Putnam Commission Approves Pay Raises For Election Workers

Putnam County Election Administrator Michelle Honeycutt said the county commission approving election worker raises should hopefully help recruiting efforts.

Honeycutt said the election office needs more democratic workers.

“We were very happy about that,” Honeycutt said. “They’ve not had a pay raise since 2010, and with everything going up including gas, they needed it. They really did.”

Commissioners voted in favor of increasing per day pay among five position groups. Inspectors saw the highest increase from $250 to $350. Officer pay increased from $100 to $150.

“We do need a lot of workers,” Honeycutt said. “We’re hoping the pay would help a lot.”

Special Judge pay went up by $15 to $130, registrar rates increased by $30 to $120 and machine operators now make $20 more with a rate of $120.

The raises would cost about $14,000 for the May election, $21,000 for November and somewhere in between those numbers for August. Honeycutt said the election office has enough money to cover the costs of May, but its budget for next year will need to be increased.