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Municipal clerk says passport and credential services bring revenue; elections budget spikes in election years
Summary
Municipal Clerk Miss Harris told council passport services and credential assistance produced steady foot traffic and positive net revenue; election-related spending rises sharply in election years and remains out of the clerk's recurring operating budget in non-election years.
Municipal Clerk Miss Harris presented her department’s budget and workload, telling council the office provides passport services, notary services, and assistance with credential programs and that those services have produced measurable revenue.
From October through July, Harris said the clerk’s office handled 2,410 customers for the city’s credentialing/TSA services and 4,782 customers for passports, excluding those who simply used the office to renew by mail. The office charges an execution fee for passports and receives both the passport fees and a $35 execution fee per application, which Harris said covers postage and some operating costs.
On elections, Harris said municipal election-year spending is recorded in the budget for that year; in a non-election year the appropriation returns to the general fund reserve. She told council that the city spent about $582,000 on elections in the most recent election year and that the proposed operating amount for election-related routine items in the coming non-election year is roughly $52,650 for voter roll maintenance and about $42,000 under "other services" in the clerk’s internal division summary. "When it is a nonelection year, that money is not put in my budget," Harris said.
Council members asked the clerk to ensure comparative printouts are provided in advance — showing adopted, revised and actuals by fiscal year — so members can compare election-year versus non-election-year lines more easily during hearings.
Harris also explained staffing arrangements for the off-site credentialing service and said most supplies for credential work are provided by the issuing agency; the clerk’s office supplies staff to operate the service. She said net revenue from passport and credential services more than covers routine costs for those programs.
