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Board of Elections takes issue with county budget

Isabel Braverman - Staff Writer
Posted 12/9/19

MONTICELLO — The county legislature held a public hearing on the proposed 2020 budget on Thursday. Sullivan County Board of Elections Commissioners Cora Edwards and Lori Benjamin said cuts were …

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Board of Elections takes issue with county budget

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MONTICELLO — The county legislature held a public hearing on the proposed 2020 budget on Thursday. Sullivan County Board of Elections Commissioners Cora Edwards and Lori Benjamin said cuts were made to their office's budget line items without any communication from the county.

“It feels disrespectful,” said Edwards.

In the past, she said, there were discussions about the budget. But this time they didn't hear from anyone.

“Nobody ever speaks to us to tell us why they're cutting, or no one's called up to say do you need this,” Benjamin said. “That's all we're asking, I understand cuts have to be made, but before it's done I would like a little communication and not just to read it on the computer.”

They asked the legislators for a discussion before the budget is passed. It will be voted on at a special meeting on Thursday, December 12 at 12:30 p.m.

Benjamin said with early voting being implemented this year, she and her staff had to put in more hours because polls were open more than usual.

She estimated she worked 50.5 hours of overtime and was not paid for it, as she is a salaried employee.

Next year is a big election season with local, state, federal and presidential elections. Benjamin said she will probably put in over 200 overtime hours.

“That's about five weeks of working and not getting paid for it,” she told the legislators. “I would really like everyone to take a look at it.”

Benjamin also said there were line items in their budget that were cut. For instance, they asked for $50,000 for new office furniture and it was cut to zero.

Other requests were made for hardware, equipment leasing, elections and training and those were all reduced.

The Board of Elections receives its revenues primarily from local tax dollars. All functions are mandated by the federal and New York State Constitutions of Election Laws.

“Cuts are made without even picking up the phone and saying we're cutting that to zero,” Edwards said.

There were no other public comments on the budget at this hearing, or at the first hearing on December 3.

“The County Manager's Office and the Division of Management & Budget diligently work with every office in County government - including the Board of Elections - to prepare a budget that meets internal needs without overburdening taxpayers,” said County Manager Josh Potosek. “That said, it's always a good idea to have a second set of eyes on this critically important document. Thus, legislators and the public have the opportunity to weigh in on the decisions made, followed by official adoption of the Budget by the Legislature.”

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