1/17 Newly Elected Officials Course Assessment

Name(Required)

First Last

Municipality(Required)

Email(Required)

Which activity listed below is prohibited under the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act?(Required)

Accepting a gift from someone with the understanding that the gift will influence an upcoming vote

Accepting an honorarium

Participating in a vote knowing that you have a conflict of interest

All of the above

Which of the matters below should be discussed during an Executive Session?(Required)

Discussing which paving contractor's bid to approve

Discussing whether or not to raise taxes

Discussing the status of a lawsuit involving the municipality with the Solicitor

All of the above

Which of the documents below may be withheld by an agency's Open Records Officer because the requested record falls under an Exception set forth in the Right-to-Know Law?(Required)

Reports containing a person's medical and psychological history

Notes of a public official prepared solely for personal use

Emails between members of the governing body regarding which roads should be part of the next paving contract

A & B

Municipalities can regulate public comment by:(Required)

Adopting a Resolution limiting public comment to three minutes per speaker

Prohibiting public comment altogether at meetings

Moving public comment exclusively to the end of the meeting

Deleting comments from Municipal-run social media websites

What may constitute an “accidental meeting”?(Required)

Deliberations of a quorum of public officials via email

Deliberations of a quorum of public officials via text message

Deliberations during a community event with a quorum of public officials

All of the above

Which requirements must be met prior to a meeting:

Preparation of meeting minutes

Preparation of Agenda

Advertise Meeting and Post Agenda

B & C

The purpose of the Ethics Act is:(Required)

To regulate the morals and values of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

To help public servants accrue as much wealth as possible during their terms of office

To ensure that public officials and public employees do not realize financial gain other than compensation provided for by law

A Township Supervisor is faced with a situation where there is a vote to be taken at a public meeting on a matter that would financially benefit the Supervisor. Your best advice should be:(Required)

Tell the Supervisor they can lobby their colleagues before the meeting in private, but they shouldn’t vote at the public meeting because it will look bad

Completely abstain from discussion about the matter. At the meeting, disclose the nature of their conflict, file a written memo disclosing the nature of their interest, and abstain from voting

Vote yes in a "whisper"

An Advice/Opinion from the State Ethics Commission:(Required)

Is valuable because it provides a complete legal defense

is no substitute for a solicitor's legal advice

Can be disregarded without consequence

10) On a scale from 1 to 5 (with 5 being the highest), to what level do you feel today’s session increased your ability to effectively do your job as a municipal official/representative?(Required)

Please provide comments here – including suggestions for speakers & topics: