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Committee advances $253,368 contract for temporary election staffing; department says Detroit residents prioritized
Summary
The Detroit City Council committee moved contract 6007126 for temporary election staffing to formal session. City elections staff described the usual ramp-up process and said contractors are instructed to prioritize hiring Detroit residents and multilingual workers.
The Detroit City Council committee of the whole on May 20 moved contract number 6007126 — a two‑year, $253,368 contract with Premier Staff Services Inc. for temporary election staffing — to formal session with a recommendation to approve.
Christian Maduca, chief of staff for the Department of Elections, told the committee the use of temporary staffing is the department’s customary practice in the lead-up to an election. “Typically, in the lead up to the election, I would say roughly about 12 weeks or so, we bring on temporary staffing to staff the election department as well as early vote centers,” Maduca said. He said temporary staff support absentee ballot mailings, application processing and other election operations.
A caller during public comment identified as “You Matter” asked the committee to put a hold on contract 9.4 and said the Department of Elections’ hiring practices should be investigated; the caller also argued the department should “be hiring Detroit residents first.” The caller provided legal citations and other concerns during public comment. The committee proceeded with the contract question and advanced the item to formal session.
Maduca said the department “does try to prioritize Detroit citizens with the contracts,” and that contractors are informed the city prefers Detroit residents. He added that Detroit-based vendors who bid on temporary staffing tended to be 14 to 20 percent higher in price than other bidders for this contract. Maduca also said the department hires multilingual translators for precincts with non-English-speaking communities and mentioned Spanish, Bengali and Arabic among languages that have required on-site translation in the past.
There was a motion “to send line item 9.4 to formal with the recommendation to approve,” and the committee adopted the motion by consensus: “Hearing no objection, that action shall be taken.”
The contract summary on the agenda lists Premier Staff Services Inc., contract period upon council approval for two years, and a total contract amount of $253,368. The committee did not record a roll-call vote during the meeting; the item was advanced for formal consideration at the council session.
