Buncombe elections staff seeks clearer municipal billing, board weighs outside counsel

BUNCOMBE COUNTY — Buncombe County Board of Elections staff presented a new billing model and draft memorandum of understanding designed to clarify how municipalities will be charged for registration and election services, prompting board members to debate legal review and the possibility of hiring outside counsel.

The issue matters because state law requires municipalities to reimburse boards of elections for the cost of conducting municipal elections, and changes in some municipalities’ primary years have complicated how those costs are identified and billed, Corinne Duncan, executive director of the Buncombe County Board of Elections, told the board.

Duncan said the county’s shift of some municipal primaries into years shared with partisan primaries has made it difficult for staff to separate municipal-only costs from countywide election costs. The new model aims to produce regular estimates,…