Elections office budgets for possible runoff and reduces hot-spot costs through IT arrangement

Julie Hancock, Bannock County elections administrator, told commissioners she increased the elections budget to allow for up to three elections in the fiscal year to cover the possibility of a mayoral runoff and related municipal costs.

Hancock said the county budgeted for two elections last year but anticipates three this year because Pocatello’s charter allows for a mayoral runoff. She noted the county would bill the city for the cost of a runoff, citing a 2022 runoff cost of about $58,850 as a precedent. Hancock said ballot printing costs have fallen because the office now prints many absentee ballots in-house and that increased budget line items reflect last year’s unusual election volume.

On communications, Hancock said elections recently reduced hot-spot costs by working through Adam (county IT) and FirstNet; she said the “off” per-unit cost had dropped from $5 per unit to about $1.50 per unit under the new arrangement and that on-election-day activation still carries higher daily costs but is handled as a grouped billing through emergency services and IT. Hancock said the elections office has bought backup units for precincts so staff can rapidly swap equipment at polling locations.

Hancock told commissioners she will code invoices and work with IT and other departments on hotspot billing going forward. No formal action or approvals were recorded; Hancock asked that commissioners consider the higher budget for contingency if additional election events occur this year.