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08.a Election Services Agreement with Washington County1 Staff Report Date of Meeting: February 17, 2026 To: Scandia City Council From: City Administrator Kyle Morell and City Clerk Brenda Eklund Re: Joint Powers Agreement with Washington County for Election Services Staff has proposed that the city enter into an agreement with Washington County to administer the election process beginning in 2026. Under the contract, Washington County will hire and train election judges, conduct the required public accuracy tests prior to election day, and provide supplies and equipment for the statewide primary and general elections, as well as any special elections that may arise. Elections would continue to be held in Scandia, with voting on election day conducted at the Scandia Community Center. The benefits of a contract with Washington County include making the County the responsible party for complying with state and federal election laws, thereby removing this liability from the city. Currently, Washington County has contracts with the following communities for election services: Birchwood Landfall St. Paul Park Cottage Grove Mahtomedi Stillwater Forest Lake Newport Woodbury Grant Oakdale Lakeland Pine Springs Washington County Elections Coordinator Justin Dunford provided the following 2026 fee schedule as set by the Washington County Board. Note that only the statewide primary and general elections are being held in 2026. Scandia has one precinct, totaling $5,136.00 in annual fees plus election judge costs, which is already budgeted. The City will be billed for election services upon the completion of the election cycle. 2 Under the contract, the County will store the voting booths and voting equipment following the elections, freeing up space in the City’s cold storage. It will remain the City’s responsibility to perform the duties of candidate filing officer for elected city offices; administer initial and ongoing campaign financial reporting and economic disclosure activities of municipal candidates; prepare, post, and publish election notices at the City Office; and conduct the official canvass of election results following each City election. The Agreement may be terminated by either party upon six months' written notice of its intent to terminate the agreement delivered to the other party; or the Agreement may be terminated immediately by the mutual written agreement of both Parties; however, the Agreement cannot be terminated during an even-numbered year. The City has run its own elections in the past. City Clerk Brenda Eklund attended the County election training, recruited and trained the City’s judges, oversaw the public accuracy test, and 3 oversaw the elections. This JPA with the County would transfer to the County the recruitment and training of judges, as well as the administration of the public accuracy test and all elections. The City has $9,400 budgeted for elections in 2026, including $6,000 for payments to election judges. $1,750 of the budgeted amount is for supplies the City no longer needs to purchase. That money can be redirected toward paying the County. With the phased retirement of the City Clerk, there will be extra funds in the budget to pay the County the remaining $3,386 that is not in the 2026 budget ($5,136 - $1,750 = $3,386) Staff recommends approving the JPA with Washington County for election services. The additional cost to the City is negligible, and the ability to reduce our liability by not running our own elections is a benefit. Options: 1) Approve Signing Joint Powers Agreement with Washington County for Election Services 2) Deny Signing Joint Powers Agreement with Washington County for Election Services 3) Table for further discussion Recommendation Option 1 Attachments: JPA with Washington County for Elections Services AGREEMENT FOR ELECTION SERVICES THIS AGREEMENT (“Agreement”), made and entered into this _____ day of __________, 20____, by and between the City of _______________, a Minnesota municipal corporation, herein referred to as the “City”, and Washington County, a body politic and corporate, herein referred to as “County,” hereafter collectively referred to as “Parties.” WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 471.59, authorizes two or more governmental units to enter into an agreement to jointly or cooperatively exercise any power common to the contracting parties; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the United States Constitution, Minnesota election laws, and other relevant state and federal election laws, the Parties have certain election related duties imposed upon them in order to carry out the proper administration of elections; and WHEREAS, the Parties agree that efficiencies and economies of scale make it desirable for the County to assume some of the City’s election related responsibilities; and NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and agreements contained herein the Parties agree as follows: SECTION ONE – DEFINITIONS The following words, terms, and phrases when used in this Agreement shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: A. Precinct Supplies: City owned voting booths, polling place signs, flags, flag stands, and supply boxes containing election related materials, including supplies, forms, and other required precinct supplies. B. Voting Equipment: County owned optical scan voting systems, assistive voting devices, electronic rosters, and other required voting equipment. C. Election Authority: The city, town, or school district calling for the election. SECTION TWO – ELECTION SERVICES The City hereby contracts with the County to perform, and the County hereby agrees to perform, the election services hereinafter described. This Agreement shall apply to statewide primary and general Scandia elections, special elections called by a valid election authority and all other elections required by law. The Parties agree to carry out the election services hereinafter described in accordance with the United States Constitution, Minnesota election laws, and all other relevant state and federal election laws. A. COUNTY RESPONSIBILITIES The County shall perform the following election services which are assigned to the City under Minnesota election laws and other relevant state and federal laws for every election identified in this Agreement: 1. Election Judges: a. The County shall be responsible for recruitment, training, and assignment of election judges. b. The County shall be responsible for determining the hourly pay rate of the election judges. c. The County shall be responsible for paying the election judges directly for salaries, authorized mileage, and other authorized expenses. 2. Voting Equipment: a. The County shall arrange for the transport of and coordinate the placement and use of voting equipment for each polling place in the City. b. The County shall be responsible for the programming of voting equipment. c. The County shall conduct preliminary and public accuracy testing of optical scan voting systems. The County shall post and publish the required notices for the public accuracy testing. 3. Precinct Supplies: The County shall be responsible for providing election forms, supplies, and other election related materials for each polling place in the City. a. The County shall arrange for the transport of and coordinate the placement and use of precinct supplies at each polling place in the City. b. If the precinct supplies provided for use at each polling place are not the exact supplies purchased by the City, they will be comparable, as determined by the County. c. When the precinct supplies are not in use, the County shall store them in secure County facilities during the term of this Agreement. The County shall store the precinct supplies in an adequate manner to minimize the possibility of loss, theft, or damage. At the termination of this Agreement, the County will return all the City’s precinct supplies to the City. d. If additional and/or replacement precinct supplies are needed, the County shall notify the City of the need and provide a cost estimate prior to the purchase. Following the approval of the City, the County shall purchase the supplies and bill the City for the costs. e. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement that may be to the contrary, the City shall be responsible to replace any lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed City precinct supplies and will hold the County harmless if any of the City’s precinct supplies are lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed while in the care and custody of the County. 4. Ballots: a. The County shall be responsible for the programming, layout, and printing of ballots for the City. b. The County shall pay the ballot costs for statewide elections. c. All ballot costs for any other election will be paid by the election authority as reimbursement of actual cost or direct payment. 5. Absentee Voting: a. The County shall administer absentee voting for the City. b. The County shall pay the absentee voting costs for statewide elections. c. Absentee voting costs for any other election will be paid by the election authority per the most recently adopted Countywide Fee Schedule. 6. The County shall coordinate directly with each facility for the election day use of designated polling places in the City. 7. Post-Election: a. The County shall be responsible for the compiling and reporting of election results and election statistics and providing election related information to the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State’s election reporting system. b. The County shall be responsible for providing the City an abstract and results reports to be reviewed by the City Canvass Board. c. The County shall be responsible for administering the Post-Election Review for the City’s precincts. 8. The County shall provide to City officials, candidates, and the public, information and assistance related to election procedures. The County shall not be responsible for providing the City with legal advice concerning questions related to election law. 9. The County shall inform the City of the number of registered voters in each of its precincts within five (5) business days of February 1st of each odd numbered year. 10. The County shall provide the City an estimate of costs for election services for the next even numbered year’s election cycle by March 31st of each odd numbered year. 11. The County shall provide the City an estimate of costs for the next year’s annual equipment maintenance by March 31st of each year. B. CITY RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Precinct Supplies: a. The City shall provide the County with its precinct supplies to be utilized at each polling place for each election required in this Agreement. b. At the conclusion of every election, the County shall store the City’s precinct supplies pursuant to Section (2)(C)(3) on this Agreement. 2. Precincts: a. The City shall be responsible for determining precinct boundary changes. b. The City shall not establish a precinct with more than 4,500 registered voters. c. The City shall make a boundary change for any precincts exceeding 4,500 registered voters before December 31st of each odd numbered year. i. The City will receive a list of the number of registered voters in each precinct from the County within five (5) business days of February 1st of each odd numbered year. i. The City shall pay the costs for the required notifications to voters of a precinct boundary change. ii. The City and County may mutually determine a boundary change for a precinct with more than 4,500 voters be delayed and reevaluated in the next odd numbered year. 3. Polling Places: a. The City shall be responsible for establishing polling places for each election precinct in the City, preparing the polling place resolution, and requesting approval of the resolution by the City Council. b. The County shall review and provide input regarding the establishment of polling places prior to approval by the City. c. Any formal agreements that may be required for the use of a designated polling place facility are to be made between the City and the polling place. The City will make the polling place available to County personnel. 4. The City shall provide to the County the title and text of any City ballot questions within a reasonable time after the resolution authorizing the ballot questions is approved by the City. The City shall provide the County with the certification of candidate names for City offices within a reasonable time after the Affidavit of Candidacy is filed with the City. 5. The City shall prepare a resolution authorizing the County to designate an absentee ballot board for the purpose of accepting and rejecting ballots for the City. The City shall request the approval of the resolution by the City Council. 6. The City shall perform the duties of candidate filing officer for elected city offices. 7. The City shall administer initial and ongoing campaign financial reporting and economic disclosure activities; prepare, post, and publish election notices at the City Office. 8. The City shall conduct the official canvass of election results following each City election. a. The City shall strive to provide the County with the date of the City Canvass Board meeting at least thirty (30) days before each election. 9. The City shall retain election records for a period not less than twenty-two (22) months after each City election and retain a permanent archive of election results. SECTION THREE - RECOUNTS The Parties recognize that under Minnesota election laws, the City Clerk or designee serves as the recount official for recounts conducted by the City Council or City Canvassing Board. If mutually agreed by the Parties, a County official may act as the recount official. The Parties will determine the duties, responsibilities, and cost reimbursements for any such recount agreement. SECTION FOUR – LIABILITY AND INSURANCE A. The Parties total liability under this Agreement shall be governed by Minnesota Statute 471.59, subd. 1a. For the purposes of determining total liability for damages, the participating governmental units are considered to be a single governmental unit, the total liability of which shall not exceed the limits for a single governmental unit as provided in Minnesota Statute 446.04, subd. 1. B. The Parties shall maintain such insurance as will protect such party from claims which may arise out of, or result from, the Parties actions under this Agreement. The City shall not be required to maintain any insurance coverage needed in connection with the performance of the County services, including but not limited to automobile liability insurance, workers compensation insurance and public liability insurance. SECTION FIVE - AGREEMENT FEES A. The City shall pay a fee to the County for election services each year they have an election. The election fee schedule is approved by the County Board each year and establishes the fee(s) associated with each election type. The City will be billed for election services upon the completion of the election cycle. The County will provide an invoice to the City no later than sixty (60) days after the last election in the cycle payable thirty (30) days after providing said invoice. B. The City will be billed for the actual costs of appointed election judges salaries, authorized mileage and other expenses to perform duties within their election precincts. C. The City will be billed for any required legal publication costs. SECTION SIX - INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR It is understood and agreed between the Parties that the County is an independent contractor and not an employee of the City. SECTION SEVEN - DURATION AND TERMINATION A. Term: This agreement shall commence on the ____ day of ______________, 20____, and remain in force until terminated pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. B. Termination: 1. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon six (6) months written notice of its intent to terminate the agreement delivered to the other party. 2. This Agreement may be terminated immediately by the mutual written agreement of both Parties; however, the Agreement cannot be terminated during an even numbered year. 3. Upon termination of this Agreement, the County will coordinate with the City for the return of all City owned precinct supplies stored in County facilities. SECTION EIGHT – GENERAL PROVISIONS A. Designated Representatives: 1. The City shall designate the City Clerk as the principal contact person for the City. 2. The County shall designate the Taxpayer Services & Elections Division Manager as the principal contact person for the County. 3. The County shall designate the Election Coordinator as the secondary contact person for the County. If either party requires assistance on election day with its election related duties under this Agreement, the designated contact person(s) shall be responsible for determining what resources are available and how such resources will be utilized to render assistance. SECTION NINE – ENTIRE AGREEMENT It is understood and agreed upon that the entire agreement of the Parties is contained herein, and that this Agreement terminates, replaces, and supersedes any and all prior Joint Powers Agreements for election services between the Parties. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have made and executed this Agreement the day and year first above written. CITY OF __________ WASHINGTON COUNTY By________________________________ By _________________________________ Mayor County Board Chair By________________________________ By _________________________________ City Clerk County Administrator Recommended By: _________________________________ Director, Property Records & Taxpayer Services Approved as to form by: _________________________________ Assistant Washington County Attorney Scandia