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Ethics staff: NetFile can’t be updated before election; manual audits will cap matching at $150
Summary
Staff warned that the city’s free filing system, NetFile, cannot be reconfigured in time to implement Prop F’s lower $150 match cap before the next election, so staff will allow $500 matching requests this cycle and manually audit matches to ensure payment does not exceed $150 per contribution.
Staff told commissioners that technical limitations in NetFile mean the free filing system will continue to populate $500 per contribution on matching requests and cannot be changed by January 1, 2020. Pat Ford said the NetFile code is hardwired to place the full $500 on matching requests and that NetFile would need significant development time to change that behavior.
Ford said the commission will not treat candidate committees as noncompliant if they submit matching requests that list $500; instead, staff will perform manual auditing to ensure that the commission does not pay more than the new $150 match cap. He added that some treasurers use NetFile’s professional (paid) product, which can already limit requested match amounts and that staff will work with NetFile to pursue a permanent fix for subsequent elections.
Commissioners emphasized the importance of communicating clearly with committees so treasurers and candidates understand that $500 requests will be processed but actual matches will be capped at $150 for this election cycle. Staff said they will explore interim scripts or back-end checks to reduce manual workload but did not give a specific completion date; Ford said NetFile work could be scheduled for completion during the following year.
