Date: September 8, 2025
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: Patrick Ford, Executive Director
Subject: Agenda Item 5 – Executive Director’s Report
Summary and Action Requested
This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights since the last report.
No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.
Recruitment Updates – Auditor Vacancy; Civil Service Conversion
As reported in the August Executive Director’s Report, Emma O’Donnell began work as Senior Investigator on July 21st. Emma had been serving in the Commission’s Audit Division as an auditor. Recruitment to backfill the vacant auditor position is ongoing. We hope to have an update on successful completion of the recruitment in October.
The Commission has also received approval from the Mayor’s Budget Office to begin converting ten positions from exempt status to Permanent Civil Service. These conversions include:
- Enforcement: Three Senior Investigative Analysts
- Engagement & Compliance: Engagement and Compliance Officer, Training Design Specialist, and Compliance Counsel
- Policy: Senior Policy Research Specialist and Policy Research Specialist
- Operations: Budget and Operations Analyst
- EDDA: IS Analyst
This will allow both the Commission and its staff to set and execute on strategic long-term goals.
KPI Tracking
As discussed in the August Executive Director’s report, the Ethics Commission is reviewing and revising its key performance indicators (KPIs) and implementing a new centralized tracking system to make KPI tracking easier and more streamlined. The Commission already tracks KPIs to gauge the effectiveness of its work, including the number of enforcement cases and compliance advice matters. These KPIs are reported out on an ad hoc basis as the Commission receives external information and reporting requests.
Since August, division managers have worked to identify new opportunities for performance metrics, identify and revise new KPIs, and set targeted goals for FY26. Staff have also put together a new centralized tracking system to streamline goal-setting, tracking, and reporting. The Commission plans to have all goals finalized and the tracker fully operational by October.
The combined rollout of new KPIs and a centralized tracking system will allow managers to easily enter KPI data into a single place and for that data to be reviewed quickly and conveniently during the budget process or other information requests.
Increased User Research
Staff are currently identifying opportunities to incorporate more user research into the Commission’s operations. The goal is to obtain more direct feedback from those who interact with the Commission’s work in order to provide services and tools that best meet stakeholder needs. These opportunities will likely include user surveys for those who take Commission trainings, use the Commission’s online resources, file electronic disclosures through the Commission’s systems, or interact with the enforcement process. The Engagement and Compliance Division already includes a user survey as part of the annual ethics training, and the results of that survey have been very useful and have helped staff identify actionable improvements. The current project seeks to expand this approach to other areas.
Controller’s Report on Inspector General Program
In July, the Controller’s office issued a report on its implementation of the Inspector General program, which was created through Proposition C in 2024. The report describes the provisions of Proposition C and the Controller’s work thus far on recruiting an inspector general and establishing a program that complies with the new law. The Commission has continued to support the Controller’s office in these efforts through planning meetings and recruitment support.