Code of Ethics

Public employment is a public trust. It is the policy of the City of Mesquite to promote the objective of protecting government integrity and of facilitating the recruitment and retention of personnel needed by the City of Mesquite. Such policy is implemented by prescribing essential standards of ethical conduct without creating unnecessary obstacles to entering public service.

Public employees must discharge their duties impartially so as to assure fair competitive access to governmental procurement by responsible contractors. Moreover, they should conduct themselves in such a manner as to foster public confidence in the integrity of the City of Mesquite Purchasing Division.

To achieve this purpose, it is essential that those conducting business with the City of Mesquite also observe the ethical standard prescribed below:

1. It shall be a breach of ethics to attempt to realize personal gain through public employment with the City of Mesquite by any conduct inconsistent with the proper discharge of the employee’s duties. 
2. It shall be a breach of ethics to attempt to influence any public employee of the City of Mesquite to breach the standards of ethical conduct set forth in this code.
3. It shall be a breach of ethics for any employee of the City of Mesquite to participate directly or indirectly in a procurement when the employee knows that:
• the employee or any member of the employee’s immediate family has a financial interest pertaining to the procurement; or
• a business or organization in which the employee, or any member of the employee’s immediate family, has a financial interest pertaining to the procurement; or
• any other person, business or organization with whom the employee or any member of the employee’s immediate family is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment is involved in the procurement. 
4. It shall be a breach of ethics to offer, give or agree to give any employee or former employee of the City of Mesquite, or for any employee or former employee of the City of Mesquite to solicit, demand, accept or agree to accept from another person, a gratuity or an offer of employment in connection with any decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a program requirement or purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or in any other advisory capacity in any preceding or application, request for ruling, determination, claim or controversy, or other particular matter pertaining to any program requirement of a contract or subcontract, or to any solicitation or proposal, thereof, pending before this government. 
5. It shall be a breach of ethics for any employee or former employee of the City of Mesquite knowingly to use confidential information for actual or anticipated personal gain, or for the actual or anticipated gain of any person.