The Hamlet Town Council may consider moving the town’s election cycle for future years. Town Council President Dave Kesvormas raised the idea last week, noting that it could be a potential cost savings.
“The clerk assures me that if we were on a presidential year or a midterm year, that the town would incur no cost in doing the election because it would already be here,” Kesvormas explained. “If we have our own in the outside years, then it would cost us money.”
Hamlet Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts said she didn’t think the county had ever billed the town for an election before, but a recent $8,700 bill the City of Knox received for its primary has raised some concerns.
But beyond that, Kesvormas felt it would also be a good opportunity to stagger the town council members’ terms. “We don’t have a staggered board,” he said. “We could all go into this election year and be replaced. . . . Then things have to start all over again, and if you remember, eight years or so ago almost, for at least three of us here, it was difficult to start all over.”
The process of changing an election cycle typically takes several years, and this year’s Hamlet town election would not be affected by any potential change. Locally, most towns in Pulaski County have made the switch or are in the process of doing it.
Kesvormas stresses that he’s not trying to suppress anyone’s ability to vote, but he’s simply come to realize that elections cost a lot of money.
