NENA Conflict of Interest Policy
Adopted December 13, 2001

1.0 Statement of Purpose. Everyone who is involved with the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) must be sensitive to conflicts of interest and related issues. The purpose of this policy is to assure that all recommendations and decisions made by NENA are done so in a manner that encourages public confidence in NENA's processes and outcomes.

2.0 Definitions. The following definitions apply to this policy:

2.1 Disclose shall mean delivery of notice to the NENA Board Chair as soon as is reasonably practicable, or in any event, before the person making a disclosure votes or participates in the decision of anything related to the subject matter of the disclosure.

2.2 Gain shall mean gifts, gratuities and pecuniary gain, whether direct or indirect, from NENA funded programs and activities with which the Participant is involved.

2.3 Household shall mean anyone who resides with a Participant or members of the Participant's immediate family, including spouse, child, spouse of child, brother, sister, or spouse of brother or sister.

2.5 Participant means any person who is a member of, or an independent contractor for, NENA. This includes officers and members of the NENA Board and the NENA NRP Steering Committee, a volunteer of any committee, task force, or working group, or an employee of NENA.

3.0 Relationship with Other Applicable Law. This Policy supplements but does not supercede federal, state and municipal law governing conflicts of interest as it may apply to government, non-profit and tax-exempt organizations.

4.0 Authority for Adoption. This Policy is adopted pursuant to the Board's responsibilities as a nonprofit corporation, and supplements Article 13 of the NENA By-Laws.

5.0 Scope. This Policy applies to all transactions, contracts, and programs funded wholly or in part by NENA.

6.0 Use of Information

6.1 The NENA Conflict of Interest Policy must be made known to the Participants, reasonably available for public review, and shall be minimally distributed to those who wish to serve in any elected or appointed position.

6.2 A Participant may not use NENA records or information for personal or organizational Gain or for someone else's personal or organizational Gain.

7.0 Conflicts of Interest.

7.1 A conflict of interest occurs when the interest of a Participant, or a member of the Participant's Household, conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of NENA.

7.2 A conflict of interest occurs when a Participant, a member of the Participant's Household, or an organization that employs a Participant has a substantial financial interest in an action to be taken by NENA.

7.3 A Participant shall make full and complete disclosure of any actual or potential conflicts of interest.

7.4 Conflicts identified under any provision of this Policy may be waived or otherwise remedied as provided herein.

8.0 Types of Gains that Constitute a Conflict of Interest.

8.1 Gifts and Gratuities. Participants and members of their Households have a conflict if they directly or indirectly give, offer, request or accept gifts or gratuities from any person in connection with a transaction, proceeding, program or other action associated with NENA.

8.2 Participation in funded activities. Participants and members of their Households have a conflict if they participate in programs and activities that are funded, in whole or in part, by NENA, unless:

• The Participant does not participate in any manner influencing the decision or design of programs or activities where the Participant, members of the Participant's Household or employer may derive Gain; and,
• The application for any NENA funded or sponsored program or activity is reviewed and acted upon in accordance with the same guidelines and/or review criteria that apply to all applicants; and,
• The Participant does not participate in any manner in the review of, decision on, or vote for his or her own application; and,
• The Participant Discloses to NENA that his or her application may represent a conflict of interest and such conflict is waived under this policy; and,
• NENA maintains in its program records certification that the Participant has complied with the requirements of this section and has taken the actions required by this policy to waive the potential conflict pursuant to this section.

9.0 Relationships Creating a Duty to Disclose a Conflict of Interest. Participants shall disclose any relationship described under this section.

9.1 Relationships with other entities. Participants and members of their Households have a conflict of interest if they may derive Gain and if they serve on the board of directors of, or act as an employee or independent contractor of, any of the following:

• Any entity that receives or seeks to receive NENA funds.
• Any entity that conducts any activities, or seeks to conduct any activities that are or may be paid for, in whole or in part, by NENA funds.

10.0 Relief and Waiver.

10.1 Findings required for waiver. Conflicts of interests and prohibitions on relationships and/or transactions may be waived after full and complete disclosure if NENA makes findings of fact that granting a waiver is in the best interests of NENA and the specific program or activity.

10.2 Procedure for handling a conflict of interest. Any Participant, including a person who has made a disclosure, may, by point of order, ask that the person making the disclosure recuse him or herself from discussion and/or voting on the subject matter of the disclosure or may request a waiver of the conflict or prohibition. The Board Chair, or the Vice Chair if the Chair has the conflict, shall rule on whether relief is warranted and if so, what form the relief shall take (recusal, waiver, etc.).

• The conflict may be addressed by waiving the conflict after reviewing the factual situation, removing the conflict by requiring an action by the individual with the conflict, or limiting the extent of the conflict. The Chair's (or the Vice Chair's) decision may be appealed and over-ruled only by a two-thirds vote of those Board Members present and eligible to vote. The Chair (or the Vice Chair) must resolve the issues raised by the disclosure before a vote can be taken regarding the subject matter of the disclosure.

10.3 Required record. NENA's record of the meeting or meetings at which a conflict is raised and/or addressed must include:

• a list of the persons present at the meeting or meetings where discussion of or action on the disclosure or allegation took place;
• the name of the person making the disclosure or who is alleged to have a conflict of interest or other action prohibited by this policy;
• the disclosure or allegations;
• adoption of findings required for waiver, if any;
• the name of the person who brought the point of order or made the allegations;
• a summary of the discussion on the point or allegations; and
• the relief requested, the ruling of the Chair, the relief granted or denied and the vote taken on appeal, if any.

10.4 Retention of documents. Written disclosure documents shall be retained by NENA staff as part of NENA's records.

10.5 Action determinative. If the procedures of this section are followed in good faith, the action taken hereunder shall be determinative of the issue or allegations.

11.0 Sanctions.

11.1 Participants. The NENA Board will address alleged violations by Participants of the Conflict of Interest Policy. The sanction applied should be based upon the seriousness of the breach in conduct. The available sanctions may include but not be limited to:

• admonishment
• censure
• cancellation of any NENA funded contracts with the individual or their organization
• repayment of NENA funds previously disbursed to the individual or their organization
• recovery of reasonable attorney fees and the costs for collection of disbursed NENA funds, and/or
• barring the individual or organization from future participation in NENA activities and contracts.

11.2 NENA Staff. Staff members who violate Conflict of Interest provisions will be subject to disciplinary action.

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Policy on Releasing NENA Documents
Approved by the Board of Directors, 26 July 2001

Except where Minnesota State Statute or federal regulations require otherwise, all requests by NENA members for copies or to view information must be in writing. The requests must specify exactly which documents are being sought.

It is up to the requesting person to contact the office to set up an appointment to view documents. NENA staff will schedule a time when documents may be viewed, not to exceed 60 days from the date the NENA office was contacted to set up an appointment. NENA members may ask that we compile copies for them to pick up. NENA will set a date the copies can be picked up, not to exceed 60 days from the date the NENA office received the request.

NENA will charge for copies at a rate of $.25 per page. Payment for copies must be made prior to printing if the cost exceeds $5.00.

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Policy on Soliciting Contributions
Adopted by the NENA Board of Directors, August 24, 2000

Purpose:

• To track all contributions made to NENA.
• To ensure that we do not over-solicit certain businesses.
• To ensure that soliciting contributions is done in a consistent manner.
• To ensure that contributors are provided with a thank you letter and receipt.

Procedure:

• Anyone wishing to solicit donations must inform the Executive Director of what they want to solicit, who they plan to solicit from, and the purpose of the requested donation.
• The Executive Director must pre-approve all solicitations.
• Persons soliciting must keep track of and report to the Executive Director who was asked for a donation and the response. This information must include the name of the business, the contact person, the address and telephone number. Tracking negative responses is also important, including the reason given.
• The business (or individual) being asked for a contribution should be told that contributions to NENA are tax deductible, and that NENA will send them a receipt for their donation.
• If a donation is offered, a description of the donation and its approximate value (if known), the date the donation was made, and the contact information (business name and address, contact person and telephone) for the donor should be submitted to the Executive Director.
• If a donation is offered, the contributor should be asked if NENA may use their name to publically acknowledge their contribution (such as a verbal thank you at a community meeting, a mention in the NENA Review, a listing in an annual report).
• The Executive Director will send a thank you letter and receipt to the donor.
• The donation will be recorded for financial tracking purposes.

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NENA Policy on Recording Minutes
Adopted November 20, 2001

Meeting minutes are a formal record of a meeting, and as such become part of NENA's organizational record.

Minutes should be recorded in a simple, factual, and straightforward manner. Minutes should be recorded for all board meetings, town meetings, committee meetings, official sub-committee meetings, and task force meetings.

Minutes should include:

• When and where the meeting was held.
• A list of people who attended the meeting.
• The meeting agenda.
• Formal (voted on) actions or recommendations.
• Minutes may include the fact that a discussion took place on an agenda item or the fact that a report was made.

Minutes should not include the remarks of individual members. Draft minutes should be submitted to NENA staff who will prepare the minutes in accordance with this policy.

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