NORTHAMPTON - Three School Committee members and a former board member failed to file state mandated campaign finance reports with City Clerk's office by the Jan. 20 deadline.

Two others - Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School Trustee Michael Cahillane and James Durfur, a candidate for the Community Preservation Committee in the Nov. 8 municipal election, also did not meet last Friday's deadline for filing campaign disclosures, according to records in the City Clerk's office.

Meantime, a political committee that campaigned in support of a Community Preservation Act ballot question had to re-file its final campaign finance report for the year because it showed a negative balance, City Clerk Wendy Mazza said. State law prohibits campaign finance reports, which show all funds and in-kind contributions received as well as campaign expenses and liabilities, from being in the red.

"It was an error on their part," Mazza said of the SaveTheCPA committee, which corrected the issue in an amended filing Monday.

Three current School Committee members who did not file by last week's deadline are at-large committee member Michael Flynn, Ward 1 committee member Alden Bourne and Ward 6 committee member Lisa Minnick.

Former Ward 1 School Committee member Lise Glading-DiLorenzo, who did not seek re-election, also did not file a year-end campaign finance report with the city clerk as is required by law.

Mazza had sent out a Dec. 19, 2011 letter to all candidates for elected office in the city reminding them of the Jan. 20, 2012 deadline to file year-end campaign finance reports. She plans to issue a second reminder this month for those afoul of the state's campaign finance law.

"All incumbents, whether or not they have a cash balance, raised or spent any money or had an election in 2011 must file a year-end report," Mazza wrote to the candidates last month. "That includes incumbents who did not seek re-election and are leaving office."

The state's campaign finance law mandates that a civil penalty of $25 per day (up to $5,000 total) be assessed personally against any candidates who fail to file disclosures and upon referral to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Mazza said she would not assess any penalties unless she first contacted the state agency on a particular matter.

"I usually give them the opportunity to come in and take care of the issue," she said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com