The Approvals tab is where a submission moves from department to department until the Board office confirms it. This page explains how the reviewing departments are chosen, what each field in an approval box means and who does what.
Before the approval process can start#
The Approvals tab only works when these fields are filled:
- Information: Subject, Submitting department, Districts
- Actions: Submission category, Transaction type, Requested action
- Background info
If something is missing, a message lists the missing fields ("For approval process, missing fields must be completed") with buttons that take you to the right tab.
How routing works#
As soon as the submitting department, category and transaction type are set, CLIF creates an approval box for every department that must take part. Each tier is a column on the Approvals tab, in tier order:
| Tier | Which departments get a box | Level 1 → Level 2 role |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Presubmission | Every department assigned to this tier (normally Law). | Submitter → Submission approver |
| 2. Submission | The submitting department. Its box starts as Assigned to the creator. | Submitter → Submission approver |
| 3. Approval | The departments that must review this combination of category and transaction type, for example Finance, BAPS, SMBA&D or Audits. | Review User → Review approver |
| 4. Validation | BOE Operations. | Review User → Review approver |
| 5. Confirmation | BOE Clerk. This tier has no Level 1 step; it starts as Ready. | Review approver |
Changing the submitting department, category or transaction type re-routes the submission: boxes of departments that are no longer needed are removed and new ones are added. Administrators can also add or remove a reviewing department by hand; see Changing the reviewers of one submission.
Reading the Approvals tab#
Each department's box is titled with its abbreviated name. The two check icons at the top right of a box show whether Level 1 is Ready and whether Level 2 has Approved. Above the tiers are two buttons:
- Notification history: every email CLIF sent about this submission;
- Refresh approval status: reloads the boxes.
Under the first tier is Submission parameters (Duplicate checked?, Requires state approval?, Requires mayoral approval?); under the last tier is Confirmation details (Is non-routine?, Is protest?, Protest details). Non-routine items are listed separately on the President's agenda.
Fields in an approval box#
| Field | Values | Who changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment Status | Not assigned, Assigned | Level 2 users of the department. |
| Submitter / Reviewer | A Level 1 user of the department | Level 2 users. In the Submission tier it is always the creator. |
| Submitter assigned @ | Date | Set automatically. |
| Submission status | In progress, Waiting, Ready | The assigned Level 1 user, or a Level 2 user. The clock button shows its history. |
| Approval status | Approved, Not approved (and Withdrawn in the Submission and Validation tiers) | Level 2 users, once Submission status is Ready. |
| Approver, Approved @ | User, date | Set automatically when the approval status is chosen. |
| Endorsement | From the Endorsements list | Level 2 users (Approval tier). |
| Meeting date | A Board meeting | Validation tier; see Scheduling a submission. |
Until a box is Assigned, only Assignment Status and Endorsement are shown. Each department can rename these fields for its own box (approval labels), so the labels you see may differ.
Step by step#
- Assign (Level 2). Set Assignment Status to Assigned and choose the Level 1 user. The assigned person receives a Submission Assigned email.
- Work (Level 1). Set Submission status to In progress while you prepare or review the submission. Use Waiting when you are on hold for information from a third party.
- Mark ready (Level 1). Set Submission status to Ready. The department's Level 2 users receive a Submission Waiting Approval email.
- Approve (Level 2). Set Approval status to Approved (or Not approved). The approver and date are recorded. When every box in the tier is approved, the Level 2 users of the next tier receive a Submission Approved email: it is their turn to assign.
- Schedule (Validation). When BOE Operations approves, CLIF asks for the Board meeting the submission goes to.
- Confirm (Confirmation). When the BOE Clerk approves, the submission is finalized: it becomes read-only, the signed memo and the merged final document are created, and the creator receives a Submission Approved email.
Waiting for the previous tier#
A tier stays read-only until every box in the previous tier is complete (Ready and Approved). Higher tiers can reopen earlier work when something has to be corrected:
- Enable Previous Tier unlocks the tier directly before yours (Submission, Approval tiers).
- Enable All Previous Tiers unlocks every lower tier (Validation, Confirmation tiers).
These buttons are shown to Level 2 users of the tier, as long as the next tier has not completed yet.
Who counts as Level 1 and Level 2#
For a given box, Level 1 users are the people who hold the tier's Level 1 role in that box's department, and Level 2 users are those who hold its Level 2 role. For example, in the Approval tier, Finance's Review Users are Level 1 and Finance's Review approvers are Level 2. Department roles are set by administrators; see Department roles.
Status icons#
Everywhere outside the Approvals tab (the side panel, My Tasks, the submissions list), each department is shown with a single icon for its most advanced status: the approval status if set, otherwise the submission status, otherwise the assignment status. Hover over an icon to read it. All statuses are explained in Core concepts.