AUGUSTA -- The state ethics commission decided Thursday against an investigation into whether South Portland should be required to file campaign finance reports because of a flier it sent regarding the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

But the panel determined municipalities should be subject to the reporting requirements if they spend more than $5,000 to influence an election.

In this instance, the city said it did not spend close to that amount, so the commission voted down a request for an investigation.

Earlier this month, voters rejected TABOR, which sought to put in place spending limits and require voter approval of tax increases, with 60 percent opposed.

David Crocker, who served as chairman of TABOR Now, requested the investigation after the city included a flier with October tax bills.

The flier told residents the council passed a resolution opposing the ballot question and warned of city budget cuts if it -- and a second ballot question to cut excise taxes -- were approved by voters.

"I can't believe including this flier in the property tax bills was some sort of neutral act of education," Crocker said.

But city attorney Sally Daggett said it did not cross the line into advocacy and that, in fact, cities and towns have a responsibility to tell voters how ballot initiatives would affect their jurisdictions.

"We take the position that it's a neutral, educational flier," she said.

And while Commission Chairman Walter McKee pushed her on that point, saying that it was plain to him that it advocated the defeat of TABOR, ultimately the commission voted that the city did not spend more than $5,000 on the flier.

Daggett said the total cost of mailing the tax bills with the flier was $3,233.

Waterville lawyer Dan Billings tried to convince the commission that it should make a distinction between town newsletters or Web sites that include small articles on a ballot question and entire pages of information such as the one distributed in South Portland.

"In the case of South Portland, it pushed the envelope and went from taking a position on a Web site or newsletter to taking a flier and mailing it to every taxpayer in the city of South Portland," he said.

Joseph Greenier, a private citizen of Stockton Springs, said his town also sent out information regarding the ballot questions.

"My concern would be to investigate this, so we as taxpayers of all towns and cities will know next time a referendum comes up, it may be your town spending money to attack one referendum or another," he said.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com