Democracy. We love it, but man, that stuff’s expensive.
With both Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Sen. Christopher Dodd stepping down, voting registrars in town expect to hold primaries for both major political parties this year.
That means more money in the budget that hasn’t much to begin with.
Primaries would run the office an estimated $15,000 each. While primaries are likely to occur, no one’s certain at this point.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do in August and that is the key,” said Ron Skurat, the Democratic Registar of Voters.
Skurat made his statement during a review of the registrars’ proposed 2010 – 2011 budget in front of the town’s Board of Finance Monday.
The registrars’ budget proposal climbs to $86,100 — up $20,200 from its current spending plan.
The majority of increases are to salaries and stipends.
The Board of Finance can make the funds available, but the Board of Selectmen has to approve any pay increases.
Board of Finance member Bill Paecht called the situation a “catch 22” that comes up often in budget deliberations.
“Just because it is in here it doesn’t mean you get the raise,” said Paecht to Skurat and Republican Registrar Judy Pelletier.
Skurat did the math on the salaries and came up with roughly $6.81 per hour for the work he and Pelletier put in.
Their assistant, a part-time position described by Skurat as invaluable, makes the equivalent of less than $8 an hour.
Poll workers earn $8.50 per hour plus two meals.
State mandates drive most of the department’s costs. For example there is a necessity for two phone lines at each polling place. One is used for the regular machines and one is used exclusively for a machine designed for voters with disabilities.
“We’ve used it once in the last five years but it is a state law,” Skurat said.
The cost of keeping the phone lines active and available at three polling locations adds up, with all but $10 of the operating budget’s line item already expended.
Communications and telephones were cut from $3,000 in the 2008 – 2009 budget to $2,000 in the operating budget.
Skurat and Pelletier are requesting the allocation brought back up to $3,000.
The budget proposal notes that the department returned money to the treasury during the past two fiscal years due to an “abnormally small number of elections.”
With the likelihood of primaries this time around, the registrar’s said this is a much tougher budget. They said at least one of the elections will be the referendum to pass the budget.
Skurat also said they will soon need another computer to handle people allowed to register to vote on the day of the election. He doesn’t like the idea but sees it as inevitable. Connecticut already allows Election Day registration for presidential elections.
The registrars’ budget will now move on to deliberation by the Board of Finance as part of the total budget once all of the department budgets have been presented.
