§ 209-ee. Adoption of a code of ethics and disclosure of interests by
fire companies. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of general, special or
local law to the contrary, every fire company that contracts with or is
under the control of a county, city, town, village or fire district to
provide fire protection or other emergency service, shall adopt a code
of ethics. Such code shall set forth the standards of conduct reasonably
expected.
2. Any elected and/or appointed officer of a volunteer fire company
responsible for governance, including but not limited to a line officer,
treasurer, president, vice president and secretary, who has, will have,
or later acquires an interest in or whose spouse has, will have, or
later acquires an interest in any actual or proposed contract, purchase
agreement, lease agreement or other agreement, including oral
agreements, with the fire company of which he or she is a member, shall
publicly disclose the nature and extent of such interest in writing to
his or her immediate supervisor and to the governing body thereof as
soon as he or she has knowledge of such actual or prospective interest.
Such written disclosure shall be made part of and set forth in the
official record of the proceedings of such body.
3. a. For the purpose of this section the term fire company shall have
the same meaning as defined in section three of the volunteer
firefighters' benefit law.
b. For the purpose of this section the term interest shall mean a
direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit accruing to an elected
and/or appointed officer of a volunteer company as the result of a
contract with the fire entity which he or she serves. For the purposes
of this article an elected and/or appointed officer of a volunteer
company shall be deemed to have an interest in the contract of (i) his
or her spouse, minor children and dependents, (ii) a firm, partnership
or association of which such individual is a member or employee, (iii) a
corporation of which such individual is an officer, director or employee
and (iv) a corporation any stock of which is owned or controlled
directly or indirectly by such individual.
c. The disclosure requirement of subdivision two of this section shall
not apply to the following:
(i) a contract with a corporation in which an individual has an
interest by reason of stockholdings when less than five per centum of
the outstanding stock of the corporation is owned or controlled directly
or indirectly by such individual; or
(ii) a contract in which an individual has an interest if the total
consideration payable thereunder, when added to the aggregate amount of
all consideration payable under contracts in which such person had an
interest during the fiscal year, does not exceed the sum of seven
hundred fifty dollars.