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Washington County election worker says prepaid cards are causing problems; commissioners say they will review payment method
Summary
A county resident who worked elections told the Board of Commissioners that prepaid debit cards issued as payment have been difficult to use; the board said it will ask the controllerand elections office to review the practice.
Fern, a resident who worked county elections, told the Washington County Board of Commissioners that prepaid debit cards the county issued to election workers were not being accepted by banks and created extra costs and inconvenience.
"The banks will not cash because our names are not on these," Fern said during the public-comment period, describing having to split grocery orders, pay ATM fees and travel to use the cards. She said county payroll already had her bank-account information from 15 years of election work and asked why payments could not be direct-deposited instead.
The matter moved into the meetingrecord when the chairman responded that county staff would "talk to our controller's office and the elections office to see, you know, can we move to a different form of payment that you see back to the direct deposit." The chairman added, "we're gonna move on to those two offices and see what we need to do to rectify it."
Why it matters: Election workers frequently work long hours; changes to payment method affect workers' ability to access earned pay and may create fees and extra steps for older or lower-income workers. The board's agreement to consult the controller and elections offices signals the county will review whether to continue using prepaid cards or return to direct deposit or checks.
What happened at the meeting: Fern described multiple problems with the debit-card process including duplicate-item rejections at stores, ATM fees ("$3.95" was cited), and small balances related to mileage reimbursements. The chairman acknowledged hearing similar complaints on social media and said staff would pursue appropriate meetings to address the issue. No formal vote or policy change was taken at the meeting.
Next steps: The board said it will direct county staff to meet with the controller and elections offices to evaluate alternative payment methods; no timeline was given.
