21-Deliberate and possibly act on adoption of a code of ethics for City Council, boards, commissions and committees

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10. Confidential Information. Members shall respect the confidentiality of information concerning the property, personnel or affairs of the City. They shall neither disclose confidential information without proper legal authorization, nor use such information to advance their personal, financial or other private interests. 11. Use of Public Resources. Members shall not use public resources not available to the public in general, such as City staff time, equipment, supplies or facilities, for private gain or personal purposes. 12. Representation of Private Interests. In keeping with their role as stewards of the public interest, members of Council shall not appear on behalf of the private interests of third parties before the Council or any board, commission or proceeding of the City, nor shall members of boards and commissions appear before their own bodies or before the Council on behalf of the private interests of third parties on matters related to the areas of service of their bodies. 13. Advocacy. Members shall represent the official policies or positions of the City Council, board or commission to the best of their ability when designated as delegates for this purpose. When presenting their individual opinions and positions, members shall explicitly state they do not represent their body or the City of Sunnyvale, nor will they allow the inference that they do. Councilmembers and board and commission members have the right to endorse candidates for all Council seats or other elected offices. It is inappropriate to mention or display endorsements during Council meetings, board/commission meetings, or other official City meetings. 14. Policy Role of Members. Members shall respect and adhere to the council-manager structure of Sunnyvale City government as outlined by the Sunnyvale City Charter. In this structure, the City Council determines the policies of the City with the advice, information and analysis provided by the public, boards and commissions, and City staff. Except as provided by the City Charter, members therefore shall not interfere with the administrative functions of the City or the professional duties of City staff; nor shall they impair the ability of staff to implement Council policy decisions. 15. Independence of boards and commissions. Because of the value of the independent advice of boards and commissions to the public decision-making process, members of Council shall refrain from using their position to unduly influence the deliberations or outcomes of board and commission proceedings. 16. Positive Work Place Environment. Members shall support the maintenance of a positive and constructive work place environment for City employees and for citizens and businesses dealing with the City. Members shall recognize their special role in dealings with City employees to in no way create the perception of inappropriate direction to staff. B.CONDUCT The Conduct section of the City's Code of Ethics and Conduct is designed to describe the manner in which Councilmembers and board and commission members should treat one another, City staff, constituents, and others they come into contact with in representing the City of Sunnyvale. It reflects the work of a Council Policy and Protocol Subcommittee that was charged with defining more clearly the behavior, manners, and courtesies that are suitable for various occasions. The Subcommittee also considered a wide variety of policy changes and clarifications designed to make public meetings and the process of governance run more smoothly. The constant and consistent theme through all of the conduct guidelines is "respect." Councilmembers experience huge workloads and tremendous stress in making decisions that could impact thousands of lives. Despite these pressures, elected and appointed officials are p r n~ 9115