Taunton’s former chief of staff is in hot water for advocating on behalf of a subdivision developer and business owner in matters he had participated in during his employment with the city.

Edward Correia, chief of staff from January 2020 through August 2022, has paid a $6,000 civil penalty for violating the state’s conflict of interest law which restricts former municipal employees from acting as agents for anyone other than the city or town in matters they had interest in, according to the State Ethics Commission.

Correia came under fire for acting as an agent for a developer at a March 2023 meeting, less than a year after he left office, and advocating that the city replace a water main key to a nine-lot subdivision.

The former employee, who reported to the mayor and oversaw the day-to-day operations of all city departments, also advocated that the city provide federal COVID relief funds to a business owner he was acting on behalf of as an incentive to lease space for a restaurant at the local airport, according to background of the case provided by the Ethics Commission.

Correia was involved in the proposed subdivision as early as April 2020, when the city Planning Board approved it on the condition that the developer connect it to the city’s public water supply and upgrade the water main if it was undersized.

The Planning Board then denied the developer’s request that private wells be installed instead.

In May 2022, the city’s DPW commissioner issued a permit as Correia requested, for the developer to connect to the undersized water main without upgrading it. Hydrants subsequently failed fire protection inspections after the developer connected, according to the Ethics Commission.

The water main still needs repair, and the subdivision has stalled.

In a separate incident, also detailed by the Ethics Commission, Correia began in May 2021  advocating that the city use American Rescue Plan Act funds as an incentive for a business owner to lease space and operate a restaurant in the Taunton Airport Administration Building.

Correia continued to advocate for the use of ARPA funds for the project after he left office, contacting the city’s chief finance officer in December 2022 and spring 2023. The city ultimately rejected the business owner’s proposal in early 2023.

Under the state’s conflict of interest law, municipal employees are restricted from making official decisions “with an eye toward their personal future interests.”

“This case is a reminder that the conflict of interest law continues to apply to public employees after they leave their public employment,” State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson said in a statement.