DP3

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP3

Should Engineer Doe participate in the planning board's deliberation and vote on subdivision plans that he personally designed in his private consulting capacity and for which he has already issued a favorable recommendation as county engineer?

The subdivision plans that Engineer Doe privately prepared have been submitted to the county planning board — the body on which Doe sits as a member — and are now scheduled for deliberation and vote. Doe has already issued a favorable recommendation in his county engineer capacity. As a planning board member, he must now decide how to participate in the board's consideration of plans in which he holds a direct private financial interest as their designer.

Formally abstain from all planning board activity related to the subdivision plans — including discussion, deliberation, recommendation, and vote — disclosing the private financial interest to the board and withdrawing from the room during consideration, thereby satisfying the abstention condition that is the minimum prerequisite for any permissibility of private services by commission members.

Disclose the private consulting relationship to the board and then cast an affirmative vote to approve the plans — the path Engineer Doe actually took — treating disclosure as a cure for the conflict and proceeding to participate fully in the approval of plans in which he holds a direct financial interest, in violation of the absolute recusal obligation.

Engage in board discussion and deliberation about the plans while abstaining only from the formal vote — a partial recusal that fails to satisfy the full abstention obligation, as the prohibition extends to all participation including discussion and recommendation, not merely the formal voting act.

Planning Board Member Voting on Self-Designed Plans