Clerk of elections seeks fee‑funded staff increases, a data specialist and audit funding; security costs noted

The Utah County Clerk of Elections presented staffing and service requests to the county commission on Oct. 21, telling commissioners that many of the office's increases would be covered by user fees while some election functions rely on general‑fund support.

Erin (Clerk’s Office) and Nikki (acting elections director) told commissioners that items tied to marriage licenses and passports (ML&P) — specifically requests listed in the presentation as items in a named column — would be covered by fees the office collects. The ML&P program continues to grow: staff said the office expects to issue roughly 33,000 marriage licenses this year and anticipates issuing up to about 40,000 next year; certificate mailings could increase total mailings to approximately 70,000.

Elections‑related requests (items 1 through 7 in the packet) are primarily general‑fund asks, the clerk’s office said. In municipal years the office can pass a portion of salaries and benefits for municipal elections to cities; in even‑numbered years the county retains more of those costs.

Nikki said a proposed data specialist position for the ballot center is intended to consolidate programming and data‑analysis responsibilities the office currently assigns to existing ballot‑center staff. She described the role as a specialized, competitive hire who would “program” ballots, manage timing marks, assist with machine updates and run statistical tracking as ballots return. Ballot‑center staff currently performing those tasks include Mark Davy and a ballot‑center supervisor, Russ, who assist in addition to their other duties.

The clerk’s office also proposed setting aside up to $30,000 for post‑election statistical analysis or audits; staff said they used a $10,000 audit for the primary previously and described the larger amount as a budgetary buffer that could be used if public demand for an audit arises.

Security costs tied to elections were discussed as an ongoing expense. The clerk’s office said the sheriff’s office and emergency management had provided additional presence and services at prior elections, and estimated that security costs run roughly $4,000 to $6,000 per election depending on the type and needs; those amounts have been budgeted by the clerk’s office for next year.

Commissioners asked how much of the clerk’s requests were fee‑funded versus general‑fund and whether HR could prioritize targeted salary studies for certain positions. Erin said the marriage‑license and passport items would be covered by fees, and HR staff indicated they could move particular positions into an earlier phase of a targeted salary study if the commission chose to fund that work.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the clerk’s supplemental requests Oct. 21 and requested additional breakdowns and clarifications.