Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City clerk seeks election-reporting software and flags possible August preliminary election costs
Summary
Woburn’s city clerk said the state reimbursed early voting and vote-by-mail costs and for a high-speed tabulator; she asked the council to consider a new election reporting system for faster end-of-night results and warned that a citywide preliminary election would increase printing and postage costs.
Lindsay, Woburn’s city clerk, briefed the council on election-related budget items and capital requests.
She said the city received state reimbursement for early voting and vote-by-mail costs and for a high-speed tabulator bought with prior capital appropriations. Lindsay said poll pads have been ordered and will be used for the next municipal election cycle and that she requested new election-reporting software to speed end-of-night results; her office has been manually entering results from 90+ precincts in prior cycles and the software would automate reporting.
Lindsay warned the council that if the city holds a citywide preliminary election in August, costs for ballots, printing and postage (census mailings) will be significant and recommended increases in election-worker, printing and automation accounts for future budgets. She also noted that administrative support from other commissions helped defray printing and office-supply costs in the prior year.
Discussion versus direction versus decision: informational. Councilors commended the clerk’s office and expressed support for the reporting-software request; no formal approval for new software or immediate budget changes occurred during the meeting.
The clerk said she will pursue capital inclusion for the reporting software and use state reimbursements to cover some election-year expenses; she asked the council to anticipate higher election-related costs in next year’s budget if a citywide preliminary election occurs.
