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Board reviews registrar budget as poll workers shift from fees to hourly pay amid expected primaries
Summary
The Board of Finance examined a reworked registrars' budget that moves poll workers to hourly pay to meet wage and statutory obligations and adds roughly $34,000 for staffing tied to anticipated primaries and an extra election; registrars and finance staff warned figures could change if recounts, audits or new state rules emerge.
The Board of Finance, meeting March 17, probed a reworked budget submitted by the town’s registrars of voters that shifts poll workers from a fee-based stipend to hourly pay and adds roughly $34,000 in staffing to cover an extra election cycle.
At the meeting Leslie Roger, who identified herself as the Democratic Register of Voters, told the board that the registrars changed compensation to ensure workers receive at least minimum wage and to reflect new early‑voting responsibilities. Finance staff and registrars explained the largest line‑item change — an increase of about $34,000 — stems from assuming two party primaries and an additional election this fiscal year, plus associated early‑voting staffing and ballot programming costs.
Board members questioned assumptions behind the estimate, including whether staffing needs would vary by the number and type of primaries. Roger said the office calculated hours using statutory duties and comparisons with other towns but acknowledged the figure is a working estimate that could rise if recounts, audits or newly issued state requirements materialize.
“We switched them from a fee basis to an hourly basis,” Roger said, noting the change was “to be fair and to be legal, so we weren’t having them work and getting paid less than minimum wage.” She added that the total staffing hours reflect a mix of elected‑official hours, deputy hours and pole‑worker time tied to the expected election schedule.
Finance staff said the municipal funding for registrar operations is a variable cost that will fluctuate with election cycles — municipal years tend to be lowest, gubernatorial midterms higher, and presidential years much higher — and recommended the board treat contingency planning as part of future deliberations. Board members asked staff to show the underlying assumptions in the budget workbook, and staff agreed to provide detailed breakout of staffing and nonrecurring items.
The board accepted the registrars’ explanations and recorded that the current appropriation would stand while staff monitor developments. Members asked that any future changes (for example, unplanned recounts or audits) be brought back to the board for adjustment.
