Reminder: Ethics Forms Must Be Filed By May 1 

Township officials and employees are reminded that the Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) must be filed with the township secretary by May 1. All individuals who hold elected township office must file this form annually, including township supervisors, auditors, and tax collectors. The State Ethics Commission mails these forms to each township annually, usually in December. 

Any individual holding appointed office, except for advisory boards that have no authority to take final action or spend funds other than expense reimbursement, are also required to file. This would include boards that can take final action, such as zoning hearing boards, but not boards such as planning commissions that are advisory only. (Note: if your planning commission is authorized to approve plans, then the members would also need to complete the SFI.) 

Township employees who are responsible for taking or recommending official action (other than non-ministerial approvals) in the following areas also needs to complete the SFI: contracting or procurement; administering or monitoring grants or subsidies; planning or zoning; inspecting, licensing, regulating, or auditing any person; or any other activity where the official action has an economic impact of greater than a de minimis nature on the interests of any person. Generally, township managers, zoning officers, and any other employees issuing permits or approving licenses will fall under this requirement. Depending on job duties, other township employees may also need to complete the form if their job duties include any of those listed above. 

Reach out to the State Ethics Commission with questions on the form at 1-800-932-0936 or click here for answers to common FAQs.