Cost of running King election over 100K

January 7, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
The coming municipal election in 2014 will dent the Township coffers by roughly $120,000.
Township CAO Susan Plamondon said the Township is responsible for the cost of running the election. They put away roughly $30,000 each budget year during a term, to “smooth the cost out.”
Clerk Kathryn Smyth is in charge of the election machinery in King, as per the Municipal Act.
Smyth said she’s going to make her budget work and use internal staff, and ask clerk department staffers to take on extra roles. They will likely have to hire some outside poll clerks and DROs to man the advanced polls.
King plans to promote advanced polls, many of which take place on weekends prior to the Oct. 27, 2014 vote.
In King, they will once again use the tried and tested vote tabulators. Some municipalities are even offering online voting.
For the most part, they try to use Township buildings, arenas and some school sites. They will use key locations, such as Schomberg’s Trisan Centre, she said.
Not only does the clerk oversee the voting process, but also assists candidates, prepares candidate sessions and receives all documents related to the campaigns.
The process, and workload is similar, whether you’re talking about a municipality with 5,000 people or one with 500,000, Smyth observed.
“It’s going to be a busy year,” she said.
In the 2010 election, King boasted a 45% voter turnout.
The nomination period has begun and ends Sept. 12. Contact the clerk’s department for more details. Information will also posted and updated at www.kingvotes.ca.