AgdaPkt 2021.04.26 Joint SA FPA - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.K. - Page 2 of 8 support the City's efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion, the City Clerk, as the City's filing officer, will have the right to accept a paper filing in lieu of an electronic filing at the City Clerk's discretion, under certain circumstances, and to accommodate an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) request. Examples of exceptions may include limited access to an electronic device or internet connection. In order for the City of Redwood City to accept electronically filed statements, the City Council must adopt an ordinance permitting the use of an online filing system for filing and designating the filings received electronically by the City Clerk's Office as the filings of record for the City. In addition, the system must operate securely and effectively, be no cost to filers, be available to the public to view filings, not place an undue burden on filers, and include procedures for filers to comply with the requirement that they sign statements and reports under penalty of perjury. ANALYSIS The City Clerk's Office entered into a contract with NetFile, a hosted solution created specifically for cities and counties responsible for administering campaign finance filings and Statements of Economic Interest, which meets the requirements of the Secretary of State and allows for electronic and paperless filing of campaign statements. NetFile is widely used by other agencies in the region and throughout California. Campaign Finance Disclosure Statements (Form 460) Adoption of the proposed ordinance is required to implement electronic filings of the campaign finance component of the NetFile system, and will only apply to those filers that exceed a threshold of $2,000 for expending or receiving campaign funds. This threshold is consistent with the Political Reform Act (the "Act"), which recognizes campaigns that spend or raise more than $2,000 as "Controlled Committees." Under the Act, these types of committees are obligated to file detailed campaign finance disclosure statements, also known as Form 460s. For those smaller campaigns that do not exceed the $2,000 threshold, they may continue to file paper versions of the Form 470 disclosure forms. It should be noted that the NetFile system is able to accommodate the online filing of several types of required forms by the FPPC, including Forms 460, 470, 496, and 497, which are the most commonly used in Redwood City's local election campaigns. Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700) The "Statement of Economic Interest" Form 700 component of NetFile does not require an ordinance, however staff recommends that all designated Form 700 filers identified in the City's Conflict of Interest Code also be required to file electronically, to fully transition the City to electronic, paperless filing pursuant to Government Code 84615. This process would simply require an internal procedural change. The City Clerk is currently responsible for the annual filing of all Form 700s, which include the City Council, Planning Commission, City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, Administrative Services Director, designated City employees, board, commission and committee members, and consultants. Form 700s occasionally need amendments or are submitted incomplete or without marked schedules attached. The Form 700 electronic filing incorporates an initial review process and alerts the filer of errors at the time they are entering information, thereby minimizing the need for the City Clerk to request amendments. Page 2 of 5 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore 340