In a letter to Cooper County Commissioners, Clerk Sarah Herman says: “I am respectfully declining all three options for my 2020 budget.”
Her letter says, in Clerk’s Fund 502, she submitted a budget nearly the same as 2019 with the exception of some salary changes that were approved by the commissioners. “With that being said, I will operate the county clerk’s office off the 2019 approved budget with those exceptions, which includes a 2.5-percent staff increase, and the increase of the elected official’s salary due to the increased valuation of Cooper County.”
Another part of the letter says: “Regarding my election fund, I have submitted a budget that will allow me to effectively run Cooper County’s elections. This budget was similar to other counties around us with similar populations. I have also reached out to the secretary of state’s office, (and) they agree that a Voter Registration Clerk for a county of this size is a full-time job, and there will be overtime with this 2020 election year.”
Cooper County Presiding Commissioner Don Baragary says they take a look at historic expenditures of the budgets of all office holders, taking into account years that would be more equal- such as the 2016 Presidential Election Year.

 
Herman’s letter also contains a paragraph: “No other office holder has been asked to reduce their budget by $90,000 to $105,000. No other office holder has been given options to choose from on their budget.”
Herman says a section of the state statutes says: “the county clerk is the budget officer in third-class counties.” And another part of the statute says: “the budget officer shall review the estimates, altering, revising, increasing or decreasing the items as he deems necessary in view of the needs of the various spending agencies and the probable income for the year.”
Bargary explains commissioners do their due diligence to make sure they are good stewards of the taxpayers’ money. He saays, despite the differences now, they have some time and will work out an agreement.

 
Bargary said: “We are in charge of making sure the taxpayers’ money is being spent efficiently.”