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Home My WebLink AboutFY 2024 (Office of the County Clerk) Budget Narrative OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK FY 2024 BUDGET AND OPERATIONAL SYNOPSIS Jade K. Fountain-Tanigawa County Clerk Lyndon M. Yoshioka Deputy County Clerk 1 Department: OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK Division: COUNCIL SERVICES Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2023 to FY 2024 BUDGET COMPARISON FY 2023 FY 2024 $ +/- % +/- Salary and Wages 1,828,804 2,228,378 399,574 21.8% Benefits 1,077,335 1,227,053 149,718 13.9% Utilities 20,700 20,700 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 87,001 87,001 0 0.0% Operations 495,713 1,568,213 1,072,500 216.4% 3,509,553 5,131,345 1,621,792 46.2% 1,828,804 1,077,335 20,700 87,001 495,713 FY 2023 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 2,228,378 1,227,053 20,700 87,001 1,568,213 FY 2024 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 2 The Office of the County Clerk, Council Services Division serves as the legislative branch of County government and is responsible for providing support services to the Kauaʻi County Council via four (4) sections: Research, Records Management, Secretarial Assistants, and Support Services (Clerical). A comparison of the proposed operating budget to prior years is charted above. The proposed budget for FY 2024 represents a 46.2% increase from FY 2023. 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET The 46.2% increase in the proposed budget for FY 2024 is primarily due to a $1,072,500 increase in Operations. The proposed funding of $1,000,000 may be used for Council assistance, and as agreed upon, the use of these funds will be determined by the Council as a body in an open session. In addition, salary and benefit increases for collective bargaining and non-collective bargaining employees account for the remaining budget increase. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FROM FY 2023 • Establishing protocols for remote public testimony via interactive conference technology (ICT) has been a frustrating process for both the public and this Office due to the guidance provided by the State Office of Information Practices (OIP). Public testimony via ICT has been suspended pending further discussion and clarification, it is our hope that resolution will be quickly forthcoming. • Continuing to fulfill legislative projects and public requests in a timely manner remains a priority. Varying expectations, immovable deadlines, and project complexity often complicate the effort put forth by the office. 4. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2023 • The Historic County Building and Council and Council Committee meetings were reopened to the public. • Salary increases for all non-collective bargaining employees were put in place which likely stopped several key staff members from leaving the office to accept better opportunities. Being able to offer higher salaries helped in filling vacancies for the Council Services Assistant and Council Legislative Assistant positions. • Staff supported the Elections Division during the 2022 Elections by serving as the secretary for the Board of Registration and providing Election Day support in the main office and Voter Service Center. 3 • Miscellaneous Statistics. − Project Assignments: 155 − Non-agenda communications scanned, indexed, and filed (does not include any modifications/updates to existing items): 955 − Agenda-related items scanned (does not include any modifications/updates to existing items): 558 − Council and Committee minutes scanned, indexed, and filed: 55 − Executive Session minutes and related documents scanned, indexed, and filed: 73 − Committee Reports scanned, indexed, and filed: 42 − Resolutions scanned, indexed, and filed: 57 − Bills/Ordinances scanned, indexed, and filed: 26 − Public Hearing transcripts scanned, indexed, and filed: 27 − Affidavits of Publication scanned, indexed, and filed: 62 − Studies scanned, indexed, and filed: 3 − On average, 8 communications on the weekly meeting agenda were indexed, and filed. − Total requests to retrieve and search documents: 114 − Total hours spent retrieving and searching documents: 177 hours − Vendor-scanned documents that have been indexed, corrected, and verified: 746 − As of July 2022, Records Section staff assists with timesheet and leave of absence inquiries regarding Workday, the new Human Resources management system. − As of September 2022, Records Section staff took on the task of managing and operating the interactive conference technology (ICT), to allow Councilmembers, Administrative personnel, resource individuals, and the public to appear at Council and Committee Meetings via remote technology. The opportunity for the public to provide remote testimony has been suspended until official written guidance is provided by the State Office of Information Practices (OIP). 4 Department: OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK Division: ELECTIONS Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2023 to FY 2024 BUDGET COMPARISON FY 2023 FY 2024 $ +/- % +/- Salary and Wages 331,252 293,311 -37,941 -11.5% Benefits 250,193 229,950 -20,243 -8.1% Utilities 0 0 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 34,200 196,200 162,000 473.7% Operations 290,955 282,956 -7,999 -2.7% 906,600 1,002,417 95,817 10.6% 293,311 229,9500196,200 282,956 FY 2024 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 331,252250,193034,200290,955293,311229,9500196,200282,956Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations FY 2023 and FY 2024 Comparison FY 2023 FY 2024 331,252 250,1930 34,200 290,955 FY 2023 Operating Budget Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 5 The Office of the County Clerk, Elections Division is responsible for administering all federal, state, and county elections conducted in the County of Kaua‘i via three (3) sections: Voter Services, Mail voting, and Printing Services and Election Support. A comparison of the proposed operating budget to prior years is charted above. The proposed budget for FY 2024 represents a 10.6% increase from FY 2023. 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET The 10.6% increase in the proposed budget for FY 2024 is typical for an off-election year. While Overtime was down $22,500 or 75% and Regular Salaries were lower by $15,441 or 5.2%, these savings were offset by a $165,000 request for a new ballot envelope scanner/sorter. In preparation for the 2024 election cycle, a request has been made for $35,196 in salaries for (2) two temporary election clerks starting in January 2024. Remaining increases in non-salary, Other Services, and Leased accounts are primarily due to inflation. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FROM FY 2023 • The 2022 General Election exposed weaknesses in our current operational model which will be addressed in time for the 2024 Presidential Elections. The delay in producing final election results was especially problematic and we attribute this shortcoming to a combination of a late surge of incoming mail ballots and in-person voters, and insufficient staffing and underperforming ballot envelope scanning/sorting equipment. • Due to the uptick in election misinformation and the resulting confrontational constituent interactions, staff feared for their personal safety so we requested the support of off-duty police officers at the Voter Service Center and Counting Center on General Election Day. While no incidents occurred, due to the increasingly divisive political climate we will likely expand the request for the 2024 Elections to include the presence of law enforcement throughout the operational period at the Voter Service Center and whenever ballots are being processed in the Counting Center. 4. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2023 • Awarded a $30,000 contract to S360 to develop and implement a Voter Engagement Campaign (Campaign) targeting Kaua‘i residents aged 18 and older. The Campaign consisted of a micro-website and digital marketing campaign to deliver ads to targeted audiences on Facebook and Instagram, and via Google searches. The Campaign appeared to be quite effective. 6 Kaua‘i County led the State with a voter turnout of 51.4%, which is the second highest turnout in the last four non-presidential general elections. • Conducted the 2022 Primary and General Elections and completed statutorily mandated automatic recounts for the Kaua‘i Council contest following both elections. (Recounts failed to change the outcome of either contest.) Primary Election General Election No. Voters (a) 48,052 48,494 VSC Turnout (b) 788 1,442 Mail Turnout (c) 17,749 23,466 Overall Turnout (d=b+c) 18,537 24,908 VSC Turnout % (b/d) 1.6% 3.0% Mail Turnout % (c/d) 36.9% 48.4% Overall Turnout % (d/a) 38.6% 51.4% • Miscellaneous Statistics: − Issued 37 and filed 33 sets of Nomination Papers. − Recruited and trained 146 volunteers for the Voter Service Center, Counting Center, and Ballot Drop Box collection team. − Deployed, serviced, and maintained 9 ballot drop boxes.