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Clerk outlines rising public‑records workload, voter‑pamphlet overprint and equipment proposal for elections
Summary
Borough Clerk Michelle Turner briefed the assembly on elections and records: a drop in demand for printed voter pamphlets after a digital outreach pilot, steady voter‑turnout patterns, and rising public‑records requests that prompt consideration of a public‑records coordinator and replacement election equipment.
Borough Clerk Michelle Turner told the assembly on May 20 that the clerk’s office processed more than 6,300 public‑records requests over the last decade and is seeing a steady rise in request volume that is straining current staff and workflow.
Turner reviewed the clerk office’s recent election work: the 2024 regular election ran without challenge, the office processed 24 declarations of candidacy and 600 absentee‑ballot applications, and the borough supported roughly 500 ballots cast through tabulators. Turner said the office reduced voter‑pamphlet print runs after a pilot that mailed postcards and offered digital pamphlets; the office printed 10,000 paper pamphlets last year and recycled a surplus of more than 6,000.
Turner cautioned that two outgoing ballot propositions would carry administrative consequences if approved. One proposal would require hand counting rather than tabulators; Turner said a hand‑count transition would increase personnel needs, require new procedures and training, and increase administration for each precinct. The second proposal would align borough elections with the state’s November election dates; Turner said the borough’s election is already fully independent of the state and that moving the date would not reduce borough costs, though she warned of scheduling conflicts with ballot printing vendors and competition for poll workers.
On records, Turner said the borough archives added more than 300 new boxes during the past year, shredded roughly 600 boxes (about 6,800 pounds) via an on‑site shredding vendor and delivered 83 archived records to departments on request. She said the records division is implementing more electronic record intake and that the office needs time and staff to develop a records disaster‑recovery plan.
Budget items Turner highlighted include an increase in election services (ballot insertion and printing) and a capital request to buy borough‑owned election equipment estimated at about $80,000 to reduce reliance on state equipment and improve local independence. She also proposed staffing changes for records: a public‑records coordinator and promotion of a records technician to a lead role so the records manager can focus on disaster planning and management tasks.
Turner asked the assembly to consider the capital and staffing requests during the FY 2026 budget process and said she will return with job descriptions and detailed cost proposals for the records positions if the assembly requests them.
