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County clerk urges centralized early-vote facility, software upgrades and staffing to handle rising workload
Summary
Berrien County Clerk (Stacy) reported on annual office activity, requested help finding a centrally located, secure facility for election equipment and early voting, and proposed upgrades to vital-records and campaign finance software; she said the clerk's office has secured roughly $226,000 in state grants.
Stacy, Berrien County’s clerk, presented highlights from the clerk’s annual guide and told the Board of Commissioners the office is seeking a centrally located county-owned facility to house early-voting operations, election equipment and office staff to reduce rental and labor costs.
Stacy reported a slight decrease in births, a marginal increase in marriages and an increase in deaths in the county’s vital records, higher volumes of concealed-pistol-license (CPL) applications and continued heavy workloads driven by statutory and software changes in the courts. She said the clerk’s office has secured about $226,000 in state grant funding so far and that early voting grew substantially in November, when about 13,000 residents cast early ballots at two sites the clerk's office operated.
On early voting, Stacy said consolidating to a single, county-owned location would reduce recurring rental costs and cut labor and equipment-moving burdens for the maintenance department. She told commissioners that storage for election equipment must be secure and climate-controlled and have limited access: "I need a place that's storage controlled and controlled as far as who can access it," Stacy said, adding that the building must also be publicly accessible and ADA compliant.
Stacy also urged purchase and implementation of more modern, mobile-friendly vital-records software and an online, user-friendly campaign finance filing system so filers can submit and pay reports online. She said the software market now offers more choices than in the past and that improved systems would increase transparency and reduce fees charged when filers need assistance.
Stacy noted personnel pressures in the clerk's office and asked the board for help finding space and resources; she said some positions perform similar work to district court staff but face pay disparities. Commissioners asked about frequency of two-site early voting and security requirements for storage; Stacy replied that two-site early voting is likely needed every two years under current turnout patterns and that secure, climate-controlled storage will be required for equipment recertification every 10 years.
Stacy said the clerk's office and county staff (including Don Trail and a staffer named Brian) are working to locate suitable county-owned space and to ensure ADA access, security and temperature control for equipment storage.
