The DPW director participated in a three-day ski trip that water meter vendors organized in Okemo, Vermont. (Photo by Moira McCarthy)
Another Bay State municipal worker paid a large fine for accepting free ski trips and other gifts from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor.
Danvers DPW Director David Lane paid a $17,000 civil penalty for violating the state’s conflict of interest law, according to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission.
Lane admitted to accepting free ski trips, a golf outing and a steakhouse dinner from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor, the commission announced Tuesday.
This fine comes after current or former employees of Danvers, Franklin, Natick, Salem, Southampton and Sudbury Water District paid civil penalties to resolve similar conflict of interest law violations related to the acceptance of ski trips from the manufacturer and water meter distributor.
The Danvers Public Works Department uses one brand of water meter throughout its service area manufactured by an Alabama-based manufacturer and purchased through the manufacturer’s only authorized dealer in New England. Lane is responsible for overseeing DPW water meter purchases.
The water meter manufacturer and its distributor reportedly hosted ski trips and other events, and invited employees from several municipal water districts and public works departments, including Lane.
Lane participated in three-day ski trips that water meter vendors organized in Sugarloaf, Maine, in 2018; Okemo, Vermont, in 2020; and Jay Peak, Vermont, in 2022. The water meter sellers paid for Lane’s lodging and most of her meals.
Lane had his own seasonal ski pass that he used on the trip to Okemo, and water meter vendors paid for his lift tickets for the trips to Sugarloaf and Jay Peak.
The dealer also hosted Lane at a golf event in October 2020, paying for his green fees, food and drinks. In November 2020, a sales representative from the manufacturer invited Lane to a steakhouse dinner.
The conflict of interest law prohibits public employees from accepting anything worth $50 or more from or due to their official positions.
“When public employees accept valuable gifts from suppliers, they create the appearance that the suppliers may improperly influence them or are likely to unduly favor them in their actions at work,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David Wilson. “Accepting such gifts undermines public confidence in the integrity of employees’ government service and is prohibited by conflict of interest law.”
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