Templeton Planning Board member Charles Carroll pays $1,500 civil penalty for violating conflict of interest law

The State Ethics Commission has issued a Final Order approving a Disposition Agreement in which Templeton Planning Board member Charles Carroll admits to violating the conflict of interest law by participating in Planning Board decisions related to proposals to rezone an area of town where his father owns property. The Commission accepted Carroll’s payment of a $1,500 civil penalty and dismissed the adjudicatory proceeding against him.

The conflict of interest law prohibits municipal employees from participating in their official capacity as municipal employees in matters in which they or their immediate family have a financial interest. Carroll violated this legal prohibition by, as a member of the Planning Board, discussing and voting on proposals to rezone an area of the town that includes property his father owns. The proposed zoning changes would have allowed greater opportunities to develop the property with fewer restrictions.

The State Ethics Commission is charged with enforcing the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A.

The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.