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Clerk proposes petition submission guidelines and possible fee to cover certification work
Summary
The clerk’s office recommended drafting a guideline for petition submissions — including required materials and a potential fee to cover staff time — to standardize handling and set clearer timelines for certification.
Prairie County's Clerk & Recorder told commissioners that other counties have adopted written petition guidelines and sometimes charge fees to cover staff hours spent certifying petitions.
The clerk’s office described what a guideline would include — standard submission requirements, expected timelines for certification (the clerk said current practice has no fixed deadline), and the rationale for a fee: staff time and taxpayer cost. "If people are gonna bring in a petition... shouldn't they accrue that cost?" the clerk said, noting that other counties apply a similar approach and that fees reimburse the extra work required to verify petitions.
Commissioners asked for copies of sample forms and for the clerk to return with draft language. One participant offered to gather example forms from larger counties; another suggested that any fee be modest and justified by a clear cost estimate. The board did not adopt a fee at the meeting but directed staff to assemble model forms and a proposed timeline for certification to bring back for review.
