Have you ever heard of these?

All elected officials are required to file what are called Statement of Economic Interests once a year by January.

A lot of people don’t know about these useful documents. It’s basically a report showing what they own and where they get their income. These statements can reveal possible conflicts of interest.

Usually these reports become far more valuable for reporters and watchdog citizens. Typically, there’s more detail and information in the forms that state officials fill out, when compared with local government officials’ reports. 
 

The report has 10 questions.
1. Offices and Directorships: Is the official or an immediate family member  a paid officer or paid director of a business?

2. Personal Liabilities: Does the official or a family member owe more than $10,000 to any one creditor?

3. Securities:  Does the official or a family member own more than $10,000 in stocks, bonds or other securities in a business. This includes mutual funds, limited partnerships and trusts?

4. Payment for Talks, Meetings, and Publications: Has the official received lodging, transportation, money or anything else of value exceeding $200 for a single talk, meeting or published work?

5. Gifts: Has the official received a gift or entertainment worth more than $50 from a business or other donor?

6. Salaries and Wages: List  each employer that pays the official or a family member more than $10,000 a year?

7. Business Interests: Does the official or a family member own an interest of more than $10,000 in a business, including rental property and consulting work?

8. Payments for Representation and other Services: Has the official represented any business before any state governmental agency for compensation exceeding $1,000? Has the official had a partner or associate who represented a business before a state governmental agency for more than $1,000? Has the official or a partner received more than $1,000 in compensation from any business in the past year?

9. Real Estate: Does the official or a family member own more than $10,000 in real property, other than a principal residence?

10. Real Estate Contracts with State Government Agencies: Does the official or a family member lease property to the state.

Last week, I pulled the reports for our seven supervisors. I was charged $4.05 and told actually I should have been charged more because the county is not only charging for copies but a wage for the person who had to get the files out of the cabinet. I’ll refrain from commenting on that.

Tomorrow, I will reveal what they contain.

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