City council accepted the 2017 Municipal Election Candidate Statement Declaration Summary report as information this week.
Under Section 147.4 of the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA), council candidates are required to file their disclosure statements, on or before March 1st, 2018.
Under legislation, campaign contributions and expenses of candidates have to be reported if one of the following conditions exist:
1. Funded with a combination of the candidates own funds and funds from eligible third parties, or
2. Funded entirely from funds provided by eligible third parties.
Those who paid for their campaigns up to the allowable maximum ($10,000) are not required to submit a campaign disclosure statement.
The disclosure Form 21 and its contents are public documents and will be posted (less the addresses of the candidates and any contributors, and any other information protected under the Freedom of Information and Protection Privacy Act) on the City’s web site later this week.
“The City also provided the option to candidates who self-funded their campaigns to provide a voluntary statement confirming one funding source,” said Acting Chief Administrative Officer Matthew Goudy.
“Those who have filed the statement with the City are identified on the summary as such. Those who have not filed any information, by definition, are considered to have self-funded their election campaign expenses.”
All statements reported were received on or before Feb. 26th prior to the March 1st deadline.
If a disclosure statement is not filed, sections 147.7 and 147.8 of the LAEA outline the offence and liability for fines.
-Weber