West Hants projects $165,000 election bill for 2024
It didn’t take as long as anticipated for West Hants to secure a returning officer for the upcoming municipal election.
Earlier this year, staff told council that finding someone to take on the role may prove challenging given the municipality was offering both electronic and paper ballot voting in October.
However, councillors received a report Feb. 13 recommending they appoint Debi Fitzpatrick as the returning officer for the 2024 municipal and conseil scolaire Acadien provincial (CSAP) elections for West Hants.
“The individual being recommended is very qualified,” Mayor Abraham Zebian said when making the motion at the committee of the whole meeting.
The salary for the returning officer would be set at a maximum of $32,500 and based on hours worked, and any expenses incurred in the 2023-24 fiscal year will be funded through the West Hants regional elections reserve.
It’s anticipated Fitzpatrick will be formally appointed at the next council meeting, which will be on Feb. 27.
In a report to council by Deanna Snair, the municipal clerk, the returning officer has to be in place by March 15.
“The role of the returning
understated, officer cannot be as there is a significant amount of work to ensure a successful election in compliance with the Nova Scotia Municipal Elections Act,” Snair wrote.
Zebian also made a motion for council to give Mark Phillips, the chief administrative officer, the authority to appoint the assistant returning officer, or officers. This will also be voted on at the Feb. 27 meeting.
It was noted support from other municipal staff may also be required to run the election.
“These employees all qualify for overtime under the current human resource policies,” Snair noted.
Overtime for municipal employees equates to time and a half of their hourly wage.
Her report also broke down the estimated cost for this upcoming election, which is significantly higher than in 2020, when the former town of Windsor and district of West Hants amalgamated. For that election, it was solely paper ballots.
The total cost of the 2020 election was $61,177.92. Staff are projecting the October 2024 to cost the municipality about $165,719.82.