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Clerk, elections staff debate keeping a certified ballot‑programmer on payroll versus vendor use
Summary
Council questioned whether the clerk’s office should re‑fill a vacant, certified ballot‑programming role or continue to contract for elections services; staff argued an in‑house certified position reduces vendor costs and improves responsiveness for ballot programming and media burning.
Councilors and elections staff debated whether to re‑fill a vacant certified ballot‑programming position in the county clerk’s elections office or to continue relying on outside vendors for ballot programming and media preparation.
Chris Anderson (title not specified in the transcript) and others described the role as historically important: the certified position handled ballot creation, media burning for ballot‑marking devices and other election technical tasks, reducing prior vendor costs by an estimated six‑figure amount in heavy election years. The office has been operating without that position since 2023 and paid a vendor about $252,600 in the most recent general election cycle; staff said some of those services historically would be handled in‑house by a certified employee.
The nut graf: proponents said hiring a certified technician would reduce recurring vendor fees, increase in‑house responsiveness when a device or ballot needs correction and allow the county to program ballots on an accelerated schedule; others on the council urged caution and asked for a side‑by‑side analysis of the cost of a new full‑time hire (salary + benefits) versus continued vendor expenses for the coming election cycle.
Staff also described year‑round election‑related tasks that justify full‑time administration: maintenance of ballot‑marking devices, responding to online voter‑registration notifications, training poll workers, coordinating mock elections for schools and supporting municipal election processes. Council members asked whether some responsibilities could be consolidated (for example, reducing the number of supervisory deputy positions now that courts are consolidated) and requested financial comparisons and vendor invoices to review before deciding.
Ending: Elections staff and the clerk’s office agreed to provide a more detailed cost comparison and to explore whether some supervisory positions or locations could be consolidated to create efficiencies before the council finalizes 2026 budget decisions.
