Sec. 54-102. Unexpended campaign funds and personal use of campaign funds.
(a) Before filing a termination report with the city clerk, a committee must pay all remaining debts and financial obligations and dispose of any unexpended campaign funds in accordance with this section.
(b) Unexpended campaign funds of a committee may be:
(1) Donated to a charitable organization that is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) Returned to contributors.
(3) Retained by the committee for use in a subsequent municipal election.
(c) Campaign funds of a committee may not be used for personal use, including but not limited to payment for a commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of a candidate's campaign or duties as an officeholder. Personal use includes, but is not limited to, the use of funds in a campaign account to pay for:
(1) Household food items or supplies.
(2) Funeral, cremation, or burial expenses, except those incurred for a candidate or an employee or volunteer of a committee whose death arises out of, or in the course of, campaign activity.
(3) Clothing, other than items of de minimis value that are used in the campaign, such as campaign t-shirts or caps with campaign slogans.
(4) Tuition payments, other than those associated with training campaign staff.
(5) Mortgage, rent or utility payments for, or repairs or improvements upon, any part of any personal residence of the candidate or a member of the candidate's family, or for real or personal property that is owned by the candidate or a member of the candidate's family and used for campaign purposes, to the extent the payments exceed the fair market value of the property usage.
(6) Admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment, unless part of a specific campaign or officeholder activity.
(7) Dues, fees, or gratuities at a country club, health club, recreational facility or other nonpolitical organization, unless they are part of the costs of a specific fundraising event that takes place on the organization's premises.
(8) Salary payments to a member of the candidate's family, unless the family member is providing bona fide services to the campaign. If a family member provides bona fide services to the campaign, any salary payment above the fair market value of the services provided is personal use.
(9) Salary payments by a candidate committee to a candidate above the lesser of the prorated minimum salary paid to the officeholder of the office that the candidate seeks or the prorated earned income that the candidate received during the year before becoming a candidate. Any earned income that a candidate receives from salaries or wages from any other source will count against the foregoing limit listed in this subsection.
(10) A vacation.
(d) Upon receipt of a complaint about personal use of campaign funds or upon learning of other uses of campaign funds by any means, the city clerk will determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether other uses of funds in a campaign account fulfill a commitment, obligation or expense that constitutes personal use.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate committee may expend campaign funds during any particular election cycle to reimburse the candidate for reasonable and necessary expenses for the care of the candidate's children or other dependents the candidate incurs directly in connection with the candidate's campaign activities during the election cycle. The candidate committee must disclose the expenditures in accordance with section 54-104. (Ord. No. 2020-58, § 2, 11-16-2020)