Village election inspectors won’t get hazard pay

Election inspectors in the Village of Belgium will not receive a hazard pay bonus for working during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Finance and Personnel Committee this month recommended not providing any extra pay, and the Village Board unanimously agreed.

At the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting Dec. 7, Village Clerk Julie Lesar said many municipalities are offering $100 bonuses to election inspectors because of the hours worked and “just unusual circumstances.”

She provided a list of 21 election inspectors, 14 who were paid and seven volunteers.

Hours worked ranged from three to more than 60.

“I have questions of if the board were to agree with giving a bonus, would everyone get it? How would you issue it?” Lesar asked.

“I can’t see any way of being fair about any of this. One person’s got 56 hours, the next person’s got five, three,” committee member Pete Anzia said. “I don’t know how you’d even try and do that.”

The Town of Belgium approved giving $100 bonuses to its inspectors, but Lesar said she didn’t know how many inspectors it had.

Town Clerk Ginger Murphy last month requested a $100 bonus for election inspectors — including herself — for each of the three elections this year. That came to $1,700. The Town Board unanimously approved it.

Town Chairman Tom Winker, a member of the Ozaukee County Board, said the county gave hazardous pay to the Sheriff’s Office, public health officials and Lasata Senior Living Campus employees and “if we’re going to follow a trend, in my mind it is certainly warranted.”

Murphy said she could find money in the budget and would categorize it as expense for poll workers.

Winker said it is a one-time expense and the town will revisit the issue next year.

Anzia asked where the money would come from if the village gave the bonuses.

Lesar said it would come from the election budget, which was over budget. Money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and from the Routes to Recovery grant provided $6,900, but the election fund is still $929 over budget.

Committee Chairman Josh Borden didn’t like the idea of paying election inspectors more money.

“I guess I’ve got a problem with hazard pay,” he said. “I think the elections are just going to get worse and worse and worse. I don’t agree with it at all.”

Committee member Rose Sauers agreed.

“This is something, even if you’re compensated for it, you do out of civic pride,” she said.

“And you go into it knowing you can back out and say, ‘I feel I’m taking a risk,’ so if you go in with eyes open you’re kind of accepting that risk. I don’t want to sound like a negative Nellie, but we don’t get hazard pay.”

Lesar said she always tells election inspectors they aren’t obligated to work, and a few said no.

“You’ve got police and fire who don’t get any hazard pay. You’ve got the village workers, they didn’t get any hazard pay and they’re working every day,” Borden said.

“You’re saying it’s kind of a slap in the face for you girls and the guys that worked for the village to get nothing when these people get a little bit of hazard pay,” Anzia said.

“I have no idea how to try and split this up.”

Sauers agreed.

“I don’t want to be the bad guy because if it was up to me everybody would get paid an endless amount of money, but I’m like you, I’m uncomfortable about how to make this work without somebody getting upset that they got shorted or something like that,” she said.

Anzia asked if village staff got paid for the extra work they did in setting up the elections, including sanitizing.

Lesar said no, the employees are salaried.

The committee recommended, 3-0, to not provide hazard pay for election inspectors. The Village Board on Dec. 14 voted 7-0 to not provide the pay.