Cobb asked to retain retiring elections chief at $800 per day

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Cobb County Commission has been asked to rehire the retiring elections director for four months of contracting work at a rate of $800 per day, up to $25,000.

Having Director Sharon Dunn on contract September through December while a replacement is trained would be an asset to the department, said Beverly Smith, chairwoman of the Cobb elections board, which made the request.

The proposal was introduced as an add-on to Tuesday night’s commission agenda, but was tabled when Commissioner Thea Powell balked at the last-minute agenda item and questioned the contract cost.

Powell noted that a Monday draft of the agenda item for Dunn’s contract work requested $1,600 a day, instead of the $800 daily rate included in the final item, and there was no maximum payout in the draft version.

The board consulted with the county manager and human resources department to determine a final consulting rate, Smith said, and the board made an offer at the “low end” of the going rates.

Dunn was one of 236 eligible county employees who took an early retirement incentive this year. Under that program, retiring employees were to leave their county positions by April 30. Dunn stayed on to help with the July 20 primary and special election and Aug. 10 runoff election.

Her retirement date is Aug. 31.

The elections board has narrowed candidates for the job to six, and is close to a decision, Smith said.

“You would expect there would be a transition going on while [Dunn] is still there,” Powell said. “That is typically how things are done in these situations.”

Smith said that wasn't feasible. “We are trying to find someone who has an elections background and we had a primary [election] going on,” she said. “We felt like we moved along as quickly as we could.”

Hiring retired elections officials for contract work is not uncommon,  said Carolyn Hatcher, a former elections supervisor for Dougherty County in southwest Georgia.

Hatcher, who retired last March, has consulted for the elections board in that county and for some cities.

Dunn had run elections in Cobb since 1981.

The commission is scheduled to discuss the item at its next meeting Sept. 14.

The elections board request came as the county’s $720.4 million fiscal 2011 budget was introduced Tuesday. If the contract request is approved, money is available in the current elections budget to pay through Sept. 30. Funds for the time after the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 will be requested in the fiscal 2011 budget.