The local law or code could provide penalties to enforce compliance. Id. Members who knowingly and intentionally fail to disclose an interest in such property are subject to civil fines. The statute does not, however, require board members who disclose an interest in property to recuse themselves from participating in board action regarding that property and therefore does not penalize failure to do so. In our view, the subject board member nevertheless should recuse himself because he has a direct and substantial conflict of interest in the board's review of property he owns. There is, at the very least, an appearance of impropriety if the board member participates in this review.
Recusal is thus necessary to maintain public confidence in the integrity of government.
Recusal is also necessary to preserve the validity of action taken by the board. The board member's participation will render action taken by the board of assessment review vulnerable to attack. The development was subject to approval by the town board. Sterling was a wholly owned subsidiary of City Investing Corporation. The board member refused to disqualify himself but, recognizing the existence of an apparent conflict of interest, he sought an opinion from the local ethics committee, which never responded to his inquiry.