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County elections office requests reclassification, part-time hire and extra help; signature-verification RFP and vehicle rental deferred to budget
Summary
Elections staff requested one reclassification, one new part-time permanent hire and three additional extra-help workers during election cycles; staff asked for permission to begin an RFP for an automated signature-verification system and to secure a vehicle. The board asked that the items be reviewed in the upcoming departmental budget hearings.
Lake County Elections staff presented staffing and operational requests on June 10, asking the board to approve a classification change, add a part-time permanent position, and authorize three extra-help positions to support ballot processing during elections.
Registrar Maria Valdez said operations face a recurring workload spike during election cycles and that extra-help positions are difficult to recruit because candidates want more long-term stability. Valdez proposed reclassifying a current senior election assistant into a Staff Services Analyst (a small annual cost increase) and adding a part-time permanent staffer to provide continuity between cycles. She also requested three extra-help positions for peak processing needs.
Valdez told supervisors she had researched temporary modular space and community facilities as options for temporary tabulation space but found modular units costly and the community center unavailable. She said the department has talked to central garage about renting a vehicle and can likely secure one via central services at roughly $2.61 per month (quote) that fits the budget contingency.
On technology, Valdez said a signature-verification machine could reduce manual work but would require an RFP process, about 200 square feet of floor space, and ongoing maintenance and operations funding. She noted $131,000 of available matching funds for such a purchase but said those funds expire Aug. 31 next year and would require board direction to begin an RFP.
Supervisors asked Valdez to include the reclassification and hiring requests in her upcoming budget presentation and to return with detailed costs and space recommendations. The county’s CAO staff confirmed the staffing and equipment items are part of Valdez’s fiscal request and would be reviewed in the department budget hearings.
Ending: The board asked staff to consider temporary schedule changes, to pursue a central-garage vehicle option and to bring the reclassification, part-time hire and extra-help requests as part of the formal budget packet; staff will not proceed with an RFP for signature-verification equipment without budget approval.
