The Pope County Election Commission discussed budget problems with Treasurer Donna Wall during a called meeting Friday. Wall presented commissioners and Election Coordinator Sherry Polsgrove with a detailed budget report thatshowed a commission balance of around $27 — less than 1 percent of its 2015 budget — as of Friday morning. New Commissioner Freddie Harris asked for clarification. “Are you saying that we’ve already used up the whole budget and we’re not even through February?” she asked. Wall referred to the printout.
“Yes ma’am,” she said. “That $27.31 is what’s remaining. You have expended 99.86 percent of the budget.” Polsgrove explained that special elections led to going over budget.
“The problem is when the budget was, when the commissioners asked for their request last year, they didn’t know about January and February [elections],” she explained.
The January special election cost $20,105. The state will reimburse the county for most of the expenses, but it does not pay for an election coordinator, Polsgrove said.
Full Article: The Courier – Your Messenger for the River Valley – Special elections zap commission s budget.