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Town clerk highlights $5.5M in annual revenue, Real‑ID demand and pilot ballot‑drop box; warns vote‑by‑mail changes could raise workload
Summary
Town Clerk Eric Luza told council the clerk’s office returns millions to the city each year, is digitizing land records and is preparing for a state‑driven vote‑by‑mail transition and a possible video‑enabled ballot‑drop‑box pilot.
Town and City Clerk Eric Luza briefed the council on operations, revenue and election‑related changes the office expects in the coming year.
Luza said the town clerk’s office handles land records, vital records, licensing and serves as secretary to the city council. He reported the office takes in about $5.5 million annually, of which roughly half is pass‑through money paid to the state; the remaining roughly $2.5 million is retained by the city and returned to municipal coffers. Luza noted increased demand for birth certificates related to the Real‑ID program: Bridal (vital) records work has increased year over year by about 32 percent, producing additional service revenue.
Luza said the office is pursuing a digital‑records project using about $50,000 in internal town‑clerk funds plus $10,000 in GRAMA funds to back‑scan older land records to create an additional revenue stream and improve public access. He described outreach, boards and commissions recruitment, and a grant that placed voter‑registration messaging on bus ads during the last presidential cycle.
Ballot drop boxes and vote‑by‑mail
Luza said the clerk’s office is coordinating with registrars on a proposed pilot for a new high‑tech ballot‑drop box that would record video of deposits and log ballots for chain‑of‑custody tracking; the pilot is pending state approval. He also flagged statewide legal changes: a constitutional amendment passed in November shifted absentee ballots toward a broader vote‑by‑mail approach, and Luza said the city will need to prepare for that transition once the legislature and regulators finalize implementing language and deadlines.
Why it matters: The town clerk’s office is a municipal revenue source and will play a central role in implementing new vote‑by‑mail rules and any new drop‑box requirements. Luza said contingency planning may require temporary hires to manage higher volumes if the new rules take effect quickly and generate more mail‑ballot processing.
Ending
Luza said the office will return with more details as state rules and pilot permissions are finalized and asked council members for support on staffing and budgeting if the vote‑by‑mail transition increases workload. He encouraged members to use and promote online tools included in a small outreach packet distributed during the presentation.
