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20 Feb 2013 Status
(This is an email message I sent to people following the campaign finance database issue.)
Hi, all. We met last September to discuss the council action to create a database of campaign finance filings, and the possibility of a community sourced tool.
I wanted to give a quick update. Please share this with anybody interested.
City staff and I met last week to discuss the status of TEC Filer.
Here is a summary.
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Customer satisfaction - Candidates, office holders, PACs want to use it (i.e. preferred to current methods)
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TEC Certifiable - We'd need state approval to deploy. Looking to City to take lead on that.
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General for locality - As an open source and open government advocate, I want to produce a tool that can be deployed to any city in Texas.
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COA likes it - City staff wants to support deployment. (This implies some stuff, like the tool being tailorable to city process and needs.)
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Import engine - The TEC defines an import/export format for two spreadsheets: contributions and expenditures. The engine loads those spreadsheets, validates them, saves to a database, and can render the information onto the standard TEC forms (PDF).
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Workflow process - Provides user interface, likely web based, around the engine. Likely functions are:
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account management - create account, manage profile, etc.
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file report - "File" is probably a poor choice. This is just entering the report into the system: uploading and validating the spreadsheets, saving to database.
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submit report - This is the actual filing step ... notifying the clerk that the report previously entered is ready for submission.
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print report - Produce TEC forms (PDF).
There also would be administrative functions, accessible by clerk office.
- Connectors - Possibility to integrate with third party products, i.e. to allow filing without using the import/export spreadsheets as an intermediary.
In phase one (import engine).
Four database tables have been defined, for: COH, SPAC, contributions, expenditures. (GPAC needs to be looked at.)
Two import spreadsheets: the contributions import has been completed. Currently working on the expenditures import.
The forms (PDF output) for C/OH report, including the appendices relating to contributions have been implemented. Currently working on the appendices relating to the expenditures. Then, need to do C/OH final report, and PAC filings.
I'll be working on completing the phase one items, mentioned above.
I would like to bring TEC Filer to the hackathon this weekend (http://www.open-austin.org/article/137) to start phase two (building out the website framework).
There is some risk to this weekend. I'm organizing the event, so I'm uncertain that I can also direct this project. (My strategy here is to try to define the task so the group can work independently.) Also, there is a limit on the number of projects that can be handled (four), and TEC Filer may not be selected for hacking.