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Lobbyist Ordinance <br />June 21, 2022 <br />Page 4 <br />2 <br />8 <br />0 <br />6 <br />Expanded the section related to registration fees to provide that the City Council <br />may, by resolution, set the registration fee as well as fees for renewal and late <br />filing. Staff is seeking direction from Council. <br />Retained language that the Clerk of the Council will make all lobbyist registration <br />and disclosure reports available online to the public and make copies available <br />through the Clerk of Council’s Office. <br />Added language related to the duties of the Clerk of the Council including a <br />provision that the Clerk may issue notices advising of registration and filing <br />obligations. If, within 10 days of the issuance of the notice, the lobbyist complies <br />or furnishes satisfactory evidence that s/he is exempt, a violation will be deemed <br />not to have occurred. This section also requires that registration forms and <br />disclosure reports be maintained for five years. <br />Added language that would enable an unregistered lobbyist to make a <br />presentation at a public meeting of the Mayor and City Council after making <br />certain disclosures related to his/her lobbying activities and agreement to register <br />within seven calendar days and pay a late registration fee. <br />Lobbyist Registration and Disclosure Fees <br />In addition to the ordinance, fees related to the lobbyist registration and disclosure <br />program shall be set by resolution. Annual review of the fees is encouraged to ensure the <br />costs related to program administration are fully recovered. Other items to be considered <br />in setting the fee are provided below. <br />The registration fee should include the cost for the registration of the lobbyist as <br />well as a cost per client. Registration forms and annual and quarterly disclosure <br />reports related to larger firms with more clients will be more complex, requiring <br />more staff time to review and process. <br />A penalty for late registration and late filing of disclosure reports should be <br />established to recover the additional costs related to notices and recordkeeping. <br />Registration should expire each year and require renewal if the lobbyist continues <br />to qualify for registration. Payment of a renewal fee should cover the costs related <br />to this process and processing of the annual and quarterly reporting requirements. <br />A preliminary fiscal impact analysis of a lobbyist registration implementation policy and <br />disclosure e-filing module procurement from an existing vendor, NetFile, was conducted. <br />The subscription-based software costs approximately $10,000 annually to procure. To <br />implement such a policy, the Clerk of the Council recommends that an additional full-time <br />office specialist be hired to fulfill the functions required of the policy which will be <br />requested during the 2022-2023 Mid-Year Budget Update. Staff estimates that the annual <br />personnel cost is $40,000. In summary, there will be a $40,000 expense associated with <br />implementation of the lobbyist registration policy. This increase in expenses will require <br />an appropriation adjustment.