Code of Ethics and Conduct

CODE OF ET HICS AND CONDUCT The Board of Directors of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District is committ ed to establishes this Code of Conduct pr ov i d i ng excell ence i n l eg i slat i ve l eader sh i p to support the fulfillment of the District’s Mission Statementwhich result s i n providing the h i ghest qualit y ser v i ces t o its constit uent s. In order to accomplish this, each member of the Board of Directors:  The Board of Directors Sshall comply with and shall be guided by applicable provisions of (i) Federal laws; (ii) State laws, including but not limited to the California Public Records Act (Brown Act), Water Code, Government Code, Section 1090 of the Government Code, Elections Code and Public Resources Code; this(iii) the Policy Manuals established by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, and (iv) the rules and regulations of the District as established by the motions, resolutions and ordinances enacted by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Motions, resolutions and ordinances may be enacted by the Board in accordance with Water Code section 30523 or as amended.  Shall commit to being as fully informed as possible about the issues in front of the Board of Directors prior to taking action  Shall make clear to members of the media and the public that all statements, verbal or written, made outside of an official meeting are individual statements, unless a Director is otherwise authorized by a majority of the Board of Directors to speak for the Board as a whole and/or on behalf of the District  Shall follow the meeting rules of order as established by a majority of the Board of Directors  Shall, pursuant to California Government Code section 53234 et seq. or as amended, receive two (2) hours of training, from an entity whose curriculum has been approved by the California Attorney General and the Fair Political Practices Commission, in general ethics principles and ethics laws relevant to public service within one (1) year of election or appointment to the Board of Directors, and at least once every two (2) years thereafter.  Are encouraged (i) to use the Golden Rule as a guide in interactions with the media, the SLV community, District management and employees and other Board members and (ii) to speak candidly and forthrightly about the issues in front of the Board of Directors

T he Boar d of Dir ect or s is expect ed t o ma i nt ain t he h i ghest et h i cal standards, t o f ol l ow D i stri ct po l icies and regu l at i on, and t o ab i de by all appl i cab l e l oca l , st at e and f ederal laws. Boar d of Dir ect or s conduct shou l d enhance t he i nt egrit y and goa l s of the Distr ict . In or der t o assist i n t he go ver ning of behav i or bet ween and among me mb er s of the Boar d of Dir ect ors, t he f oll ow i ng r u l es shall be obser ved:

A) T he d i gnit y, st y l e, va l ues and op i n i ons of each D i rect or sha l l be respected.

B) Respons i veness and att ent ive li stening i n commun i cat ions is encouraged.

C) T he needs of t he D i st r i ct and its constit uents shall be the pr i orit y of t he Boar d of Dir ect or s. D) T he pr i mar y r espons i b i lit y of t he Boar d of D i rect or s i s t he f or mu l ati on and evaluati on of po l icy and strategy (the what, where, when, why and how much). Oper at i onal aspects of t he D i st r i ct (the who—except on outside contracts—and how) are t o be delegat ed t o the District st aff member s.

E) Dir ect or s shou l d comm i t t hemse l ves t o a forthright and candid discussion on all issues, particularly those that may be contentious or have a wide variety of opinions among the ratepayers and voters.. F) Dir ect or s are encouraged t o f ocus on i ssues and not personal i t i es. T he pr esentat i on of t he op i nions of others shou l d be encouraged. G) Differing viewpoints are healthy in the decision-making process and to ensure that all viewpoints of the community are heard and understood prior to action. Individual Directors have the right and obligation to disagree with ideas and opinions, and are encouraged to do so within the guidelines herein. . H) Directors should practice the following procedures: 1. In seeking clarification on informational items, Directors are encouraged to conduct research, including approaching the District Manager, to obtain information needed to supplement, upgrade, or enhance their knowledge to improve legislative decision-making.

2. In handling complaints or inquiries from residents and property owners of the District, said complaints should be carefully listened to and then referred to the District Manager. The individual Board Member may follow up and, as appropriate, it may be followed up by the Board of Directors. 3. In handling items related to safety concerns, hazards should be immediately reported to the District Manager. Emergency situations should be dealt with immediately by seeking appropriate assistance. 4. In seeking clarification for policy-related concerns, especially those involving personnel, legal action, land acquisition, sale or development, finance, and programming, said concerns should be referred directly to the District Manager or, as appropriate, to the Board of Directors. I) When appr oached by D i str ict per sonnel concer n i ng spec i f i c D i str ict pol i cy, Dir ector s should refer i nqu i r i es t o t he D i st rict Manager . J) T he wor k of the Distr ict i s a t eam eff ort . All Board Members are encouraged to wor k t oget her in conduct i ng t he aff air s of t he Distr ict . K ) When r esponding t o const i tuent r equest s and concerns at board meetings, the Board President's discretion determines the amount of time for comments. Specific questions or concerns may be directed to the District Manager for future action by the Board or staff. Dir ect or s should be court eous, r espond i ng t o i nd i v i dua l s in a pos i t i ve manner and r outi ng t he i r questions t hrough appr opr iate channe l s and t o r espons i ble manage ment per sonnel. L) Dir ect or s are encouraged to deve l op a wor k i ng r e l ati onsh i p wit h the D i st r i ct Manager wher ein curr ent i ssues, concer ns and Distr ict pr o j ect s can be d i scussed candidly and open l y.

M) Dir ect or s shou l d f unct i on as a par t of t he who l e. Issues shou l d be br ought t o t he att ent i on of t he Boar d of Dir ect ors as a who l e, r ather t han t o i nd i vidual member s selecti ve l y. (N) Unless authorized by the Board to speak on behalf of the Board and/or District, Individual Board ) Members are encouraged to disclaim, as part of their individual interaction with public, press and/or other entities, that they speak only for themselves as an individual Board Member. O) Dir ect or s ar e r espons i ble f or monit or i ng t he D i str ict 's pr ogr ess i n at ta i n i ng i ts goals and ob j ect i ves, whi l e pur su i ng it s m i ssion. P) The Board will further inform itself, individually and collectively, through ongoing outreach to determine community wishes and through continuing education on issues relevant to the District. Q) Continual Board development will include orientation of new Board members in the Board's governance process and periodic Board discussion of process improvement. R) Conflicts of Interest may arise under a wide variety of circumstances. Directors should refer to the Conflicts of Interest policy for detailed guidance. If a Director is presented with an action item in a board meeting which may, or does present a conflict of interest, that Director shall state the nature of their conflict, shall recuse themselves from discussion and action on that issue and shall remove themselves from the room while the remainder of the Board discusses and takes action on that item.

4. ET HICS T RA IN ING Pur suant t o Ca l if or n i a Gover nment Code secti on 53234 et seq. or as amended, a l l D i rect or s sha l l r ece i ve t wo ( 2) hour s of tr a i n i ng i n general et h i cs pr incip l es and eth i cs l aws r elevant to pub l ic ser v i ce wit h i n one ( 1) year of e l ect i on or appo i ntment t o t he Board of D i rector s, and at least once ever y t wo ( 2) year s t hereaft er . All et h i cs t ra i ning sha l l be pr ov i ded by ent iti es whose cur r i cu l um has been appr oved by t he Ca l if orn i a At tor ney Gener al and t he Fa i r Po l it ical Pr acti ces Comm i ss i on. T he D i st r i ct Manager and any ot her emp l oyee(s) of t he D i st r i ct des i gnated by t he Boar d of Dir ect or s sha l l also rece i ve t he et h i cs t ra i n i ng spec i f i ed here i n. T he D i st r i ct shall ma i nt ain r ecords indicat i ng t he name of t he entity t hat pr ov i ded the tr a i ning and t he dates et h i cs t ra i n i ng was comp l eted. Recor ds sha l l be ma i nta i ned f or a peri od of at l east fi ve ( 5) years aft er t he dat e on wh i ch t he tr a i n i ng was r ece i ved. These r ecor ds ar e publ i c r ecor ds sub j ect to d i sc l osure under t he Ca l ifor nia Publi c Recor ds Act .

5. GOVERNING LAWS The Board of Directors shall comply with and shall be guided by applicable provisions of Federal laws; State laws, including but not limited to the Water Code, Government Code, Section 1090 of the Government Code, Elections Code and Public Resources Code; this Policy Manual, and the rules and regulations of the District as established by the motions, resolutions and ordinances enacted by the Board of Directors. Motions, resolutions and ordinances may be enacted by the Board in accordance with Water Code section 30523 or as amended.