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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee County treasurer recommends forgiveness, amnesty period for old campaign fines
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com
on June 26, 2013 at 7:32 AM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county treasurer is recommending a plan for collecting old campaign finance fines run up by local candidates and committees that includes a 90-day amnesty period and forgiveness of penalties run up more than two years ago.
Treasurer Deb Cherry is asking the county Board of Commissioners to give her plan initial approval in a committee meeting today, June 25. The county has identified 49 campaign committees that owe more than $53,000 in penalties in addition to fines owed by two current candidates for Flint City Council.
"If you hold an office or are running, you should pay," Cherry said. With the others, "I want to make it fair for everybody."
Cherry said she plans to provide a detailed list of candidates owing delinquent fines to commissioners today.
Her recommendations include:
•All current officeholders and those running for office will have to pay the complete amount of the outstanding fines and file appropriate reports.
•Upon filing reports, all fines older than 2011-12 reporting period would be forgiven. Reports must be filed with the county Clerk's Office within 90 days of the date of the Board of Commissioners ' resolution.
•If appropriate reports are filed within 90 days of the date of the Board of Commissioners' resolution, a 50 percent campaign finance amnesty program would be offered as an incentive to collect on the 2011-12 reporting period fees. If reports are not filed and 50 percent of the 2011-12 reporting period fees not paid, the entire fine owed will be turned over to a collection agency.
•The treasurer, with consultation of the county board chairman, the chairman of the commissioners' government operations committee, and clerk can negotiate further reductions in special circumstances.
•For future delinquent fines, an initial notice will be sent from the treasurer staring that if not paid within 60 days, the account will be turned over to a collection agency. Future fines are defined as anything assessed pursuant to the Jan. 31, 2013, filing deadline. The treasurer will be responsible for hiring a collection agency to handle future delinquent fines turned over by the Clerk's Office.
•Future delinquent fines will be turned over quarterly to the Treasurer's Office for collection.
Cherry said in December 2012, former Clerk Michael Carr's office turned over a file with the late campaign filing fees -- the first such transfer since she was elected treasurer in 2010.
Both the Clerk and Treasurer's Offices have worked to draft the recommendations since that time, she said.
Earlier this month, Clerk-Register John Gleason sent overdue-fines cases for Flint City Council candidates Eric Mays, Alex Harris and Michael Harris to the state Attorney General's Office for action.
Gleason was elected clerk-register last year and has characterized the state of records of campaign committee and candidate fines a confusing mess.
Mays said that he's not seen the new recommendations from Cherry but said he would have cleared up his fines from runs for Flint City Council and mayor already had there been better communication from the county over the issue before now.
Mays suggested the county forgive all old fines and penalties and "start over from scratch."
"I would have paid $300 (then)," Mays said, before penalties raised his total owed to $3,300.
Campaign committees and candidates can be fined if they fail to register a committee with the county or fail to file reports about fundraising and expenditures.
Fines range from $10 to $25 per day with maximum fines up to $500.
Cherry said some candidates with outstanding debts have cleared up or settled their cases in recent weeks, including Michael Smith.
Cherry said her recommendation for forgiving fines dating back more than two years comes at the advise of county attorneys because the fines may be uncollectable after that much time.
Fines and penalties would not be forgiven unless candidates file required reports and close out their committees.
Of the more than $53,000 in fines owed, the proposed write-off would take away more than $35,000 of that potential revenue, according to information from the Treasurer's Office.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:05 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Do the citizens really need politicians that cannot follow the campaign rules on reporting?
Go on M-Live and read the comments on this story as they re overwhelmingly against this move by Cherry. Sounds like the "good ole boys and girls" club in action, The list of names has not been released yet, but I am betting they are primarily Democrats.
Cherry is wrong about the system. I have reviewed these files and letters are routinely sent out when the staff observes issues that results in fines. The copies are in the files.
I remember years ago when the Journal was going to print out a list of delinquent politicians. One very prominent politician ran in and paid with a check to keep his name off the list as it would have been extremely embarrassing to him because of his position. His name did not show up on the Journal story, however the check bounced. |
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:12 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com
on June 26, 2013 at 10:45 AM, updated June 26, 2013 at 10:46 AM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county Board of Commissioners has delayed acting on recommended policies for collecting overdue fines from campaign and candidate committees.
Commissioner Omar Sims, D-Flint, removed the issue from the agenda of the Government Operations Committee today, June 26, saying more work needs to be done on the proposal from Treasurer Deb Cherry.
"I believe we can work with our clerk and treasurer so this can be a win-win situation," Sims said.
Cherry's recommendations include a 90-day amnesty period and forgiveness of penalties run up more than two years ago by committees supporting candidates and causes.
The county has identified 49 campaign committees that owe more than $53,000 in penalties in addition to fines owed by two current candidates for Flint City Council.
Cherry said today that commissioners want to talk about the time frame for forgiving past debts and other issues before voting on the recommendations -- possibly in two weeks -- when Sims' committee meets again.[/b] |
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:17 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I rarely agree with Omar Sims and this story is no exception.
He sits on the land bank Board of Directors and appears to enjoy the influence he has with the Treasurer's office.
When a piece of property was being sought by a resident and Kettering University, Sims's position was "Institutions before individuals".
At a meeting on whether to approve a Community Development Housing organization (CHDO) status for Operation Unification and Charles Young, Sims described Young as a Beecher boy who was trying to do good for the community. Operation Unification got the CHDO status and the benefits associated with that status although his non profit shared a board with his for profit companies and housing was not a goal identified with the IRS for the non profit.
Who are the 49 individuals on the list and is Sims attempting to placate individuals for future political races, such as the next mayor's race. |
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:26 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Since Sims and Cherry want to help Scofflaws who refuse to pay even when notified of their fines, what other political favors will they advocate?
Shouldn't they be in contact with the Michigan Secretary of State before they make this move. |
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Wed Jun 26, 2013 3:00 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee County political committees get deep discounts on past fines
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com
on September 23, 2013 at 7:00 AM, updated September 23, 2013 at 7:20 AM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Some of the candidates and committees with the biggest overdue fines from past political campaigns in the county have reached settlements on those debts, and most are getting a 90 percent discount.
County Treasurer Deb Cherry said settlements have been reached with seven committees: Good Government Committee, $1,000; Friends of Mark Horrigan, $300; Communities Resolved to Enrich Education for Kids, $100; Friends of Eric Mayes, $330; Committee to Elect Gary Isham, $250; Committee to Recall Offensive Obstinate Kook, $250; and no charge for the Committee to Elect Ted Klopf.
"I'm just glad that we are putting this behind us," said county Clerk-Register John Gleason. "There was confusion about who was supposed to pay what. The process now is a very good one, we'll be able to stay on top of it."
Gleason and other officials have said the county hasn't done a good job in the past to help candidates file reports that are required. The reports disclose how their campaigns were funded and how campaign contributions were spent.
Representatives of the committees with fines have said they received mixed messages about how to resolve their fines and got inconsistent advice about what to do when they tried to follow up.
Cherry said now that a written policy for handling the late filings and fines is in place, the county won't agree to such deep discounts in the future.
The county's list of delinquent campaign fines includes several groups that haven't been active since 2006 or earlier.
Those long-inactive groups have been sent letters, advising them that fines against them will be forgiven as long as they file reports that formally close out the committee's business.
Cherry said the committees with fines since 2006 have seen the amounts owed continue to build up because of repeat penalties over the same violation.
Eric Mays, a current candidate for Flint City Council, said he's willing to settle his case for $330 -- provided it really wipes his slate clean.
The Friends of Eric Mays owed $3,300, according to the county records.
"There's been a lot of miscommunication from that office," Mays said.
County Commissioner Omar Sims, D-Flint, also said clearing the slate is most important.
"We all should be held responsible, (but) we're cleaning up" old cases in which candidates weren't given consistent information about the fines, said Sims, one of the county officials who approve the settlements.
"People are going to say they are getting over on us," Sims said, but "they're not."
Cherry said one fine -- to the Committee to Elect Ted Klopf -- is being forgiven because the former candidate for county commissioner enlisted in the military service after losing his election in 2006 and apparently never received any notifications from the county.
Cherry and Gleason tackled the delinquent campaign fine issue after Gleason took office as the county's first clerk-register this year.
The new campaign fine policy adopted by the Board of Commissioners earlier this year allowed for Cherry, Gleason, Sims and Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis to negotiate reductions in fines, provided all appropriate reports are filed by the committees.
The policy provided that settlements would be reported to the commissioners on a quarterly basis.
The new policy spells out the roles of the Clerk's Office for turning over delinquent fines to the Treasurer's Office for collection in the future. |
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Mon Sep 23, 2013 8:51 am |
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