Tobler sees no conflict with family store

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.

A Boulder City hardware store owned by the family of a newly elected city councilman continues to do about $3,000 a month in sales to the city.

Councilman Roger Tobler said he doesn't see anything wrong with the transactions, especially since the city's been doing business with his family's store for decades, the city buys supplies from other hardware stores as well, and his family's business does not have a contract with the city that he would have voted on. Tobler also cleared the matter with the city attorney soon after being elected in June.

The expenditures are voted on by the council, including Tobler, as part of a large "claims paid" list, a list of bills that have already been paid by the city.

A state ethics official and local ethics expert said that before voting on the claims paid list, Tobler should disclose that the list includes bills paid to the hardware store. Tobler said he will probably begin doing so.

But they said Tobler is not required to abstain from voting on the matter. University of Nevada, Las Vegas ethics professor Craig Walton praised Tobler for seeking the advice of the city attorney.

"He's setting a good example because he asked for the advice," Walton said. "He was sensitive enough to say 'What about this? What should I do?' ... He had the good conscience to go to the city attorney."

The city paid Tobler's family store, Home Hardware and Variety, $3,519 in June, according to the claims paid list the council unanimously approved last week.

The list also included $2,765 in bills paid to ACE Hardware Shopper Stopper, which is also in Boulder City, plus $1,104 to Home Depot and $43 to Lowe's.

Tobler said the city has been buying supplies such as pipes, plumbing and electrical equipment from his family's store for about 30 years.

The city ran up bills at Home Hardware of about $3,400 in July and $2,800 in August, Tobler said.

In all, Tobler said, sales to the city are probably 1.5 percent to 3 percent of the store's total sales each month.

Stacy Jennings, executive director of the state Ethics Commission, said elected officials are required to disclose if an item they are voting on will affect them or their business financially.

But she said whether politicians abstain from voting on the matter is up to them.

If an elected body is voting on a contract that came through the bidding process, then an elected official with ties to that contract should disclose their relationship to the matter and abstain from voting, Jennings said.

Expenditures above $10,000 must be put out to bid, she said.

Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said that because the spending at Home Hardware was below that threshold, the council did not have to give prior approval to the expenditure.

If the purchases had risen to the amount that required a council vote, Olsen said, he would have advised Tobler to disclose his potential conflict and abstain from voting on the purchase.