NEVADA CITY, Calif. January 30, 2018 – The BOS budget subcommittee, composed of Chair Ed Scofield and Vice Chair Richard Anderson, met with Greg Diaz Nevada County’s Registrar of Voters today and agreed to have Diaz present a revised budget increase to cover the cost of implementing the new Voters Choice Act (VCA) in the upcoming June Primary election.
Diaz’ original request for a $303,141 budget increase was rebuffed by the Nevada County BOS at their January 23rd meeting, even after California Secretary of State Alex Padilla gave a presentation outlining the new all-mail ballot voting process.
The issue appeared to be Diaz not coming to the budget subcommittee last year with the proposed increase. Since the cost of the various components was unknown, Diaz waited until his office had the closest estimate possible he explained during last week’s BOS meeting. Supervisors stated they liked the VCA but were vexed by Diaz not bringing this forward earlier.
Today, Diaz and his staff presented a revised proposal to the subcommittee. Cuts were made in the temporary staffing to both the Elections Office and the voting centers as well as reduced mailing expenses. Originally Diaz had budgeted to pay the postage for returning the vote-by-mail ballots by mail.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity the board gave me to meet with the subcommittee and present the revised proposal. My team and I refined the numbers and made several adjustments. This was a very productive meeting,” Diaz stated to YubaNet.
The full BOS will vote on the new budget amendment totaling $258,121 at their February 13th meeting. Any budget amendment needs a 4/5th majority to pass.