After the election: retiring committee debt and terminating a Berkeley committee

City Clerk Mark Newmanville closed the compliance section by walking through post‑election rules for debt retirement, leftover assets and committee termination.

"If your committee has debt after the election you can raise funds to pay off that debt," Newmanville said, and cautioned that donors to retire debt are still subject to candidate contribution limits (a candidate is capped at $290 per donor even when raising post‑election debt funds). He added committees have until Dec. 31, 2028 to retire debts tied to the 2026 election cycle and must file final termination statements (Form 410 and Form 460 marked termination) to end ongoing filing obligations.

Newmanville recommended committees wrap up business by Dec. 31 to avoid additional filing cycles and fees and advised successful candidates who intend to use excess funds in a future race to file new forms and open a new bank account.