Weeks after a vote-counting error came to light in Pinal County, supervisors reluctantly give up trying to get their money back from former elections official Virginia Ross.
The idea first surfaced at the Board of Oversight’s first meeting of the year, when supervisor Kevin Kavanaugh said he wanted to talk to his elected peers and county staff about collecting the money.
But Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer told a board meeting on Feb. 1 that Ross nearly met the terms of the deal and that it was legally unwise to ask for a $25,000 performance bonus.
“The odds of winning are slim at best, and even if they do, they’re likely to spend more resources litigating the issue than they can recoup,” Volkmer said. “And if we lose, we’re essentially paying even more finances.”
The decision came after a discrepancy of 500 votes between the certified election tally and the recounted results emerged in December. was paid before it was paid.
Per the staff’s opinion, the supervisor is now resolving her compensation issue. But that doesn’t make everyone happy.
“The issue was raised by the public knowing that they were unlikely to get their bonuses back. But people are rightfully concerned that we didn’t get the election quite right.” said Kavanaugh.
Later, in response to questions from supervisor Jeff McClure accusing him of “innuendo and conspiracy theories,” Cavanaugh revealed he was referring to the underestimation, saying the election was “not quite right.” bottom.
“We’re talking about the contract. What was known during the hiring process, whether the terms of the contract were met, that’s the context here,” Cavanaugh said. ”
Ross’ Agreement with the County
In August, Pinal County signed a lucrative contract with Ross. A $175,000 salary and his $25,000 performance award were paid in exchange for four months of work and his smooth election in November.
The deal came after the turmoil of the county primary. In July, approximately 63,000 early ballots for primary elections were sent to voters with errors related to local elections. Then, on primary election day, August 2, his quarter of polling places in the county ran out of ballots.
These issues ultimately led to the firing of former elections officer David Frisk and an external investigation into the matter, which revealed that the elections office was “chronically understaffed” and had high turnover. Ross is hired to set course for the general election after Frisk leaves.
Her compensation contract has made her one of the top salary levels in Pinal County and the highest paid election official in Arizona’s largest county.
First reported by The Republic, Ross’ contract spelled out exactly what she needed to do to win the award.
- Deliver accurate ballots in sufficient quantity to the correct polling place.
- Get your polling place open on time with the necessary equipment in place.
- Properly train polling place workers.
- Prepare for successful instrument accuracy testing.
- Submit all reports in accordance with state law.
- Coordinate with city and town officials.
Her bonus was also contingent on the outcome of an investigation by the board. And that was her November 21st, about a week before the survey deadline.
On Nov. 28, the deadline date, new election administrator Geraldine Rohl discovered a discrepancy in the tally. She confirmed that there were no other possible explanations for the vote gap she had discovered, which she reported to Volkmer on November 30.
County manager upholds employment contract
Ross’ agreement is a limited-time employment offer, a new job classification created by the oversight board in June to stave off recruitment challenges.
While reviewing the different types of employment contracts offered in the county, supervisors, with reviews from the county’s budget staff and human resources department, will test the ability of county manager Leo to negotiate and execute contracts like Ross’s. Lou. On Wednesday, Lou defended his decision to approve Ross’ compensation agreement.
Mr. Ross was known for running successful elections under difficult circumstances. After a warehouse fire destroyed nearly all of the county’s election equipment in 2014, she served as a recorder and commander before assuming major disruptions in the county as an elections officer.
“For Virginia and the rest of the team at the time, it was an incredible feat,” Liu said.
Part of the reason Ross’ salary was so high, he said, was that she had given up money that would have been added to her pension when she left her job as county registrar. Her limited-term contract did not provide Ross her benefits or retirement.
She proposed performance bonuses and their requirements as a means of reassurance to the public that elections would run smoothly after the primary election chaos and Frisk’s dismissal.
“I thought that was fair. I thought it was a good expectation and a good one to put in there,” Liu said. “She was the one who provided it.”
In the aftermath of the tallying problem, the supervisor did not directly threaten to take away the classification or Lew’s ability to negotiate such a contract. But they tacitly warned him to proceed with caution.
“My only request is that in the future, if there are these and they are performance specific, they may be enforced by the County Attorney’s Office.
Lew said he plans to do so in the future. However, he claimed that he believed Ross did the most effective job she could under the circumstances.
“I think Virginia has done her job practically, and I think she’s done this contract practically,” Liu said. “I appreciate what she did.”
Sasha Hupka covers regional affairs for Maricopa County, Pinal County, and the Republic of Arizona.Any tips for county government or county services? Contact her sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.comFollow her on Twitter. @SashaHupka.
