Anyone who has been looking for recent records of the Cayuga County Democratic Committee's finances has come up empty.

The committee has not filed any campaign finance disclosure reports since January, and has been fined by the state because of it.

According to the state Board of Elections, the committee was issued a judgment in the amount of $500 plus legal fees in August for failing to file its July periodic report. The judgment came after the committee was sent a letter of notice and given an order to show cause for not filing, according to the state Board of Elections.

But committee leaders say the county party is simply behind schedule and plans on filing the reports.

Democratic Committee Chair Katie Lacey acknowledged Friday that the party received the notices from the state. Lacey also said the committee treasurer, listed by the board of elections as Robert Nagle, has been very busy with his own business and has not been able to file.

“We've been in the process of catching up with the required reports,” she said.

State election laws require political committees to file financial disclosure statements. If there is no financial activity within a committee, it can file a no-activity statement, according to the state board.

Those statements include two annual reports - one in January and one in July. Active filers are also required to file reports 32 and 11 days before an election, as well as a final report 27 days after the election.

Along with the July report, the county Democratic Committee has not filed either of the pre-election reports this year, according to state records

State Board of Elections spokesman Bob Brehm said the board automatically pursues committees that have failed to file a biannual report. But because there are approximately 10,000 active filers in the state, the board does not go after a filer that has failed to disclose its pre-election statements unless a formal complaint has been filed, Brehm said.

“Our overall goal is to encourage compliance with filing the report,” he said. “We want to get the report more than the civil penalty.”

According to Tom Prystal Jr., deputy commissioner at the county Board of Elections, local committees must file their reports with both the state and county. And while committees occasionally file the reports late, it most often happens with new candidates who are unaware of the filing schedule, he said.

“A party committee knows they always have to file,” Prystal said. “They don't really have a break in the filing requirements.”

Republican Committee Chair Cherl Heary, who is also a commissioner with the Board of Elections, said the local Republican party has filed a few days late in the past. It happens, Heary said, though she said she doesn't understand why one would be delayed for months.

“Unless we were talking about big sums of money, it is not something I would want to make a huge deal out of,” she said.

But another local Board of Elections commissioner described the failure to file as “problematic,” as it subjects the party to fines. Dennis Sedor will likely be replaced by Lacey as Democrat commissioner at the beginning of the year, as the party nominated her this week to the position.

Sedor said the Board of Elections contacted Lacey and the committee about their late filings.

“It happened under her watch and it is ultimately her responsibility,” Sedor said.

But anyone who eventually reads the county Democratic Committee reports won't be very impressed once they are filed, Lacey said. There have not been many expenditures.

“We have no money and we spend no money,” Lacey said. “Our reports may be late, but they are embarrassing.”

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net