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Elections administrator asks commissioners to consider higher poll‑worker pay and plan for voting‑machine replacement
Summary
Elections administrator Chris Lynch sought modest line‑item adjustments and recommended increasing temporary election worker pay to $18–$20 (approx. $34,000 FY impact) and alerted commissioners that vendor support for current voting machines will require a multi‑year, phased capital plan probably in the high six figures to low millions.
Chris Lynch, Rockwall County’s elections administrator, told the commissioners that ordinary odd‑year cycles will reduce some election lines this fiscal year but asked for select increases tied to workload. Lynch said he is requesting about $5,000 more in specific lines and asked the court to consider raising election worker compensation: "If you elect to adjust their average hourly rate to 18 and 20, that's what that number would represent," Lynch said, citing an estimated $34,000 effect in an average year.
Lynch warned the court that the county’s voting equipment is approaching vendor end‑of‑life and that replacement is likely to be a multi‑year, multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar project; he estimated an eventual lifecycle replacement cost in the ballpark of $1,000,000 and recommended exploring state grants and phased purchases to avoid a single large appropriation. Commissioners asked Lynch to research grant opportunities and provide phased cost estimates and vendor timelines; Lynch said he is already workshopping replacement and lifecycle options with vendors.
