Chickamauga Councilman Daymon GarrettTwenty-eight officials in five Northwest Georgia counties owe the state ethics commission nearly $24,000 in late fees for campaign paperwork, some of which have gone unpaid since 2003.
Mayors, council members, commissioners, school board members and even a coroner owe between $25 and $3,200 for late financial disclosures, according to data from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
“That’s sort of surprising that there’s so many people in this area that had trouble getting in,” said Chickamauga Councilman Daymon Garrett.
Based on data from the commission’s website, school board members in Catoosa, Dade, Chattooga and Whitfield counties as well as Chickamauga owe late fees as do city council members in Chickamauga, LaFayette, Rossville, Lookout Mountain and Trenton. Two county commissioners in Catoosa and one in Whitfield are also past due as are the mayors of Dalton, LaFayette, Trenton and Summerville.
According to the commission, Garrett owes $1,375 for being three months late on a campaign contribution disclosure form due June 30. But he and other officials on the commission’s overdue list say the fees are a result of computer glitches, mishandling of papers and poor management at the state office.