Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 22, 2012: No. 2012-00252 (May 22, 2012)

No. 2012-00252.

Dear Mr. Gabriel:

Attorney General Hood is in receipt of your request for an official opinion and it has been assigned to me for research and reply.

1. What amount of compensation can the city pay to its poll workers?

2. Does the city have authority to compensate poll workers for mandatory training for managers and clerks?

Your letter states:

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ridgeland, Mississippi have requested that I seek your assistance in clarifying the amount of compensation the city can pay to its poll workers.

The first issue concerns the authority granted under Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-229. This section provides that the city may pay the same compensation as the county and has the discretion to add additional compensation not to exceed $25.00 per election. Does this mean that the city is limited to a payment of $100 per election, that is the $75.00 allowed under Section 23-15-227 plus the additional $25.00 or, if the county pays the additional $50.00 allowed under Section 23-15-227, may the city pay its poll workers $150.00, that is the $125.00 compensation paid by the county plus the additional $25.00 allowed under Section 23-15-229?

The second issue is whether the city has authority to compensate poll workers for the mandatory training for managers and clerks. The Board of Supervisors is specifically authorized to pay for the training pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-239(3). Is this authority also granted to the governing authority of the municipality? An earlier opinion to Paul Henderson 1989 WL 503365, would deny such additional payment, but Section 23-15-229 states that municipal workers shall be paid the same compensation as the county workers for their services.

1. If a municipal poll manager works at the polls on election day and also acts as a delivering and returning manager, the maximum amount of compensation he could receive is $120.00.

2. Municipal poll managers may - in the discretion of the governing authority - receive payment for attending mandatory training sessions subject to the limitations set forth in 23-15-239 (3).

In response to your first issue, Miss. Code Ann. Sections 23-15-227 and 23-15-229 address compensation of county and municipal poll managers.

Referencing the compensation of municipal poll managers, Section 23-15-229 states:

The compensation for clerks, managers and other workers in the polling places of a municipality shall be the same as the compensation paid by the county for such services; provided, however, that the governing authorities of a municipality shall not be required to pay any additional compensation authorized by the board of supervisors. The governing authorities of a municipality may, in their discretion, pay clerks and managers in the polling places of the municipality an additional amount of compensation not to exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per election.

With regard to county poll managers, Section 23-15-227 recognizes that they are entitled to receive Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) for each election and the board of supervisors may, in its discretion, pay managers up to an additional Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per election. The statute further notes that the manager or other person who carries to the polling place the official ballots, ballot boxes, pollbooks and other necessities, shall be allowed payment of Ten Dollars ($10.00). Likewise, the manager or other person who acts as the returning officer for these items shall be allowed Ten Dollars ($10.00).

The statute addressing municipal poll manager compensation specifically limits to Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) the amount of discretionary compensation to be paid to poll managers. We are of the opinion that pursuant to Section 23-15-229, municipal poll managers are to be paid a minimum of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) for working the polling place on election day, and that the governing authorities of the municipality may, in their discretion, pay poll managers up to an additional Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00). Furthermore, the manager who acts as the officer delivering election day materials from the courthouse to the polling place shall be entitled to receive an additional Ten Dollars ($10.00), and the manager who acts as the returning officer shall be allowed an additional Ten Dollars ($10.00). Thus, if a municipal poll manager works at the polls on election day and also acts as a delivering and returning manager, the maximum amount of compensation he could receive is $120.00.

In response to your second issue, Mississippi law requires poll managers to receive election administration training at least once during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date of the election at which the manager is to serve. Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-239 (1)(a).

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-239 (3) provides in pertinent part:

The board of supervisors, in their discretion, may compensate managers who attend such training sessions. The compensation shall be at a rate of not less than the federal hourly minimum wage nor more than Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per hour. Managers shall not be compensated for more than sixteen (16) hours of attendance at the training sessions regardless of the actual amount of time that they attended the training sessions.

Section 23-15-239 (3) was amended in 1999 to permit boards of supervisors to compensate managers for attending the required training sessions. Additionally, Mississippi law recognizes that municipal primary and general elections shall be held and conducted in the same manner as provided by law for state and county general elections. Miss. Code Ann. Sections 23-15-171 (3); 23-15-173 (2).

In your opinion request you reference the Henderson opinion which denied payment to municipal poll workers for attending mandatory training sessions. Henderson was issued in 1989 prior to the 1999 amendment to Section 23-15-239 (3); therefore, the opinion is no longer applicable to your question.

Reading the above cited statutes together, we are of the opinion that municipal poll managers may receive payment for attending training sessions pursuant to Section 23-15-239. We point out that Section 23-15-239 (3) specifically states that payment is at the discretion of the board of supervisors. Therefore, any payment by the municipality for these purposes is not mandatory but rather in the discretion of the governing authorities of the municipality and subject to the limitations set forth in 23-15-239 (3).

Please contact us if we can be of further assistance regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Elizabeth S. Bolin

Special Assistant Attorney General