Master the APA AICP Exam: Essential Study Tips and Strategies

The first thing to do might be to carefully review the data and procedures used in the analysis for accuracy and completeness (Ethical Principle 1). You should document everything during this entire process such as the date and nature of your supervisor’s request and the sources of data used to draw the conclusion that the consultant’s price is too high. Then write your report and submit it to your supervisor.

When you learn that a violation has occurred, bring it to the attention of your director or supervisor. If you learn that the violation has occurred unintentionally, suggest remedies, such as delaying action on the plan until there is adequate time for a participatory process, scheduling a number of participatory events quickly, publicizing the events well, and revising the plan accordingly. It might be a good idea to discuss the situation with a more experienced planner (Ethical Principle 3)

If the violation has occurred you discover that the violation has occurred intentionally, this is a very serious situation because as planners we shall not accept an assignment from an employer when the service to be performed involves conduct that we know to be illegal (Rule of Conduct 2)

Note that this definitely does not suggest that a private sector planner need not comply with the Code of Ethics. (See introduction to AICP Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.) All members of the AICP must abide by the provisions of the Code.

First, consider what should already have happened before the application was about to go before the planning commission. Clearly, you should know about any laws in your state or jurisdiction that apply to such a situation and should follow the law. The potential conflict should have been identified well before this. After noticing the conflict, based on office protocol, it must be decided who will approach (or confront) the commissioner about the conflict of interest. If your boss is unwilling to explain the conflict of interest, you must decide how you will handle this. You might ask the APA Ethics Officer for informal advice on what you should do (Procedure 2).

Whoever brings the conflict to the attention of the commissioner should recommend that the commissioner recuse himself or herself from the planning commission meeting. Suppose the potential conflict only became apparent at the time of the meeting. At that point in time, you should explain the problem to the planning director. Then, the planning director and the commissioner might consult privately and decide what to do; if the law is clear, obviously the decision must be to follow the law. If the decision is made that the commissioner should recuse himself or herself from the decision-making process, then the commissioner should leave the room. Recusing oneself means more than just sitting there quietly. In addition, the commissioner must not engage in future discussions with the board or planning staff about the application (Ethical Principle 2).

Suppose the law on what constitutes a conflict of interests is not clear or does not exist and suppose that the commissioner says that this is silly and that there is no conflict of interest. Then you might go to the jurisdictional attorney for guidance. If the commissioner continues to participate in the process, you should clearly state the conflict in your report (Rule of Conduct 19).