City Atty. explains conflict City Atty. explains conflict (May 21, 2004)

He tells council of relationship with manager of city's garbage firm

By Grace Rauh

Mountain View City Attorney Michael Martello has admitted he is involved in a personal relationship with Pamela Read, general manager of the city's garbage company, Foothill Disposal.

Martello notified city officials about his relationship with Read in April and told them he will recuse himself from any business relating to the garbage company, a subsidiary of Norcal Waste Systems.

"If something comes up, I'm not involved. I'm dead on the issue," Martello said. "It's a personal relationship, and again it's pretty easy for me. I don't have anything to do with Foothill."

Foothill Disposal is roughly two years into a 10-year contract with the city. Due to increases in health and labor costs, the garbage company has requested an 8.95 percent rate increase for the next fiscal year, according to the city's budget report. If the increase is approved, Mountain View residents will pay an additional 30 cents each month for a 32-gallon garbage can.

According to Judy Nadler, a senior fellow in government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, Martello's decision to recuse himself is the right one.

"When there is a perceived conflict, or the possibility of a conflict of interest, it is clearly in the public's best interest to recuse oneself, if only to avoid the appearance of any impropriety," Nadler said.

According to City Manager Kevin Duggan, the city attorney's office deals very infrequently with issues relating to Foothill Disposal. The city's finance department audits the garbage company and helps set service rates while the public works department has the most regular contact with them, Duggan said.

Read remains in her position at Foothill Disposal. She did not return calls from the Voice for comment.

"People in city hall and elsewhere in Mountain View have indicated confidence in Pam to manage the garbage collection and recycling programs," said Robert Reed, a spokesperson for Norcal Waste Systems, the parent company of Foothill Disposal.

Read also chairs the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors. Martello did not indicate to city officials that he would recuse himself from issues relating to the chamber, but "I know that he would do the same and we would expect him to do the same," Duggan said.

Martello, who leads seminars on government ethics, said his relationship with Read does not present a legal conflict of interest because they are not married. He nevertheless felt compelled to disclose his relationship to his colleagues in city hall almost immediately.

"I let them know within a week, two weeks for sure, of even casually seeing her," Martello said.

The city attorney may not deal frequently with issues relating to Foothill, but his office "is responsible for overseeing legal documentation, the enforcement of contracts, the follow-up on any legal action that might be taken as a result of this. There are many, many other things," Nadler said.

City Council member Greg Perry, who recently refused two VIP tickets to Shoreline Amphitheatre on the grounds that the council perk constitutes a conflict of interest, is comfortable with the way Martello has handled the situation.

"I think he's keeping a good distinction between his professional life and his personal life. I don't have any concerns that aren't being addressed by what he has already done," Perry said.

Council member Mike Kasperzak agreed.

"I think for public disclosure and to keep the trust of the public, his actions were entirely appropriate," Kasperzak said.

The League of California Cities does not currently possess a set of ethics guidelines for city attorneys. The league's city attorneys department is in the middle of a discussion about ethics in the field, but officials have not drafted any guidelines to date, said JoAnne Speers, general counsel for the league.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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