Maricopa supervisors vote to send revised shared‑services agreement and cover letter to county recorder

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted 5‑0 Thursday to send Recorder Justin Heap a cover letter and both redlined and clean drafts of a revised shared services agreement (SSA) that lay out how the recorder’s office and the board’s elections department will divide election duties.

The board moved and seconded a cover letter labeled “Lesko draft number 1,” with a minor wording change requested by the board’s appointed counsel (changing “County Attorney” to “Appointed Attorney”) and the addition of board member signatures. Vice Chair Brophy McGee made the motion and Supervisor Gallardo seconded it; Supervisors Stewart, Brophy McGee, Lesko, Gallardo and Chairman Galvin voted aye.

The vote follows months of written exchanges and meetings after Recorder Justin Heap in January 2025 notified the board that he was terminating the 2024 SSA and later threatened litigation. Outside counsel Emily Kreger, retained by the board in February because the county attorney’s office faced a conflict, walked the supervisors through the timeline at Thursday’s special meeting and said the April 11 meeting between board leaders, county staff and recorder staff produced “meaningful and significant compromises.”

Kreger, outside counsel with the Burgess Law Group, said the recorder’s communications included several changing drafts and requests that the…