JONESBORO — In its regular meeting Monday, Aug. 14, the Jonesboro City Council unanimously approved compensation for the Nov. 7 municipal election poll workers.
A total of 12 poll workers is expected to be hired at a cost of about $16,000.
The rates include $17 per hour for one chief manager and two assistant managers and $15 for clerks.
In an Aug. 7 work session, City Clerk Melissa Brooks told the council that the poll workers will require one week of training.
In the Aug. 14 meeting, the City Council approved several other election-related measures, including:
— Appointing Melissa Brooks as elections superintendent.
— Appointing Melissa Brooks as absentee ballot clerk and Pat Daniel as alternate absentee ballot clerk.
— A budget amendment transferring money to pay for the election. The estimated cost is about $26,000.
Also during the meeting, council member Don Dixon made a statement concerning the council’s rejection on July 10 of an agreement with Clayton County to run the municipal election for a cost of $11,740.
“We don’t want this (the county to run the election),” Don Dixon said. “We can take care of our own.”
One of the complaints about the city running the election is that if there are county-wide elections on the same day, a voter would have to go to two polling places — one for the city and one for the county. If the county ran the municipal election, a voter would have to go to just one polling place.
“You’ve got to have (a polling place) here in the city for us to conduct our business, to elect our officials, to approve our referendums,” Don Dixon said. “So this is why I cannot understand why everyone is complaining that we should have to vote at two places. I can almost guarantee you all the rest of the city halls in Riverdale, Forest Park, Morrow, guess what? They’ve got a room — they go vote…
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