the information in the complaint is true. The complaint must describe the facts that constitute the violation of the Code of Ethics in sufficient detail so that the Board and the person who is the subject of the complaint can reasonably be expected to understand the nature of any offense that is being alleged, as well as what section of the Code is alleged to have been violated. The Board or its designee may request any additional information deemed necessary to screen the complaint or render a decision.

• (a) Pursuant to Section 2-56(b) of the Denver Code of Ethics, the Board may accept anonymous complaints under the following circumstances:
• (i) The complaint must be submitted on a written form approved by the Board;
• (ii) The complainant must make a written request that their identity be kept confidential and the complaint must include a signed or acknowledged statement explaining the reasonable basis for requiring anonymity;
• (iii) The complainant must be a city officer, official, or employee or a person that has or is seeking a contract with the city or is doing business with or being regulated by the city;
• (iv) The complainant must include a signed or acknowledged statement that to the best of the complainants or inquirers knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable reflection, the information in the complaint is true;
• (v) The complaint must specifically identify the officer, official, or employee alleged to have violated the Code of Ethics;
• (vi) The complaint must include a signed or acknowledged statement that the complaint is not submitted for any retaliatory, political, or other improper purpose; 
• (vii) The complaint must contain reliable and credible facts, which are independently verifiable, to establish a prima facia case of the violation of the Code of Ethics;
• (viii) The violation of the Code of Ethics alleged in a complaint or about which a complaint is made, must implicate at least one of the following Sections of the Denver Code of Ethics: 2-59, 2-60, 2-61, 2-62, 2-63, 2-64, 2-67, 2-68. 
• (ix) Any complaint that merely alleges a violation of the legislative intent of the Ethics Code under Section 2-51, without reliable and credible facts, which are independently verifiable, supporting a violation of at least one of the following Sections: 2-59, 2-60, 2-61, 2-62, 2-63, 2-64, 2-67, 2-68, and 2-19, may be subject to nonacceptance by the Board of Ethics.
• (b) Any submission of a complaint to the Board of Ethics that fails to meet any of the circumstances set forth in Subsection (a) of this Section may be subject to nonacceptance by the Board of Ethics.
• (i) The Executive Director will provide a monthly report of all the screened-out complaints that were not accepted, including a brief summary of the allegations and defects that lead to the decision to not accept the complaint.
• (ii) The Board may decide, by a majority decision, to accept any complaint that has been screened out and not accepted by the Executive Director as the Board deems appropriate.
• (c) Any decision to accept or not to accept a completed anonymous complaint will occur within (45) days of receipt unless additional time is necessary and good cause is shown.
• (d) The Board is not precluded from disclosing the identity of the complainant to the extent necessary to conduct an investigation or refer the matter to another agency for further action, but it must notify the complainant prior to any disclosure. If the complainant does not agree to having their identity disclosed, they may choose to withdraw the complaint, however, the Board may independently pursue an investigation if a complaint is withdrawn. Further, the identity of the complainant may be disclosed by the Board pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act or as otherwise permitted by law.
• (e) Once accepted by the Board of Ethics as an anonymous complaint meeting the requirements of Subsection (a) of this Section 2), all other procedures set forth in these Rules of Procedure will thereafter be applicable.   
• (f) A decision to accept or not accept an anonymous complaint may be taken up on a consent calendar or can be called out to be considered individually by request of any member of the Board. Each action on the consent calendar will be recorded individually in the meeting minutes.

Case numbers shall be assigned chronologically for each written request for advisory opinion, request for waiver and inquiry, with a new sequence to commence on the first day of each calendar year. The calendar year shall be the first two digits of the case number followed by a hyphen (for example, 01-1 designates the first case filed in 2001).

A copy of the Board’s meeting agenda shall be posted at the location of the meeting and at any other appropriate locations and on the Board’s website.

The parliamentary rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, latest revision, shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable, except as modified by these Rules of Procedure.

Any member or employee of the board of ethics shall disqualify himself or herself from participating in any matter before the board in which his or her impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including, but not limited to, instances where he or she has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of or involvement in disputed evidentiary facts concerning the matter.

In the event that an employee of the board of ethics receives a request for an advisory opinion, a request for a waiver or an inquiry from which the employee is disqualified, and the employee has recused himself or herself, the board shall request a designee of the city attorney or a member of the board to perform all functions the employee would otherwise perform.

 A person who is the subject of an inquiry who is subsequently exonerated may apply to the City Attorney for reimbursement of reasonable legal expenses from the “Liability Claims” appropriations. The City Attorney shall promptly provide reimbursement subject to the limitations of this section.

As used in this section, the term “legal expenses” shall include reasonable attorney fees, witness fees, stenographer fees, investigator fees, and other direct costs in connection with the answer to an inquiry. The person applying for reimbursement shall submit his or her application for reimbursement to the City Attorney within fourteen days of the Board’s decision. The City Attorney, or in the case of a conflict, a designee of the City Attorney, shall determine, in his or her sole discretion, the reasonableness of the legal expenses. The exonerated person may not appeal or challenge the City Attorney’s determination with the Board or any other entity. The maximum reimbursement from the City shall not exceed the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7500.00).