Pay Hikes Approved For West Hartford Election Officials

WEST HARTFORD, CT — With election officials under more scrutiny during these politically divisive times nationally, West Hartford officials have approved pay raises for them.

Last month, the West Hartford Town Council unanimously voted 9-0 to give significant pay increases to both the town's registrars of voters and the deputy registrars of voters.

As of Jan. 6 of this year, the new salaries for these officials are $47,500 for registrars (a 58.3 percent pay hike) and $20,000 for deputy registrars (a 29 percent pay raise).

Registrars are elected while deputy registrars are appointed and both are part-time positions.

Also according to the resolution, the registrar positions will receive 2.7 percent pay increases in January 2027.

The resolution also grants stipends to registrars and deputy registrars, with each election worker getting $5,000 each this month (January 2025) and in January 2028, with $2,500 stipends in 2026 and 2027.

According to the resolution, election officials "play a vital role in safeguarding our democracy by ensuring free, fair, and transparent elections."

The resolution also cites the fact that registrar compensation has been unchanged since 2012 while the cost of living and other costs has increased since then.

That, combined with new regulations, population growth, and early voting mandates have placed additional demands on the positions, the resolution states.

West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith told council members the move was justified.

"These critical roles ensure the integrity of our elections," Ledwith said.

"As we know, we are coming off an election where our early voting efforts were lauded by many around the state as the benchmark in terms of how to run an election."

West Hartford Deputy Mayor Ben Wenograd, who heads the subcommittee that passed the resolution to the full council, agreed.

"We have been talking about this for a while and it was recognized that the salaries were too low," Wenograd said. "While it appears like a big increase, it really isn't."

He cited inflation and the extra work of the positions more than justifying the pay increases, which can ensure competent registrars in the future.

"The job has gotten harder and harder and the old salary we were using was simply not adequate," Wenograd, a Democrat, said.

Republican Councilperson Mary Fay agreed.

"You know I'm a fiscal hawk," she said. "This one is about fairness and 12 years is a long time to go without a pay adjustment."

Republican Alberto Cortes also supported the pay hikes, despite being with a party known for fiscally conservative policies.

"Voting for me is extremely important," he said, citing the good performance of West Hartford's elections workers and high inflation with increased workloads. "So this is definitely long overdue."

Democratic Mayor Shari Cantor feted the efforts of West Hartford's election officials.

"I just want to say how grateful we are that you reflect the best of West Hartford," Cantor said. "The most important civic right is to vote and you make it accurate and acceptable and reliable.

"You probably deserve more, but it's all a balance. So thank you for your commitment to our community."

For the minutes of the Dec. 10, 2024, West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.

For the full resolution, click on this link.