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Waiver request submitted by Matthew Joseph Ford, Terrebonne Parish School Board, District 3, regarding a $2500 late fee assessed for filing his amended 2018 Tier 2 annual pfd 725 days late and a $2500 late fee assessed for filing his amended 2019 Tier 2 annual pfd 82 days late. |
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Matthew J. Ford stated that he was given no specific guidance on how to complete the PFD when he was advised by his board that he was required to file a PFD. He was "very confused" as to where to list his employment and income and what time frame (calendar year) he was supposed to submit. He gave his completed PFD to the Terrebonne Parish School Board (TPSB) secretary to check for accuracy and submit it on his behalf. He was unaware of any discrepancies until he received his amendment notice. He then revised the PFD and submitted it to his TPSB secretary again. He assumed the amendment was sent to the Board of Ethics right away on his behalf, so he did not question it (or the secretary). He had no reason to suspect the information he provided was incorrect or that the secretary was not submitting his forms. He was dumbfounded by the late fee, as he was under the impression that the entire process of disclosure submission was to be completed by the TPSB secretary. Mr. Ford stated that he's starting to believe the miscommunication of who completes the PFD and purposely makes his PFDs delinquent/late may have been done with "intentional negligence" of someone at TPSB. He never tried to hide any information and certainly did not maliciously do so. He reviewed his records to see why he did not submit the waiver request on time and can on conclude his failure to comply was an oversight as he was busy attending several school graduations for which he is teaching or serves for, handling administrative tasks as a teacher, and dealing with appeals from the VA Office. Paying the fine would be a financial hardship for him as a disabled veteran, living on a teacher's salary supplemented with his TPSB pay.
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TYPE OF REPORT: 2018 and 2019 Tier 2 Annual Report - Amendments
ORIGINAL PFD FILED ON: (2018 - April 24, 2019) (2019 - May 15, 2020)
DATE NOD RECEIVED: (2018 - 12/19/2019, Alicia Allemand) (2019 - 9/28/2021, M. Ford)
DATE REPORT FILED: (2018 - 12/28/2021) (2019 - 12/28/2021)
DAYS LATE FROM NOD: (2018 - 725 days) (2019 - 82 days)
ASSESSED LATE FEE: (2018 - $2500) (2019 - $2500)
PRIOR/OUTSTANDING PFD LATE FEES: None
PRIOR/OUTSTANDING CF LATE FEES: None
OUTSTANDING DISCLOSURE REPORTS: None
PRIOR EXPERIENCE: Been filing since 2018
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La. R.S. 42:1124.2
requires each person holding a public office who represents a voting district having a population of 5,000 or more persons to file an annual personal financial disclosure statement on or before May 15th of each year during which the person holds office and the year following termination of the holding of such office.
La. R.S. 42:1124.4
of the Code provides that upon discovery of the failure to file, failure to timely file, omission of information or inaccurate information, the Board shall notify the filer by sending him a notice of delinquency by certified mail. The notice of delinquency shall inform the person that the financial statement must be filed, or that the information must be disclosed or accurately disclosed, or that a written answer contesting the allegation of such failure, omission, or inaccuracy must be filed no later than seven (7) business days after receipt of the notice of delinquency.
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Consider untimely waiver request.
2019 amendment - Suspend all based on future compliance with the Code of Ethics.
2020 amendment - Suspend all but $250 based on future compliance with the Code of Ethics. The $250 is payable within 20 days and if payment is not received within 20 days, the full amount of the late fee becomes due and owing.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Tracy Barker |
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