City of San Antonio leads the way with electronic campaign filing system

We are one big Texas family. The City of San Antonio has partnered with the City of Dallas to help them implement a web-based online electronic filing system to create and file campaign finance reports.

The system, which was developed by the City of San Antonio’s Office of the City Clerk in conjunction with the City’s Information Technology Services Department, was implemented in January of 2006. It streamlines the way candidates and political action committees file required campaign finance reports. The online program allows the public to monitor and review campaign contributions and expenditures in real time.

“We are extremely proud to assist a fellow Texas city enhance their process,” said Mayor Phil Hardberger.

Prior to the creation of the electronic system, campaign finance reports were manually filed with the Office of the City Clerk. Sometimes the reports submitted were difficult to read; additionally most reports contained more than 100 pages that were scanned and converted into a PDF format for review. As a result, the reports were not searchable.

The new system will allow the City of Dallas to join San Antonio as the only two cities in the state to implement an online municipal campaign finance electronic filing
system.

“We’re glad to serve as a model for other cities,” said Leticia Vacek, City of San Antonio City Clerk. “I am very proud of this electronic filing system and how it helps to strengthen our service to the San Antonio community.”