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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Alameda County Grand Jury
• 2021-2022
Oakland Fails to Enforce Financial Disclosure Rules to Protect the Public
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 6 findings
F9
Page 44
The Oakland City Clerk’s office is not meeting the minimum requirements of the Filing Officer under the Political Reform Act. The issues of non-compliance with the rules regarding Form 700s are long-standing and structural, resulting from inadequate funding, an inefficient system of communication of critical information to the Filing Officer, and limited staffing.
F10
Page 44
A transfer of the Form 700 filing duties from the Oakland City Clerk’s office to the Public Ethics Commission would require hiring an additional employee; an amendment of the City Ethics Act to identify the Public Ethics Commission as the Filing Officer for Form 700s; and the transfer of the function and payment of the City’s contract with the online filing provider, NetFile, from the City Clerk’s office to the Public Ethics Commission.
F11
Page 44
Grant funding has been used to fund staffing to support critical services in the City of Oakland. 44 2021-2022 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report _______________________________________________________________________________________
F12
Page 45
The city of Oakland’s shared electronic Human Resources platform is not used in the Form 700 process but could be customized to assist in the sharing of information between departments.
F13
Page 45
The city of Oakland’s new employee checklist does not include Form 700 filing requirements to the employee.
F14
Page 45
The Grand Jury commends the hard work of those individuals within the Oakland City Clerk’s office who are responsible for the Form 700 process. The problems with the Form 700 process are the result of structural limitations, limited staffing, and inadequate interdepartmental communication.
Recommendations 5
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R15Page 45The city of Oakland should transfer the Form 700 Filing Officer responsibility to the Public Ethics Commission.
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R16Page 45The city of Oakland should hire an experienced grant writer with knowledge of state and local funding streams to secure funding for Form 700 services.
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R17Page 45On its shared electronic Human Resources platform, the city of Oakland should add a field to the employee information section that indicates whether the employee is a required Form 700 filer and require that the field be updated upon hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation.
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R18Page 45The City of Oakland should ensure that the Filing Officer is able to access a current list of Form 700 designated employees through the shared electronic Human Resources platform.
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R19Page 45The City of Oakland should add the notification of Form 700 status on the new employee checklist. 45 2021-2022 Alameda County Civil Grand Jury Final Report _______________________________________________________________________________________