[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5975068,"mediaKeyId","5829592-81e446fe57fc4494594cc2ef3cdc6111","parentId",5829592,"title","Council committee previews 1Meeting public speaker and comment portal; code changes required before public rollout","audioSeconds",657,"startMs",80000,"endMs",737000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5829592-81e446fe57fc4494594cc2ef3cdc6111&start=80&end=737","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5829592-81e446fe57fc4494594cc2ef3cdc6111/thumbnail_80000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5975068/Houston/Harris-County/Texas/Council-committee-previews-1Meeting-public-speaker-and-comment-portal-code-changes-required-before-public-rollout","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5975068-647027469661bcb5d0894fe676c5f799/orig.mp4?Expires=1770587296&Signature=BCbp4OpI4pjIkd9oy2-YwWApJMC7C3ah8XF-VAo1jr7uPxa1jqppNSz7MlVq~UrgOCfzi1B7A~FNxdS1IbG8-S7JgtWVACynfI4oMqCt46CT6b9MDFD1xbJYML9MzUXamOYJt0E1CRgwHdZ9-~3MBnrjzSOtdLpl0blqgJGMlPd~QrNfv8~0WTh5pX3-gSnIUkGLNoabBHQ7RHKIAYHtcAGerAsjnIIAQxD7jJfIQ2MqWRNfCZIlDIvocqTS7fHIONS2Xc~3~INQKPmRG9eNl9VPj1ZUpNaCyK5ZfsXqslT2rEj7v2DDjCjes~NXm~kjZhxXP27MGIh2HizSv4Sb1w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Houston","date","2025-09-25T00:00:00Z","article","Councilor Joaquin Martinez, chairing a City Council committee meeting, on an online demonstration of a new public‑facing portal that would let residents sign up to speak or submit comments electronically for council meetings. City staff and a Granicus trainer showed the 1Meeting public portal’s sign‑up flow, clerk reporting features and timer display but said code changes are needed before the city can fully publicize the service.

City staff showed committee members how constituents would use the portal to find meetings, click a microphone icon to “request to speak,” choose the agenda section, indicate for/against/no position, and enter name, address and a topic. “This is where your constituents would go to view meetings, and to sign up to speak or comment,” Granicus trainer Susan Spencer said during the demonstration.

Why this matters: staff and the mayor’s office have been pursuing a digital sign‑up option to modernize public participation, but the current council rules (Chapter 2‑2) list only mail, email, fax or phone as permitted sign‑up methods. Marta Conejo, the staff member managing implementation, told the committee “it only allows for speakers to sign up via mail, email, fax, or phone,” and that rule will need amendment before the portal can be widely posted.

Committee members and staff discussed operational details that would affect accessibility and meeting flow. Staff said the City Secretary’s Office would retain the ability to add callers and people who cannot sign up online, and would run reports that export speaker and comment lists to Excel or PDF for distribution to council offices. During the demo Spencer showed that clerks can start a speaker timer that turns orange as time nears expiration and that a public countdown can be displayed so speakers and the audience can see remaining time.

Staff flagged features and limits that affect implementation. The portal can be toggled on or off per agenda section or per meeting, and clerks can set a sign‑up cut‑off time (for example, no sign‑ups after a set hour). However, the portal does not let meeting moderators reorder speakers within a session from inside the live interface; staff said reordering would require exporting the list and manually editing it or using the City Secretary’s Office to enter an adjusted order during the meeting.

Committee members asked about confirmation receipts and accessibility. A staff member from Councilmember Castillo’s office asked whether people signing up online receive confirmation; Granicus’s Spencer said the portal currently shows an on‑screen “submitted” message and that she would investigate whether an email confirmation can be enabled. Staff agreed to explore layout and font changes to make the sign‑up icons more prominent for users with limited vision.

Staff proposed a phased approach to roll‑out and training. City staff said they expect a first live 1Meeting session in October for internal testing and training and recommended public outreach and instructional videos be prepared in late October once needed council‑rule changes are drafted. Marta Conejo told the committee she will work with the City Secretary’s Office on a transition period in which the phone, mail and email options remain available while the new portal is introduced.

Committee members raised equity concerns for residents without internet access; staff emphasized that the traditional sign‑up methods would remain in place and that City Secretary staff would enter those callers into the system on their behalf.

The committee did not take a formal vote during the demonstration. Staff said they will return with proposed language for rule changes and plans for public outreach after internal testing and the initial live session.

For follow up: staff recommended council offices continue to familiarize themselves with the portal, and agreed to provide recorded trainings and a recorded public‑facing walk‑through to assist constituents.

Ending: The demonstration concluded with staff thanking Granicus for the training and with a commitment to return with rule changes and a public outreach plan once City Secretary staff have completed initial testing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Houston - Ethics and Governance Committee","oneSentenceSummary","Councilor Joaquin Martinez, chairing a City Council committee meeting, on an online demonstration of a new public‑facing portal that would let residents sign up to speak or submit comments electronically for council meetings.","taxTitle","Houston, Harris County, Texas","taxId",2797,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5975063,"City committee reviews RFD demo of campaign finance, personal financial and lobby filing system; vendor outlines phased timeline",2894,1722000,4616000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5829592-81e446fe57fc4494594cc2ef3cdc6111&start=1722&end=4616","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5829592-81e446fe57fc4494594cc2ef3cdc6111/thumbnail_1722000.jpg","/articles/5975063/Houston/Harris-County/Texas/City-committee-reviews-RFD-demo-of-campaign-finance-personal-financial-and-lobby-filing-system-vendor-outlines-phased-timeline","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5975063-7f2554fabbb985529ace911d15f6196b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770587296&Signature=S35SE9jsfZQWZQc~poQ1HnKVj7X3EjQ1C2KV6atYuBjswd4VNxoSkuqRQy94yq~HoRAF3V0QpVbL59gTXz9m4PGeBk76Z7vR2iSlP5ND8PefHSuzxu~~3b4D-MD6cCeByUoz5TmMkyBN4FdTYOd~Yt3rVL1ZpVofaPGf5qz8PNCZqYwIWP052NkD2h2iBpCjxESCwJyXiOq2NoE6qTm~UEvpy55nJ7NscoWqDmQmG9wFCR38iQQV7XoQ9sNfifGUH5u03Ei9bzw0eTAuJN2VnlqvDdN9xoTz~mnxtcfJZtKwfrQaBqWdusfdO-Hmuy4lGD2sn~f5Z1YI2M1WzU~3Kg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City council committee members received a demonstration of RFD’s online filing system for campaign finance reporting, personal financial statements (PFS), and a proposed lobbyist module that would be developed in a later phase.

Why this matters: staff said the system would centralize candidate, office‑holder and lobby filings in a Houston‑specific instance of an application RFD built for the Texas Ethics Commission. Committee members and vendor representatives discussed how filers create accounts, how administrative users manage filer IDs, data‑upload options, error checks and the vendor’s proposed schedule for phased implementation.

RFD’s Scott Glover, chief operating officer, described five modules the vendor proposed: campaign finance, personal financial statements, an administrative module for managing filers and filing cycles, and Houston‑specific lobby and financial disclosure modules. RFD representative Eric Dietz, director of systems development, walked committee members through a sample campaign finance filing, showing navigation, a wizard‑style “walk me through” flow, CSV upload/export options and the system’s error‑check routine.

“The file can go ahead and make any changes to that report that they need, and then file the new report,” Eric Dietz said, describing how the system handles corrections and successive filings. Dietz also noted the system differentiates between ‘‘no entry’’ and ‘‘0’’ and classifies errors so high‑severity validation issues must be fixed before a report can be filed.

On electronic signature and verification, Dietz said the Ethics Commission’s current configuration does not use a third‑party e‑signature product. “They do not do electronic signature,” he said. “Checking the checkbox, and entering your password served as a good enough electronic signature.”

Implementation timeline was discussed: staff and vendor described a two‑phase schedule. A vendor representative said the team is asking for a roughly 60‑day implementation window for Phase 1; if the city commits by Nov. 1, the vendor said it could have campaign‑finance, e‑file and admin modules available by Jan. 1. Phase 2—the lobby and financial disclosure modules—was described as a later deliverable on a longer schedule (vendor committed to a 180‑day delivery for Phase 2 in the statement of work).

Operational details and clarifications from the demo included:
• Administrator role: City Secretary‑level administrators would create filer IDs and manage users; filers could not self‑register under the current configuration unless the administration enables that later.
• Uploads and exports: the system supports CSV imports for contributions and expenditures and can export transactions; this was emphasized for large filers with many transactions.
• Filing flows: campaign finance filers can begin a report, save partial entries, preview the PDF at any time and run an error check before filing; the system requires a user to acknowledge missing statutorily required parts if they choose to file without entering them.
• Payment and public queries: RFD said Austin uses a third‑party payment vendor for some filings; RFD proposed providing a set of public queries (they mentioned 10 public‑facing queries in the implementation discussion) so the public can search filed data.

Staff and RFD representatives said the system will be delivered as a cloud‑based, software‑as‑a‑service product with an initial configuration fee and annual subscription costs; the committee did not discuss specific pricing during the session. RFD said recordings and training materials would be provided for council members and staff.

No formal action was taken at the meeting. Staff said they are negotiating a statement of work and will report back with proposed contract terms, implementation milestones and training plans before moving to a full deployment.

Ending: The committee thanked RFD representatives and scheduled continued review of the statement of work and rollout timing.","City council committee members received a demonstration of RFD’s online filing system for campaign finance reporting, personal financial statements and a forthcoming lobby module.","actionData","errors"]

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Council committee previews 1Meeting public speaker and comment portal; code changes required before public rollout

City committee reviews RFD demo of campaign finance, personal financial and lobby filing system; vendor outlines phased timeline