Linda Murphy, MMC, Borough Clerk Sherry Biggs, Deputy Clerk

907-262-8608

TO: Pete Sprague, Assembly President

Members of the Borough Assembly

FROM: Linda Murphy, Borough Clerk

DATE: January 9, 2004

SUBJECT: Ordinance 2003-19-36

On January 6, 2004, the Assembly adopted Resolution 2003-130, providing for a special by-mail election to be conducted on March 30, 2004. Since we do not normally budget for special elections, additional funds must be appropriated to the Elections Budget to cover the anticipated costs of this election. The $55,000 appropriation set forth in Ordinance 2003-19-36, when added to funds remaining in this fiscal year's budget, will cover all costs of the upcoming special election.

We will be mailing in excess of 38,000 ballots for this election and we do not have sufficient absentee ballot envelopes on hand to meet this requirement. Since the ballots must be mailed no later than March 8, there is insufficient time to seek competitive bids for printing these envelopes. They are a specialty item and can be obtained in the time allotted from a local printer who has provided these envelopes in the past. Therefore, this ordinance also authorizes the clerk to contract for the printing of the needed envelopes without obtaining competitive bids.

Finally, we are requesting shortened hearing in order to have the funds available to issue purchase orders for the printing of both the ballot envelopes and the official ballots in time to meet Code requirements for mailing.