Methuen city clerk seeks higher election and printing budgets amid recent busy cycle

City Clerk Anne told councilors at the June 2 budget workshop that the clerk's office proposed modest changes for fiscal 2026, with the largest increases tied to election services and ballot printing. The office requested $75,000 for election services in the coming year to cover printing, staffing and other election costs; the clerk said last year's cycle's multiple primaries and special elections drove higher-than-expected costs.

Anne explained the office budget also contains a larger printing line because the state now requires municipalities to print certain ballots and notices locally. "This year it's 75,000," Anne said, describing the election services projection; she added that the town received partial reimbursements from the state in the current year that reduced net costs.

The clerk asked the council to consider reclassifying two long‑tenured Clerk II positions to Clerk III to reflect expanded responsibilities including licensing and election duties. The mayor indicated he would not fund across‑the‑board reclassifications this year and left the positions at current levels in the mayor's proposed budget.

Councilors asked the clerk about electronic alternatives such as direct‑recording electronic machines and touch‑screen ballot marking devices now under consideration in some jurisdictions because the state's requirement to print ballots increases local costs. The clerk said the city already uses poll pads for check-ins and contracts with a vendor to print ballots; she said she would look into electronic systems but that the city had not yet adopted them.

Councilors and the clerk also discussed worker pay for election staff, vehicle rental and reimbursable state funds for certain elections. The council did not take final action on the clerk's budget at the workshop; the item will be revisited during the continuing budget sessions.