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County councilors raise questions about election office staff work and poll-worker training pay
Summary
Council members and public commenters asked for an investigation after a council member said election office employees were assigned to set up a party caucus during work hours and that some poll workers were paid for training the record did not show they attended.
A Lake County council member asked the council to investigate allegations that several election-office employees worked on a political party caucus during regular work hours and that some election inspectors were paid for required training without documentation showing they attended.
The query came during the public-comment section of the Lake County Council meeting and focused on events the speaker said occurred around Feb. 28 and in the weeks before recent local elections.
The council member said five or six workers in the election office “were tasked with setting up a party function, a Democrat caucus, in the auditorium during work hours,” and that the county chairman had been told the party would repay the county for employee time. The speaker cited the county personnel handbook, saying such use of government time for political activity is “deemed improper.”
“No good practice for government workers to be participating in political work during their work hours,” the council member said, and requested information on “why that was done, how it's being corrected, and who paid for these workers to be working downstairs on a political function.”
Council members said the matter was brought to the election board and that the county party chairman, Commissioner Mike Repay, had been notified. One council member described Lake County’s election-office arrangement as a “unique system” in which the two county party chairs and a commissioner are involved in appointing office employees; the director and assistant director named in the meeting were Michelle Faiman (director) and Jessica Messler (assistant director).
Public commenter Constance Puske said she agreed the matter should be investigated and suggested the county prosecutor could review records if necessary. She also said the poll-worker training is required by law and that documentation should reflect attendance.
The council did not take a formal vote or issue a directive at the meeting. Several council members said the issue would be taken up at the election board and that they would seek documentation and follow-up. No timeline or formal assignment to specific staff or committee was recorded in the meeting transcript.
The transcript shows the concern was raised during the public-comment period; no formal administrative finding, disciplinary action, or reimbursement record was presented at the meeting. The council request for follow-up and the speakers’ references to the county personnel handbook and state-required training indicate next steps would likely involve records requests or an internal review.
The meeting transcript does not include results of any subsequent investigation, names of individual employees alleged to have participated, or confirmation that repayment occurred. It also does not include the election board’s responses or any formal findings.
