Public and committee press election office over $52,000 budget shortfall; staff to present breakdown

A Sumner County resident raised concerns about an election office budget shortfall of about $52,000, and the Budget Committee asked the elections director to present a detailed breakdown before the committee considers additional funding.

Resident Kevin Baker told the committee he was concerned that the election office was using county funds inefficiently and said the $52,000 gap represented an 18% variance relative to the department’s request. Baker suggested some of the extra costs stemmed from travel to storage locations outside the Gallatin area and asked the committee to exercise “fiscal watchdog” oversight.

Committee discussion showed the office requested roughly $277,219 for election workers during budget development, the committee approved $280,000, and the department’s actual projected cost was about $332,000—creating a shortfall roughly in the $52,000 range. Committee members asked elections director (Miss Ashley, referred in packet) to return with a detailed breakdown: the number of precincts, early‑voting days, worker hours, and any equipment or logistics changes that could explain the overrun.

The committee voted to take no immediate corrective action until staff provides the requested presentation and breakdown. Committee members emphasized they wanted to confirm whether the overage had left any vendors unpaid (staff noted advertised notices and small vendor payments had been completed) and to verify whether changes such as increased turnout or additional early‑voting days contributed to higher costs.

Next steps: Elections staff will prepare a presentation with a line‑by‑line breakdown of election worker pay, hours, precincts, and other cost drivers; the committee will review the report before deciding whether to approve a transfer or other remedy.