According to county documents, the taxpayer outlay for elections and election management by the county auditor's office has gone up 36.97% over the last two years.
In fiscal year 2007, County Auditor Tom "DUI" Slockett spent $714,423.00 on elections and related management. The budget in fiscal year 2009 was $978,528.00. In dollar terms, you gave the county $264,105.00 more than you did in 2007.
Why so much more you ask?
Well it can't be because of voter turnout, as 2008 was a presidential election, but 2009 was off-year so a bigger budget for lower turnout simply doesn't make sense.
Equipment updates? Yes, but that only explains a portion.
How many times have you walked into a polling place, only to see 7-8 poll workers processing perhaps 2 voters at any given time?
The answer is plenty, all too often, as in Slockett callously throws taxpayer dollars away instead of being mindful of where the money comes from.
A predominant reason for the higher expenditures by Slockett, a liberal, a member of the Democrat machine, is an increase in poll worker wages.
How is that being a good steward of your hard-earned money?
With exception to satellite voting locations petitioned for by voters, the county auditor is the controlling authority for election day staffing.
In example and again from information provided by county auditor Slockett, let's look at the most recent county election, the Conservation Bond issue (where the Democrat county officials asked for $20 million more of your money, but that's a story for another day), election day May 5, 2009:
The May 5 election expenditures included:
• Full-time wages, equipment setup and delivery: $2,449.63.
• Full- time wages, overtime: $5,223.40.
• Part-time wages: $1,183.50.
• FICA: $677.52.
• IPERS: $487.24.
• Precinct official wages: $53,143.50.
• Precinct official wages, satellites: $3,573.50.
• Precinct official mileage: $3,761.42.
• Precinct official mileage, satellites: $279.41.
• Telephones and modem Lines: $944.73.
• Cell phones: $1,140.
• Precinct official cell phones, satellites: $130.
• Polling place rental: $1,410.
• Voting equipment delivery truck rental: $1,308.60.
• Postage: $552.71.
• Official publications: $917.64.
• Printing of ballots, manuals and registers: $10,547.47.
• Envelopes, seals, copies and other supplies: $1,159.58.
The one that sticks out is Precinct official wages: $53,143.50. That's where the 7-8 poll workers to process 2 voters at any given time comes in. That's where county auditor Tom Slockett, a Democrat, is callously throwing your money away, hiring 7-8 people for a polling place for the day, when perhaps 4-5 people to staff a given polling place and $30,000 in total wages would do the same job and every bit as well. Some might argue even more efficiently.
And with the county needing to cut its budget during the lean times of a souring economy, one would think the elections budget would be an area where cutbacks could be made! But nooooooo, the budget increased! What kind of *leadership* is that?
And the May 5th election used in example here is not at all an isolated incident. Slockett has a long history of overstaffing elections. At $20 - $30K a pop in unwarranted excess wage expenditures per election, that kind of money starts to add up and this is only one sector of county government being looked at..... Stay tuned for other areas..... Say, capital projects, up 506.50%..... up six figures, not five....
Slockett, a Democrat, is a county official, a man who is supposed to be a good steward of the people's money - YOUR money. How is his overstaffing and inept management of elections - how is he being a good steward of your money?
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