Fair Campaign Practices Act

Fair campaign practices

Believing that integrity and openness in the political process promotes confidence in government, protects the electoral process and earns residents' trust, all reports and filings are a matter of public record.

Candidate committees

Prior to a candidate or issue committee accepting any contributions or making any expenditures, they must first register as a committee (PDF) (save, complete, and mail or email). The formation of a committee requires a separate bank account to be established in the name of the committee.

Report of contributions and expenditures

Candidate and Issue Committees must file Committee Report of Contributions and Expenditures (PDF) (save, complete, and mail or email) based on the election calendar deadlines by 5 p.m. to the Town Clerk.

  • All contributions, contributions in-kind, or loans must be reported, with the name and address of each person (Contributions in-kind include personal services, office space, or any gift or loan of real or personal property other than money for which no compensation is paid)
  • All expenditures must be reported with copies of receipts for all single expenditures exceeding $100.
  • Candidates are required to file a report for each reporting period even if no contributions were received or no expenditures were made.
  • Issue Committees are not required to submit contribution or expenditure reports until they have accepted or made contributions or expenditures in excess of $2,500 to support or oppose any ballot issue or ballot question. 

Termination report

  • A termination report can be filed when there is zero balance with no outstanding obligations
  • Unexpended funds may be:
    • Donated to a charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or
    • Returned to the contributors.

Post-election quarterly filing due dates

After the election and until a termination report is filed, quarterly reporting is required for any open issue or candidate committees with reporting periods ending five days prior to the due date as follows:

  • Jan. 1 (Reporting Sept. 27 through Dec. 27)
  • April 1 (Reporting Dec. 28 through March 27)
  • July 1 (Reporting March 28 through June 26)
  • Oct.1 (Reporting June 27 through Sept. 26)

If the reporting day is on a weekend or a legal holiday, the report shall be filed by the close of the next business day. The reporting period closes five calendar days prior to the date the report is due.

More Information

Learn about the Fair Campaign Practices Act: