Executive director: mayoral directive on behested payments, public financing numbers and staffing update

Executive Director Leanne Pelham presented administrative and program updates to the Ethics Commission on Oct. 9, including a mayoral directive on behested-payment disclosures, public-financing participation tallies, staffing and hiring plans, and the status of Form 700 filings.

Pelham said Mayor's Executive Directive 20-02 (issued Sept. 24) directs department heads to comply with existing behested-payment reporting requirements under the Campaign and Government Conduct Code. The Ethics Commission's public web pages already host guidance and the filing mechanism staff is using to accept disclosures under the directive.

On public financing, Pelham reported that as of Oct. 2 roughly $2.7 million in public funds had been qualified for participating Board of Supervisors candidates (16 of 22 opted into the program and qualified). Pelham said the Commission will audit those funds post-election as required by state law and will share findings from the program for future improvements.

Pelham also described a hiring plan to fill staff vacancies and said the Commission had identified civil-service and exempt positions to prioritize. She reported active engagement with the Department of Human Resources on an expedited timeline and noted the need to craft detailed, role-specific job descriptions to attract skilled candidates.

On compliance, Pelham said ten officials had not filed required filing or training certifications in a timely manner and that staff will pursue appropriate enforcement referrals.

Next steps: Staff will continue to implement the mayoral directive, support interested-persons meetings on the conflict-of-interest review project and continue hiring and audit work on public financing.