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
Office of the City Clerk
•
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
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BACKGROUND - NETFILE
Office of the City Clerk
•
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
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FORM 700 SYSTEM
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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ORDINANCE REQUIRED FOR
PAPERLESS CAMPAIGN FILING
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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FINDINGS - SECURE SYSTEM
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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FINDINGS - RELIABLE SYSTEM
Office of the City Clerk
• 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)
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FINDINGS – NOT UNDULY
BURDENSOME
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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BENEFITS FOR PUBLIC AND
COMMITTEES
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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BENEFITS FOR CITY
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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IMPLEMENTATION
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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FISCAL IMPACT
Office of the City Clerk
• 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
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RECOMMENDATION
Office of the City Clerk
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.
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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Office of the City Clerk
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