Results Are Limited By Lack of Flexibility
In Ventura, the City Clerk’s Office ensures government employees and elected officials comply with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), Conflict of Interest Filings (Form 700). In coordination with the City’s Human Resources Department, they also must track and manage compliance with the state’s mandatory Ethics Training Certification, which every elected official must complete every two years.
It takes a lot of time to manage these processes, the deadlines, the people, and compliance manually. That’s why Antoinette Mann, City Clerk at the City of Ventura, has used a purpose-built solution in both cities that she’s served. In California, there are two main vendors with this automated software.
I had experience with both vendors and selected DisclosureDocs,” said Mann. “And the main reason was that it gave me and my staff the control and flexibility that we need to be more proficient.
“Clerks like to be in control! With DisclosureDocs, I can control the number of notifications sent and when they’re sent. With other software, you can only send three emails — and you have to choose dates for those emails ahead of time.”
Getting Control Back in the Clerk’s Hands
Mann implemented DisclosureDocs to make it more efficient for city clerk staff to disseminate information to the filers, to allow the filers to easily complete their filing, and to view prior filings, if needed, for reference.
Now, with their automated DisclosureDocs system, staff can enter filer data, schedule the notification, and let the system take care of the rest.
With the click of a button, your email is sent to all your filers and you’re done,” said Mann. “It makes you feel good knowing that you accomplished this mandated task proficiently.
Plus, it’s easy for them to track the status of filings (for example, did a filer even log in yet?) and generate lists of individuals that need to file. That way they can focus on non-filers and improve their on-time filing rates.
By using the Ethics Training Tracker module in DisclosureDocs, they now have less process and documentation redundancy and overlap with HR. Same as with Form 700, government employees now receive automated emails reminding them to complete their ethics training certificate and instructions on how to upload their completion certificate. All with the click of a button.
More Filers Filing Faster Than Ever
Antoinette and her team in the City Clerk’s Office are role models for efficiency. Through strategic notifications and an automated process, they are getting more filers to file — and file digitally. They’re using dashboards built into DisclosureDocs to troubleshoot and continuously improve their processes for more on-time filing compliance.
To achieve that, they’re modifying the automated email frequency, messaging, and timing to get the most on-time filers. “We now strategically plan the days of the week to send out our filing notices, avoiding Mondays and the end of the week,” said Mann.
After switching to DisclosureDocs, we have more filers filing promptly and more filing electronically than before.
“DisclosureDocs makes your whole office more efficient. You’re able to accomplish other items on your to-do list,” said Mann. And it’s not just her, she added, “My Deputy Clerk was amazed at how much easier DisclosureDocs is for her and the filers to use.”
