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Approve the Registrar of Voters’ billing of $167,557 in reimbursable costs for election services provided to school districts participating in the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election as required by Education Code §5421; and Authorize the Registrar of Voters to recognize the revenue from these jurisdictions
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Published Notice Required? Yes ___ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ___ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Registrar of Voters (ROV) recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve the billing of $167,557.72 in actual reimbursable costs to school districts participating in the June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election as required by Education Code §5421 and authorize ROV to recognize the revenue from these jurisdictions.
SUMMARY:
Election Code §10520 allows ROV to determine the actual costs incurred for conducting an election for a district and to bill each district accordingly. Education Code §5421 requires the Board of Supervisors to approve the costs billed to school districts. Copies of school district invoices are attached.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The FY2015/16 Adopted Budget included $121,570 in revenue for election services in the June Presidential Primary General Election. The actual incurred reimbursable cost for the Presidential Primary Election is $235,279.14, which includes reimbursable costs of $167,557.72 from school districts and $67,721.43 from the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority. If these costs are not reimbursed by the respective agencies, they would become a General Fund cost to the County. The election costs due from the school districts and the cities are determined by ROV’s standard cost allocation methodology (attached) using the Auditor-Controller’s methodology for computing productive hourly billing rates for staff time.
DISCUSSION:
The reimbursement of County costs for conducting elections for districts is governed by the Election Code and Education Code. The relevant code sections are:
Election Code §10520. Each district involved in a general district election in an affected county shall reimburse the county for the actual costs incurred by the county elections official thereof in conducting the general district election for that district. The county elections official of the affected county shall determine the amount due from each district and shall bill each district accordingly.
Education Code §5421. The cost of any election held within a single district shall be borne by the entire district, and shall be paid out of its funds. Election costs shall be determined by the county elections official and approved by the county board of supervisors.
Below are the school districts that participated in the Presidential Primary Election held on June 7, 2016, including the portion of actual costs incurred by ROV for election services provided to the respective districts. Per Education Code §5421, the Board of Supervisors are required to approve the billing for the election services.
- Sacramento County Board of Education - $22,181.10
- Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District - $145,376.61
In addition, the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority had a measure in the Presidential Primary Election and has been invoiced for $67,7231.43 which is the actual incremental costs incurred by ROV for adding Measure AA to the Primary election.
Costs for federal, state and county elections are borne by the County as mandated by law. Below is the General Fund cost to the County for conducting the Presidential Primary Election.
- Federal/State $969,366.40
- County $489,439.62
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors could choose to deny ROV’s recommendation; however, doing so would increase County costs since the General Fund will have to pay for the unrecovered costs.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The ROV’s methodology for computing billable productive labor rates has been reviewed for compliance with generally accepted accounting principles by the Auditor-Controller’s Office. County Counsel was consulted on the billing of the school districts for costs no longer reimbursed by the State and supports ROV’s recommendation.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION