Clerk asks for poll-worker funding; council tables major appropriation pending clarified numbers
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Summary
Monroe County’s election office requested more than $240,000 to maintain early-voting hours and polling locations. Councilors pressed staff on the calculations and moved to table the largest personnel appropriation to the Feb. 10 meeting for clearer estimates; smaller supply/service requests earlier in the meeting were not approved.
Kylie Perez, the election supervisor appearing for the clerk, told council that budget cuts after the initial budget left insufficient funds to maintain customary early-voting hours and the current number of polling locations.
Perez said the office was considering reductions in early-voting hours (from typical 8 a.m.–6 p.m. to the minimum allowed) and a possible reduction in polling locations from 29 in 2024 to as few as 21 unless additional funds are approved.
Council members questioned why an appropriations request followed so soon after adoption of the 2026 budget. Councilor Iverson and others noted unexpended balances in certain supply and services lines and suggested internal transfers might cover small shortfalls. After line-by-line questioning, several small clerk supply/service requests were put to roll-call and recorded as not approved at the meeting.
The clerk asked for a larger personnel and services appropriation totaling $242,781 to cover poll-worker pay, overtime, and related costs. Council scrutinized the absentee/early-voting line items and identified differences between numbers discussed during the budget process and the current packet. Council requested staff produce a reconciled Excel comparison showing 2024 actuals versus the 2026 request, including the assumptions that produced the $68,008.80 and other item totals cited by staff.
On a motion by Councilor Iverson, the council voted unanimously to table the large appropriation request to the Feb. 10 meeting to allow the clerk and election board to reconcile numbers and confirm poll locations and hours. Perez and the election representative said the election board had been informed of deficits and planned to finalize polling-location decisions at its January meeting ahead of the council’s Feb. 10 date.
Council members emphasized flexibility to return for additional appropriations as needed but also urged fiscal prudence, noting the council had approved the general budget in October and that the clerk’s office could come back if numbers change.
The council did not adopt the large appropriation at the Jan. 27 meeting and instead set a specific follow-up date for further review.