White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Robert Greer Hospital Vote Found Not a Conflict of Interest.

WPCNR Common Council Chronicle-Examiner. October 24, 2002: The White Plains Board of Ethics found Councilman Robert Greer to not be in conflict of interest in voting on the New York Presbyterian Hospital biomedical complex and proton accelerator facility proposal last August, in an opinion released Wednesday.

The ruling was in response to a criticism leveled by Lynn Huber of White Plains that because Mr. Greer's wife works for the New York Presbyterian Hospital, he should not have been allowed to vote on the hospital proposal.

The Board of Ethics rejected Mr. Huber's contention on two grounds: 1.) That the Board has no jurisiction, because, according to city code, "advisory opinions (of the Board of Ethics) are to on ethics-relateed matters involving prospective conduct and may be requested only by the individual officer or employee (Mr. Greer) whose conduct may be called into question." Therefore, only Councilman Greer would have standing before this Board to seek an advisory opinion as to his prospective conduct.

However, the Board said, it was allowed "to receive from any person a written complaint questioning the compliance of any City officer or employee with the Code of Ethics," and agreed to consider Mr. Huber's letter a complaint, making the following accessment.

The Board of Ethics pointed out to Mr. Huber that Mr. Greer sought an opinion from Edward Dunphy, City Corporation Counsel, on just this ethics issue, and received an opinion from Dunphy at the time in 1998, in lieu of the Board of Ethics being operational at the time. The Board of Ethics noted to Mr. Huber that Mr. Greer, acting on Dunphy's opinion disclosed his wife's duties to the Council on April 6, 1998, and did so again at the August 5, 2002 meeting where the most recent NYPH proposal was considered and passed.

The Board in its letter to Mr. Huber concluds that, given Councilman Greer's reasonable reliance on the Corporation Counsel's opinion, the absence of any change in circumstances since the opinion was rendered, and his consistent disclosure on the official minutes of the Common Council's meetings of his wife's part-time employment with New York Presbyterian Hospital, there is no basis for an investigation of Councilman Greer's vote...

The Board dismissed the complaint by a 3-0 vote, Gerald Stern, Nancy Barry and James Noonan voting for, with Mark Elliot abstaining. William Vrooman was absent.


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