KALAMAZOO, MI -- A state Bureau of Elections investigation found Kalamazoo City Commissioner Matt Milcarek violated campaign finance law several times.

The probe was initiated by city resident Zach Lassiter, who filed a complaint on Nov. 15, 2016. On July 25, the Department of State notified Milcarek it found that he failed to file campaign statements on time, report expenditures and explain why reported revenue was less than money spent in the 2015 election.

In a rebuttal letter sent March 23, Milcarek argued that he followed guidance provided at a forum hosted by the Kalamazoo County Clerk. Milcarek said Tuesday that he was not notified of late filings until the probe's conclusion.

He plans to amend his reports at the guidance of the state, required by Aug. 11.

"As a first time candidate operating a campaign without any paid staff, I was dealing with a learning curve," he said in a statement.

Milcarek paid $13.17 to create a campaign website on June 29, 2015 through GoDaddy.com. The website payment, covered by personal funds, was not reported by his campaign committee, Friends of Matt Milcarek.

State law required Milcarek to file a Statement of Organization for his campaign committee 10 days after becoming a candidate, but he was eight business days late. A person becomes a candidate under state law when they receive a contribution or make an expenditure in regard to their election to office.

After the November 2015 election, candidates were required to file a post-election statement within 30 days. Milcarek filed this document 321 days late.

Milcarek said he was "under the impression" that his 2015 post-election statement was filed.

"Roughly a year later, I was notified by Clerk (Tim) Snow that they did not have the report on file," he said. "Once I was aware of this, I brought a copy down to the Clerk's office ASAP."

Committee spending was reported to exceed the amount of funds raised by $128.

The Bureau of Elections investigation found Milcarek did not file campaign statements on July 25 and Oct. 25, 2016. Candidates are allowed to file a reporting waiver if they don't expect to receive more than $1,000, which Milcarek did after the July and October reports were due.

Again, Milcarek said he was unaware that his reporting waiver wasn't valid until notified by the state.

"I will be completing a report for that period which will show zero campaign activity for that period," he said.

Once the Michigan Department of State reviews Milcarek's new campaign statements, it will determine what further enforcement action will be taken. In certain circumstances, a failure to file periodic campaign statements may constitute a misdemeanor offense.

Milcarek is not running for re-election in 2017.

Campaign finance law violated by Kalamazoo city commissioner by Malachi Barrett on Scribd