Burbank Unified school board candidate to be fined for late reporting

Burbank Unified school board candidate Steve Ferguson is being slapped with a $100 fine because his financial statements were incomplete -- and therefore, late -- when filed with the city last month, officials said Friday.

The financial report was supposed to span through Jan. 12, but Ferguson reported contributions up until Dec. 31 of last year.

When reached Friday, Ferguson blamed his tardiness on a date “mix-up” by his treasurer.

“It’s honestly just a mix-up with my treasurer and my treasurer didn’t get the dates right,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson was notified that his statement was missing information on Friday, roughly three weeks after the deadline.

Candidates who file late face a $10-per-day penalty, with a maximum fee of $100, according to Deputy City Clerk Susan Domen.

Ferguson will face the full $100 charge, Interim City Clerk Zizette Mullins said.

Phillip Knight, a spokesman for Ferguson’s campaign, said the only contribution Ferguson received between Jan. 1 and 13 was $100 from Marian Fagan, Ferguson’s fourth-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary in Burbank.

Ferguson called the $100 fine and Fagan’s $100 contribution “ironic.”

“I am going to be changing treasurers,” he added.

The school board candidate had previously reported raising $3,866 from 17 donors through Dec. 31, 2012.

A week before the filing deadline, all candidates were notified of the due date and the time period the statement should cover, Domen said.

Ferguson wasn’t notified of the penalty earlier because his statements arrived in the mail while the city clerk’s office was moving into a new office in City Hall, Domen said.

“We should’ve mailed him that immediately,” Mullins said.

But at the end of the day, it’s up to the candidate to keep track of the paperwork, Domen said.

“The dog ate my paperwork excuse doesn’t generally fly,” Domen said.

-- Alene Tchekmedyian and Kelly Corrigan, Times Community News