Winchester Cultural Council members are subject to legal requirements (notably, the conflict-of-interest law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A) to ensure that public employees’ private financial interests and personal relationships do not conflict with their public obligations. The Cultural Council adopts the following procedure to ensure public confidence and adherence to the law.

If a Winchester Cultural Council member applies for a grant

If Cultural Council members are designated by the Select Board as "special municipal employees", they may apply for Cultural Council grants, but only under certain conditions.

1. The member cannot participate in the Cultural Council’s consideration of their own application for a grant. The member should make a verbal disclosure at the voting meeting, and then leave the meeting during the discussion and voting of that grant application. The minutes of the meeting should record the disclosure and abstention from the decision process.
2. If the grant application is part of an awards process in which the requested funding from all applications exceeds the total amount available to grant, then any WCC members who apply for grants in that process should abstain from discussion and voting on all applications. This restriction may be waived by prior vote of the Select Board, in response to a request that includes a written disclosure of the conflict of interest using the appropriate MCC form.
3. Prior to considering a grant application from a WCC member, all other WCC members must file written disclosures with the Select Board using the appropriate MCC form. No action is required from the Select Board in response to the disclosures, but the disclosures must be filed no later than the deadline for giving notice of the WCC voting meting.
4. Members who abstain from participation due to conflict of interest concerns but are present at the meeting will be considered present for the purpose of determining a quorum.

If a Winchester Cultural Council member has a financial interest in a proposed grant

A financial interest is deemed to exist if a proposed grant would result in a financial benefit to a Winchester Cultural Council member directly, or to

• any family member of the WCC member
• any organization where the WCC member has a controlling role (such as serving as an officer or board member)

If such a financial interest exists, then the affected member cannot participate in the discussion or vote for the grant application, just as if that member had submitted the application, unless the restriction is waived by prior vote of the Select Board, in response to a request that includes a written disclosure of the conflict of interest using the appropriate MCC form. A verbal disclosure of the conflict should be made at the voting meeting and recorded in the minutes.

If a former Winchester Cultural Council member submits a grant application

1. An announcement should be made at the voting meeting that the application is from a former member, and the minutes should record the announcement and note which members had served with the former member.
2. All WCC members who worked with the former member must file written disclosures with the Select Board using the appropriate MCC form, unless all the members agree in a unanimous vote that no potential for a significant conflict of interest exists. No action is required from the Select Board in response to the disclosures, but the disclosures must be filed no later than the deadline for giving notice of the WCC voting meting.