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BACKGROUND

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK OCTOBER 6, 2014 CITY COUNCIL MEETING ELECTRONIC AND PAPERLESS FILING OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS BY ELECTED OFFICIALS, CANDIDATES, OR COMMITTEES. BACKGROUND.

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BACKGROUND

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  1. OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERKOCTOBER 6, 2014CITY COUNCIL MEETINGELECTRONIC AND PAPERLESS FILING OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS BY ELECTED OFFICIALS, CANDIDATES, OR COMMITTEES

  2. BACKGROUND • City Clerk’s Office is the filing officer for Statement of Economic Interest and Campaign Finance Disclosure forms • 500+ designated Form 700 filers in the City • 11 active campaign committees filing semi-annual campaign statements • Many more committees expected as part of the upcoming election cycle • Staff posts campaign statements to the City Clerk website, which requires staff time to manually redact forms prior to posting

  3. BACKGROUND - NETFILE • Staff recently acquired NetFile’s paperless online filing system for both Form 700 and Campaign Disclosure forms • NetFile is a well-known company among City and County Clerks and is used by 39 cities and 19 counties in California (approximately 80% use both systems) • NetFile is the only vendor for cities and counties that provides a fully paperless and electronic filing system for Campaign Disclosure forms

  4. FORM 700 SYSTEM • Form 700 System is not subject to this ordinance • No action required by the City Council to implement the Form 700 system • Requires a separate certification/administrative approval process through the Fair Political Practices Commission • Form 700 System will be available prior to the next annual filing

  5. ORDINANCE REQUIRED FOR PAPERLESS CAMPAIGN FILING • Government Code Section 84615 requires the legislative body to adopt an ordinance permitting the City’s acceptance of electronic filings • City to designate online filings received as the official record • Prior to ordinance adoption, legislative body must make certain findings that the system will: • Operate securely • Operate effectively • Not unduly burden filers

  6. FINDINGS - SECURE SYSTEM • NetFile Security: • Uses the same data encryption used by banks for online banking • Reviewed by the Department of Information Technology for compliance with City requirements

  7. FINDINGS - RELIABLE SYSTEM • NetFile will operate effectively and is a reliable system: • Built in redundancy ensures continuity of operation • Data is backed up at three different locations: • Oakland • Mariposa • Secured Cloud Storage • In the event of a disaster, with the loss of the main Oakland facility, NetFile will utilize a cloud-based operation that ensures system and data availability within 24 hours (estimated to be as little as 6 hours)

  8. FINDINGS – NOT UNDULY BURDENSOME System is free to filers for City of Pasadena elections Staff to create “filing stations” at City Hall to provide access to computers (during business hours) Use of system not required unless a campaign or committee “opts-in” City and NetFile to provide one-on-one training for treasurers and candidates System will accept data from 3rd party software Paper filings will continue to be an option for those that choose not to utilize the system

  9. BENEFITS FOR PUBLIC AND COMMITTEES • Public Benefits: • Timely access to campaign finance data • Increased transparency through searchable data base and use of open data source for higher level analytics • Candidate and Treasurer Benefits: • Free campaign finance system to assist first-time treasurers and candidates • System design ensures that all required data is complete, reducing the need of amendments due to errors • Data entry may take place periodically or all at once, with information saved for future filings • Electronic delivery provides fast and convenient filing method

  10. BENEFITS FOR CITY • Administrative efficiencies: • Reduces the number of amendments required to be filed • Generates correspondence for notifying filers of filing deadlines and missing statements • Automates the process for posting redacted statements online for public viewing • Provides a public portal for viewing statements and reduces the number of requests for information • Supports the City’s Green City Initiatives in promoting a paperless system for filing

  11. IMPLEMENTATION • If approved by the City Council, the City Clerk’s Office will work with the City Attorney’s Office to draft the proposed ordinance • If ordinance adopted, staff will work with NetFile to implement new filing system: • Upload historical filings • Train City staff in system software • Identify and schedule dates for training sessions with treasurers and candidates

  12. FISCAL IMPACT Staff acquired software as part of City Clerk 2015 Work Plan Four-year contract, $17,000 per year, for both Form 700 and Campaign Finance software Will re-evaluate at the end of contract term with new Request for Proposal

  13. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance within 30 days allowing for the electronic and paperless filing of campaign finance disclosure statements by elected officials, candidates, and committees.

  14. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

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