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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY27 (Office of the County Clerk) OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK FY 2027 BUDGET AND OPERATIONAL SYNOPSIS Jade K. Fountain-Tanigawa County Clerk 1 Department: OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK Division: COUNCIL SERVICES Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2026 to FY 2027 BUDGET COMPARISON 2 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET The proposed appropriation of $6,170,547 allocates $4,321,763 or 70% for personnel costs and $1,848,784 or 30% for operating expenditures and represents an 8.3% increase from FY 2026. Notable variances include: • Health Fund Contribution (001-0201-511.05-02) increased $51,541 or 23.8%. • Other Post Employ Benefit (001-0201-511.05-12) increase $82,204 of 6.2%. • Other Services (001-0201-511.30-00) increased $300,000 or 32.4%. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FROM FY 2026 A. Historic County Building (HCB) Elevator. The elevator is currently not working due to the failure of the component controlling the elevator door. The component is on order but was difficult to find due to the age of the elevator. Long-term, a new elevator may be needed to ensure that the 2nd floor of the HCB remains accessible for individuals with accessibility issues (IAI) and to ensure that spare parts are available, if needed. B. Accessibility Accommodations. To ensure IAIs can continue to receive services and participate in Council meetings on the second floor of the HCB the following accommodations were established. • To request assistance in the lobby on the ground floor, a phone programed to call the Council Services main line. • On meeting days, an iPad is set up in the main floor conference room to allow individuals with accessibility issues to offer testimony. C. Facility Issues. The Historic County Building (HCB) was built in 1912 and is the longest continuously operating county building in the state. Though restoration and renovation of the HCB was undertaken in March 2010, time has taken a toll on the structure. • Wastewater line blockages continue to occur several times a year. Repairs to the line carrying wastewater from the HCB and Historic County Annex to the mainline running deep below Umi Street are expected to begin in April 2026. • The glass atrium above the main lobby leaks during moderate to heavy rain episodes. Efforts to identify the source of the leak and prevent further leakage have so far been unsuccessful. • Termites have eaten portions of the exterior front and side doors. The resulting damage likely caused the glass pane to slip into the front right door frame (when viewed from the interior of the HCB). The loose glass pane was repositioned and stabilized while a permanent fix is developed. 3 4. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2026 A. Staffing. Despite one (1) vacant position each in the Clerical and Records sections (2 vacancies total), both Sections have successfully adapted by reorganizing staff responsibilities and work assignments. B. Bills and Resolutions. As of March 31, 2026, 18 Council and 11 Council Committee meetings were held, resulting in the adoption of 23 bills and 37 resolutions. C. Miscellaneous Statistics (as of March 31, 2026). − Project Assignments: 153 − Certificates prepared: 67 − Non-agenda communications scanned, indexed, and filed (does not include any modifications/updates to existing items): 761 − Agenda-related items scanned (does not include any modifications/updates to existing items): 340 − Council and Committee minutes scanned, indexed, and filed: 69 − Executive Session minutes and related documents scanned, indexed, and filed: 46 − Committee Reports scanned, indexed, and filed: 38 − Resolutions scanned, indexed, and filed: 36 − Bills/Ordinances scanned, indexed, and filed: 20 − Public Hearing transcripts scanned, indexed, and filed: 32 − Affidavits of Publication scanned, indexed, and filed: 19 − On average, communications on the weekly meeting agenda were indexed, and filed: 7 − Requests to search for and retrieve documents: Total requests: 46 Total hours: 51 − Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests processed: 29 4 Department: OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK Division: ELECTIONS Fund: GENERAL FUND 1. FY 2026 to FY 2027 BUDGET COMPARISON 5 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET The proposed appropriation of $1,394,690 allocates $939,834 or 67.4% for personnel costs and $454,856 or 32.6% for operating expenditures and represents a 1.1% decrease from FY 2025. Notable variances include: • Regular Salaries (001-0202-511.01-01) increased $16,616 or 3.5%. • Vacation Credit Payout (001-0202-511.01-05) increased $10,000 or 66.7%. • Regular Overtime (001-0202-511.02-01) decreased $30,000 or -85.7%. • Other Services (001-0202-511.30-00) decreased $35,300 or -11.2%. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES FROM FY 2026 A. Mail Voting Section. Discussions to streamline return identification envelope (RIE) processing continue with the primary goal being to reduce the number of hours required to complete RIE processing on election day. After plans are finalized in the next 2-4 weeks, supporting documents will be revised. B. Voter Services Section. Poll pads will no longer be used in the Voter Service Center (VSC). We will return to requiring all VSC voters to complete a paper application to receive a ballot and are currently finalizing procedural and logistical details. Procedures and supporting documents will be updated shortly. C. Facility Issues. The steel framed doors at the base of the ADA ramp leading to the basement and many of the window frames are corroded and will likely need to be replaced in the next 1-3 years. Card key locks inside the Annex are also beginning to fail (3 to date) and will likely also need to be replaced due to the scarcity of replacement components. 4. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2026 A. Signature Database. Staff invested a lot of time during the off-election year to update the voter signature database that will be used to validated signatures on return identification envelopes (RIE). This effort should reduce the number of RIE which need to be manually verified. B. Continuity Planning. Voter Services and Mail Voting section staff hired during the last election cycle have gained another year of training and experience and are adapting well to their new roles. Responsibilities once shouldered solely by section supervisors are now being reassigned to subordinate staff to free up supervisors to focus more time on overseeing and planning work and anticipating and mitigating issues.