Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections Voting Machines topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hooksett clerk reports purchase of new tabulators; supervisors propose hourly pay, clerk seeks federal-election stipends
Summary
Town Clerk Corinne told the Budget Committee she purchased three ImageCast tabulators and asked for added stipends in federal-election years while supervisors of the checklist, represented by Mike Horn, proposed shifting from a stipend to hourly pay ($15) to reflect variable workloads.
Hooksett Town Clerk Corinne told the Budget Committee on Oct. 25 that the town has purchased three new ImageCast tabulators and has budgeted for their maintenance ahead of the March town and school elections.
The change comes as Corinne asked the committee to approve an added $5,000 stipend for herself and an equivalent stipend for her deputy during federal-election years. She said the town already owns the three tabulators and that the machines come with a one-year warranty that ends June 2, 2026. Corinne said maintenance and related costs were estimated with the vendor and included in her proposed budget.
The request to convert supervisors of the checklist from a stipend model to an hourly rate drew sustained discussion. Mike Horn, one of two current supervisors, urged the committee to move to hourly pay and to set an hourly rate that reflects the real workload during heavy election cycles. "Sometimes we're up over 15 ... and we kind of took a middle number and said, you know, 15 looking again, looking more towards trying to make sure we can ... keep the positions," Horn said, describing variable hours for registration, scanning, quality checks and statutory training.
Town Finance Director Christine Tewksbury and Corinne described the outlays and where the items appear in the draft budget. Corinne said the town is paying for 1 year of vendor support and estimated some maintenance and ballot-collection costs; she also confirmed the machines have not yet been used in a public election and are scheduled for operational use in March.
Why this matters: The clerks' office and supervisors of the checklist administer voter registration, machine operation and post-election certification tasks. Committee members said they were weighing compensating officials fairly for busy election cycles while keeping long-term personnel costs manageable.
What was not decided: The committee did not vote on a change in supervisor compensation at this meeting; Corinne's stipends were presented as part of the budget review.
Corinne (Town Clerk) said the stipend proposal "is going to look different than it looked this past year. It's always gonna change ... it's all pertaining to elections." Mike Horn said moving to hourly pay would let the town match compensation to actual hours worked during heavy cycles.
Looking ahead: Committee members said they will consider the stipend and hourly proposals when finalizing the municipal budget and when comparing projected costs across departments.
