I. Introduction
This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the Matt Haney for School Board 2016 Committee, Identification Number 1384026 (“the Committee”), for the period from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. The audit was conducted by Ethics Commission staff following the 2016 City election as part of the Commission’s 2016 audit cycle to determine whether the Committee materially complied with applicable requirements of the Political Reform Act (“the Act”) (California Government Code section 81000, et seq.) and San Francisco’s Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”) (San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code section 1.100, et seq).
II. Audit Authority
San Francisco Charter section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission (“the Commission”) to audit campaign statements that are filed with the Commission along with other relevant documents to determine whether a committee materially complied with applicable requirements of State and local laws. Section 1.150(a) of the CFRO requires the Commission to audit all candidates for City elective office who receive public financing and authorizes other audits to be initiated of other committees irrespective of whether the Committee received any public funds.
III. Audit Scope and Procedures
This audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The audit involved a review of the Committee’s records for the period covered by the audit. This review was conducted to determine:
A. Compliance with all disclosure requirements pertaining to contributions, expenditures, accrued expenditures, and loans, including itemization when required;
B. Compliance with applicable filing deadlines;
C. Compliance with restrictions on contributions, loans, and expenditures;
D. Accuracy of total reported receipts, disbursements, and cash balances as compared to bank records; and
E. Compliance with all record-keeping requirements.
The Commission posts audit reports to its web site and, in cases of apparent violations of law, forwards them to the appropriate enforcement agency.
IV. Committee Information
The Committee qualified as a committee on March 8, 2016 to support the re-election of Matt Haney for School Board in the November 8, 2016 general election. For the period covered by the audit, Andrew Sinn served as the treasurer and Dereck Lee served as assistant treasurer. The Committee was terminated on May 5, 2017.
V. Audit Findings
For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received $96,037 in contributions, and incurred $89,679 in qualified campaign expenditures.
Auditors concluded that there was one material finding with respect to the Committee.
Finding 1 – – The Committee did not report complete contributors’ information on the Campaign Financial Statements (Form 460) as required by San Francisco C&GC Code Section 1.114(d) for 19 contributions totaling $4,400, or 5 percent of the total amount of contributions it received.
In pertinent part, Section 1.114 provides the following:
When the cumulative amount of contributions received from a contributor is $100 or more, the Committee shall not deposit any contribution that causes the total amount contributed by a person to equal or exceed $100 unless the Committee has the following information: the contributor’s full name; the contributor’s street address; the contributor’s occupation; and the name of the contributor’s employer or, if the contributor is self-employed, the name of the contributor’s business. A committee will be deemed not to have had the required contributor information at the time the contribution was deposited if the required contributor information is not reported on the first campaign statement on which the contribution is required to be reported.
As shown below in Table 1, Auditors determined that the Committee did not report complete contributors’ information on the Campaign Financial Statements for 19 contributions totaling $4,400, or 5 percent of the total amount of contributions received by the Committee.
| Reporting period | Contributor name | Describe the information that was missing | Amount of contribution | Info Provided by the Committee to Auditors on 10/17/17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Roz Romney | Self-employed business name | $350 | Self-employed biz name – Roz Romney |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Dwight Crow | Occupation and employer information. Both are reported as “N/A” | $500 | Not Employed |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Lisa Spinali | Self-employed business name | $200 | Self-employed biz name – Lisa Spinali Consulting |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Mark Wheaton | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name- Southbound Films Screenwriter |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Erik Smith | Self-employed business name | $150 | Self-employed biz name- The Document Solutions Company |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Dorothy Calvin | Self-employed business name | $500 | Self-employed biz name- Dorothy Calvin |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Gary Millrood | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name- 1NS |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Stephen Jaffe | Self-employed business name | $200 | Self-employed biz name- Jaffe Law Firm |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Anne Irwin | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name-Anne Irwin |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Hala Hijazi | Self-employed business name | $500 | Self-employed biz name-HKH Consulting |
| 01/01/16 – 6/30/16 | Joseph Manacmul | Self-employed business name | $250 | Self-employed biz name-Stay Gallery |
| 07/01/16 – 9/24/16 | Jennifer Orthwein | Self-employed business name | $250 | Self-employed biz name-Law Offices of Jennifer Orthwein |
| 07/01/16 – 9/24/16 | Chris Vaeth | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name-Unemployed |
| 07/01/16 – 9/24/16 | Rosalind Romney | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name-Roz Romney |
| 07/01/16 – 9/24/16 | Joyce Newstat | Self-employed business name | $500 | Self-employed biz name-Rocket Science Associates |
| 07/01/16 – 9/24/16 | Larry Biggam | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name-Biggam, Christensen, & Minsloff |
| 9/25/16 – 10/22/16 | Bryan Parker | Self-employed business name | $100 | Self-employed biz name-Bryan Parker |
| 9/25/16 – 10/22/16 | Rosalind Romney | Self-employed business name | $50 | Self-employed biz name-Roz Romney |
| 9/25/16 – 10/22/16 | Noland Chambliss | Self-employed business name | $250 | Self-employed biz name-Noland Chambliss |
| Total | $4,400 | |||
| Percentage of Total Contributions | 5% |
At the time Auditors provided this finding in the draft audit report for the Committee’s review and comment, the Committee’s campaign statements did not contain the contributors’ information required by San Francisco C&GC Code Section 1.114(d).
VI. Committee’s Response to the Finding
In response to the Audit Finding, the Committee provided the following response:
“We’ve uploaded the amended filing but are waiting on Matt Haney to sign them online. This should hopefully be completed today.”
VII. Auditor Comment
The Committee’s campaign statements were amended on January 17, 2018 to contain the contributor information required by San Francisco C&GC Code Section 1.114(d).