MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Board of Elections faces a shortfall of about 12 percent. On Tuesday, Kim Horn, director of the BOE, asked the Knox County commissioners for an additional $60,769 to get the department through the rest of the year.
Horn said the shortfall is mainly due to staffing ($31,298). Since Labor Day, the department has had five full-time employees rather than the usual four. When Belinda Lanning, deputy director, retires in January, the staff will revert back to four.
“I had flagged that the staff salaries was probably going to be over because they’ve had five people instead of the usual four,” said County Administrator Jason Booth. “So that line item isn’t a big surprise.”
Horn said overtime is not really an issue in the additional cost for staffing. Absentee balloting takes place in the BOE office so that an extra person is not needed to man an absentee-ballot room.
When Commissioner Thom Collier told Horn her request for an additional $60,769 was “pretty significant for us, especially this year” and asked if there was anything that can be done to help rein in the cost of the staffing, Horn referred him to the BOE’s board.
The other big-ticket items are $12,575 for poll workers and $12,550 for advertising and printing of ballots.
“I am basing [the poll workers cost] on what was spent in 2016. Even though this isn’t a federal election, you’re still required to have the same number of poll workers. That’s an area I’d like to see changed,” said Horn.
As reported earlier on KnoxPages.com, $13,000 worth of unused ballots from the last three elections sits in storage. Horn said there is nothing she can do about the number of ballots the county is required to print.
The county is required to print 1 percent over the number of registered voters in each precinct plus 5 percent over to account for provisional ballots. “The 1 percent over doesn’t take into account the mail-in voters and early voting,” said Horn. Those ballots are printed on demand at the BOE.
For the Nov. 7 election, Horn ordered 41,961 ballots at 29 cents each ($12,168.69). She estimates 2,000 absentee voters at 45 cents a ballot.
Horn said she does not anticipate needing any additional money after the election.