BELLE — Three Belle municipal election candidates were assessed late fees by the Missouri Ethics Commission after failing to timely file required personal financial disclosure statements ahead of the April 7 election, escalating into broader allegations of miscommunication and political tension within City Hall.

A Jan. 15 letter from the Missouri Ethics Commission to candidate Steven Bedwell states his personal financial disclosure statement was due Jan. 13 and had not been received. Fellow municipal candidate Tracey Creswell also told The Advocate she and Belle Marshal Jerry Coborn received a similar letter.

According to the letter, “If you fail to file a personal financial disclosure statement by Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, the Missouri Ethics Commission is required … to notify the election official who accepted your declaration of candidacy that you are disqualified. This statute requires the election authority to remove your name from the ballot.”

The letter further advised that a late fee accumulates at a rate of $10 per day for each day the report is not filed. Bedwell confirmed during a Jan. 30 interview that he was assessed a $70 fine and Creswell confirmed she was fined the same amount.

Under Missouri law, municipal candidates must file a Personal Financial Disclosure statement within 14 days after the close of filing for the election. The commission allows electronic filing with email confirmation, while paper filings must be postmarked by the statutory deadline. Failure to timely file the documents results in daily late fees and possible disqualification. Missouri statute places responsibility for filing the financial disclosure on the candidate.

In written responses to questions, Creswell said she believed the city would handle submission of her paperwork based on prior experience.

“I thought they would file all of the packet for me because they did two years ago when I ran for mayor,” Creswell said.

When asked whether anyone explicitly told her the city would mail the disclosure on her behalf, she responded, “No, no one did.”

She said she was handed the papers and filing dates but was not verbally provided instructions regarding mailing or electronic filing requirements.

Creswell said she first learned there was a problem on Jan. 18, two days before the financal disclosure filing deadline. Initially, she felt City Hall could have relayed more about the process, but acknowledged responsibility once the issue became clear.

“I admitted the problem was indeed my problem,” she said.

When asked whether she now believes the issue was miscommunication rather than misconduct, Creswell said, “I do believe it was a miscommunication but there was some misconduct, too, because the ethics commission let them know we needed to file these papers and they didn’t tell us.”

She suggested clearer verbal instructions on procedures could prevent similar issues in the future.

“Make it very clear so that we know what we need to do ahead of deadlines,” Creswell said.

Creswell also clarified she did not make any public accusations of wrongdoing by City Hall.

“I made a comment that the chaos at 55 & older went as well as the stuff happening with the election,” she said. “No accusations were made.”

During a Jan. 30 interview, Bedwell described his understanding of his filing responsibilities. When Bedwell was asked what he understood his responsibilities to be after submitting his packet and the financial disclosure to Belle Treasurer–Office Manager Charro Reasor at City Hall, he said, “That she (Reasor) would take care of it.”

Bedwell said he asked Reasor directly whether he needed to do anything else.

“She said, ‘No, I’m gonna take care of this,’” Bedwell said.

Bedwell said he was not provided written instructions explaining the requirement to file directly with the Missouri Ethics Commission. He also said he recorded the interaction on his phone and that another individual, Alderman Steve Vogt, was present during the conversation.

In the footage, Reasor can be seen pointing to a specific page in the paperwork she returned to him and said, “This one here is a checklist to make sure that you get all the filing and everything like that done on time so you can get everything submitted.”

The checklist referenced in the video appears to outline filing steps and deadlines associated with the reporting process.

In the recording, Bedwell can also be heard asking, “Anything else?”

Reasor responds, “Not on our end. There’s some requirements on there yet, but this is all we need.”

Bedwell maintains that, despite the reference to additional requirements on the checklist, he was not verbally instructed during the exchange that he was required to file directly with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

According to Bedwell, Vogt was present at the time of the conversation and can be seen in the video. He said he retained the recording to document what information was provided to him during the visit and that, in his view, the exchange reflects the scope of the guidance he received from city officials at that time.

When asked when he first learned of the filing issue, Bedwell said Creswell contacted him and said, “we have a problem,” explaining paperwork had not been filed with the state. He said he filed the form electronically that same day.

When asked whether he consulted election officials, legal counsel or the Ethics Commission before alleging wrongdoing, Bedwell indicated he did not.

When asked whether he now believes the issue was miscommunication, Bedwell responded, “No, I think she did it on purpose. I kind of figured they didn’t want us in there.”

Despite that statement, he acknowledged he could have taken additional steps to verify the filing.

“I should have looked through it (the candidate packet) and made sure,” he said.

Coborn said during an interview that he was aware he had to file the information himself and pointed out that it was all explained on the last page of the candidate packet.

The packet provided to candidates includes updated information from the Missouri Department of Revenue regarding the Candidate’s Affidavit of Tax Payments and Bonding Requirements, known as Form 5120. Under RSMo 115.306.2(2), individuals filing for office must complete the form declaring they are not aware of any delinquency in their state taxes. This includes state income taxes, personal property taxes, municipal taxes and real property taxes on their place of residence.

The Department of Revenue implemented an electronic filing process for Form 5120. Candidates must complete, electronically sign and submit the form online through the Department of Revenue website if they did not want to mail it in. Once submitted, the candidate receives an email with access to the completed form, including the date and time of submission. The revised form does not require notarization, and candidates may print or electronically present the filed form to the appropriate election authority when submitting their declaration of candidacy.

Mayor James (Pudd) Mitchell, also a candidate in the upcoming election, issued a statement during a Feb. 13 interview.

“We was all handed packets, and if you read your packet and followed it, it said you had a date that you had to do this,” Mitchell said. “You had another date to do this. It’s plain and simple. It’s in the packet. If you don’t follow that, then there’s a repercussion, and that was it. I just feel that some of the people didn’t read their packet, and they didn’t follow the protocol. Bottom line.”