Yet another Bay State municipal worker has paid a big fine for accepting free ski trips and other gifts from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor.
Danvers DPW Director David Lane has 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 on Tuesday.
This fine comes after current or former employees of Danvers, Franklin, Natick, Salem, Southampton, and the Sudbury Water District paid civil penalties to resolve similar conflict of interest law violations related to accepting ski trips from the water meter manufacturer and distributor.
The Danvers department of public works uses a brand of water meter throughout its service area made by an Alabama-based manufacturer, and sourced through the manufacturer’s sole authorized New England distributor. Lane has oversight responsibility for the DPW’s water meter purchases.
The water meter manufacturer and its distributor reportedly hosted ski trips and other events, and they invited employees of several municipal water districts and departments of public works, including Lane.
Lane took part in three-day ski trips the water meter vendors hosted in Sugarloaf, Maine, in 2018; Okemo, Vermont, in 2020; and Jay Peak, Vermont, in 2022. The water meter vendors paid for Lane’s lodging and most of his meals.
Lane had his own season ski pass that he used on the Okemo trip, and the water meter vendors paid for his ski lift tickets for the Sugarloaf and Jay Peak trips.
The distributor also hosted Lane at a golf event in October 2020, paying for his greens fees, meals, and drinks. In November 2020, a sales representative of the manufacturer treated Lane to dinner at a steakhouse.
The conflict of interest law bans public employees from accepting anything worth $50 or more that’s given to them for or because of their official positions.
“When public employees accept valuable gifts from vendors, they create the appearance that they may be improperly influenced by the vendors or are likely to unduly favor them in their actions on the job,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David Wilson. “Accepting such gifts undermines the public’s confidence in the integrity of the employees’ governmental service and is prohibited by the conflict of interest law.”