Public meeting-related assignments are typically posted at least a week in advance, on Mondays, and assigned by that Friday. Documenters are notified of assignments they may apply to, if they have been selected and other training opportunities via email.
When assigning roles we consider a range of factors: each meeting’s topic and format, as well as each applicant’s preferred role, frequency/recency of assignments, technical skill level, past experiences and expressed interests.
If you are not selected for an assignment you can add yourself to the waitlist. We do not assign roles less than 48 hours ahead of the start time unless the originally assigned Documenter is no longer able to attend or the meeting is posted on short notice.
Each Documenters assignment is an independent contract and there are no expectations as to how frequently you participate in the program. We cover between 8-20 meetings each week; the most active Documenters typically do one assignment per week.
Post and include all content (notes, Twitter thread, additional documents, images, recordings, etc.) on your Documenters.org assignment page within 24 hours of the designated start time, unless otherwise noted.
Before you submit, click on "Checklist" to let us know how things went. For all submissions, we’ll ask for your feedback or advice for future Documenters on this assignment.
Assignments at public meetings have additional Yes/No checkboxes. Most of these, such as if decisions seemed to be made in advance or if officials were attentive and alert, are questions you will be able to answer easily having attended the meeting. A few require closer observation while at the meeting (start and end time, approximate attendance).
Review
Once you hit "Submit" your Documenters Field Coordinator will review your submission and may share feedback or tips via email. Occasionally, we may request revisions or additions if the submission did not meet the stated assignment requirements.
Once public meeting-related submissions are approved they become publicly viewable on Documenters.org.
All Documenters.org assignments are independent contracts based on a pay rate of $16 per hour, however some assignments also include a minimum base rate. Our most common assignments are taking notes or live-tweeting government open meetings.
Public meeting-related assignments:
- For meetings that run 2 hours or less, default pay per assignment is $56. This assumes a total of 3.5 hours: 2 hours for meeting attendance + 1.5 hours for pre-research, follow-up work, note editing, uploading, etc.
- If a meeting runs longer, we adjust your compensation to the meeting duration (rounded up to the nearest half hour) + 1.5 hours.
- If your assigned meeting is cancelled less than 72 hours in advance of the scheduled start time, we will pay you a "kill fee" of $16.
- City Bureau is not obligated to pay a kill fee if you are unable to attend an assigned meeting (i.e. due to transportation delays, unexpected illness, a family emergency). In such a situation, you may share any research you did in preparation for the assignment and we will consider compensation for your time.
Please include the exact duration of your assigned meeting in your submission checklist (meeting duration is confirmed through meeting minutes, official confirmation and Documenter checklists).
Special Assignments:
Unless otherwise noted in the assignment details, Street Team assignments and Special Assignments are paid at $16 per hour rounded up to the nearest half-hour. View your assigned meeting on Documenters.org for details and contact our Documenters Field Coordinator for questions.
Transportation:
Legally, we cannot reimburse contractors for typical time or costs associated with getting to your assignment (i.e. gas, toll fees, transit fees). If you encounter extenuating circumstances on your commute (for example, a train line is shut down or a bus hasn’t come yet) let your Documenters Field Coordinator know right away. In most cases, we can suggest alternatives and provide support to get you there, including rideshare reimbursement.
All required content must be completed before an assignment is approved and payment is released. City Bureau reserves the right to cancel payment for late or incomplete submissions.
After you are assigned to your first role you’ll receive an email from City Bureau’s operations team, as well as an invite to join Gusto, the system we use to manage payments. Click the link in the email to create a Gusto account and enter your Social Security number, address, and bank account coordinates (The information is kept securely by Gusto). Once that information is entered you’ll be set up for direct deposit, and you’ll also be able to login anytime to see your payment records or tax forms.
We run payments for all approved assignments every Monday, and, provided you've set up your Gusto profile, the payment will be in your account 5 days after we press the button. If there are no bank holidays, this is usually Friday. If you have any questions about payment contact your Documenters Field Coordinator.
