Committee debates whether to enshrine $300 election-judge base pay and training fees in ordinance

Committee members on Sept. 16 debated whether to put election-judge compensation details — including training and pickup/drop-off payments — into a single ordinance after County Clerk Jennifer presented a historical review and a draft ordinance that sets base pay at $300 and spells out additional training and related fees.

The proposal matters because the state provides per-judge reimbursement and because union-contract language, past resolutions and inconsistent historical practice could create duplicated or unintended payments, committee members said.

County Clerk Jennifer told the committee she researched committee minutes, resolutions and ordinances dating back to 1988 and said the intent of her draft was to “clean this all up from now and going forward.” She told members, “It's supposed to be 300 base pay.” The clerk also said the state is “currently set to reimburse $65 per election judge…