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Enforcement report: complaints trend, backlog and debt-collection referrals to BDR highlighted
Summary
Staff reported about 50 complaints in triage with average triage decisions around six months, roughly 90 matters under investigation (majority campaign finance), and described recent referrals to the Bureau of Delinquent Revenue including a negotiated payment plan with the SF Latino Democratic Club and questions about potential litigation and collection.
Director of Enforcement briefed the Commission on enforcement metrics on Oct. 18. Staff reported roughly 50 complaints in triage and said the time to decide whether to investigate, refer or dismiss complaints is trending down to about six months. The office added close to 40 complaints to the docket this fiscal year, and staff said the bulk of recent complaints are new (filed within the last three months).
The enforcement report shows about 90 matters currently under investigation, with just under 60% coming from the campaign finance context and just under 40% from government-ethics allegations; the remainder involves lobbyist or whistleblower contexts. Director Pierce told commissioners the office has been referring some matters to the Bureau of Delinquent Revenue (BDR) for collection and noted one high-profile referral involving the SF Latino Democratic Club where BDR negotiated a payment plan.
An attorney who claimed to represent the committee later contacted the office seeking to pull the matter back from BDR for renegotiation; staff said the Commission's view was that the matter now belongs with the bureau and that any negotiations should take place with BDR. Commissioners asked whether the Commission could reclaim a matter from BDR and whether a signed payment plan waived the committee's right to challenge liability; staff and the deputy city attorney said timing and the terms of agreements would determine legal remedies, and noted statutory deadlines (a 30-day writ deadline was discussed) may have passed for some older referrals. Commissioners also raised concerns about the cost-effectiveness of ongoing skip-tracing to locate long-unresolved debtors (for example, a referral first made in 2013 concerning "Chris Jackson").
Staff offered to follow up with additional details on BDR's skip-tracing tools, the memoranda of understanding (MOU) governing referrals, and the status of specific high-age matters.
