By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — With the town facing a challenging budget season and state election mandates increasing, Town Clerk Amanda Haggstrom is looking to identify ways in order to save money.
Haggstrom recently appeared before the Select Board to present the proposed $253,105 operating budget for the Town Clerk’s Office for fiscal year 2026. The recommended spending plan represents a $2,465 decrease over FY25’s appropriation.
“Our budget remains fairly straightforward,” said Haggstrom. “We have the majority of the expenses allocated to salaries and election-related mandates.”
Haggstrom said she has budgeted $188,015 for salaries, which she noted represents a 13.77 percent increase over FY25’s $165,265 allocation.
“However, this is primarily due to the reallocation of funds to accurately reflect our true staffing costs,” said Haggstrom. “We have had a part-time administrative assistant, Wendy, who has been a huge part of our office for the last 10 years. She has been paid out of poll workers’ salaries. She is permanent, so we have moved her over for more accurate budgeting purposes.”
Haggstrom said she was able to reduce overtime for Assistant Town Clerk Susan Lagorio due to fewer elections occurring in FY26. She also reduced the record binding and preservation line item from $3,000 to $2,000.
“While our office is responsible for maintaining town records and compliance with state law, we are committed to transitioning to digital formatting as much as possible,” said Haggstrom. “This shift not only reduces costs associated with paper, toner, binding, vendors that we use and storage, which is the most expensive part. It also enhances efficiency by making our records more accessible to staff, and it cuts down on wait times when we have to send things to our colleagues or residents, and respond to public records requests.”
Haggstrom proposed increasing the Town Clerk’s Office professional development line item by 77.17 percent, which would increase from $2,540 in FY25 to $4,500 in FY26.
“I believe that in investing in ongoing education for municipal employees is critical, especially as municipalities struggle to recruit qualified candidates in leadership roles,” said Haggstrom. “While we have increasing mandates and budget constraints, which largely eliminate the possibility of ever adding new positions, it is wise to cross-train staff and invest in employees who bring value. I am confident that this modest investment here would ultimately enhance efficiency, streamline processes and uncover other cost-saving opportunities.”
Haggstrom has proposed increasing the Census forms line item from $8,000 to $9,000.
“After some of our budget discussions with the administration, we decided to include vote-by-mail applications with our annual Town Census on years when the state does not automatically send them,” said Haggstrom. “While vote-by-mail has been a great benefit for our residents, the inconsistent state mailings have created confusion for both the voters and our office. By being proactive and sending these, we hope to increase voter participation and turnout in our local elections. It will also decrease the amount of confusion and phone calls. It is approximately a $1,000 increase, but given the feedback, we feel that this is a cost residents will find value in.”
Haggstrom also said the Town Clerk’s Office is working on “improving our Census return rate.”
“The town clerk is responsible for the daily maintenance of the town’s voter rolls, ensuring its accuracy and compliance with election laws,” said Haggstrom. “Annually, we mail a Census to every household. Under law, if that form is not returned to us by June 1, all of those registered voters must be made inactive. The town is then required to send a second individual mailing to each registered voter to confirm that they live there.”
Haggstrom said poll workers gave inactive voters pamphlets and explained how townspeople became inactive last year.
“We have already seen a record number of Censuses being returned this year,” said Haggstrom. “That is important because the more responses we receive for the first mailing decreases the amount of second mailings we have to send out. These are the hidden expenses that residents don’t know about. They don’t know about the General Laws and the requirements. If we understand these things, we can make better use of our money.”
Haggstrom said the election line item has decreased from $68,050 in FY25 to $43,000 in FY26 due to fewer elections taking place in the next fiscal year.
“Election budgets fluctuate annually depending on the number of elections and the type of elections that dictate the requirements,” said Haggstrom. “We only have one election scheduled in FY26, which accounts for most of the reduction. Despite these reductions, election-related mandates and rising costs continue to present challenges. To offset these expenses, I have been consistently submitting and receiving reimbursement for all allowable in-person early voting and vote-by-mail costs, including postage, staff labor, really expensive toner, labels, envelopes and storage for all of the election materials that we are required to keep for years after the fact.”
Haggstrom said she was “able to acquire a $25,000 high-speed voting tabular for us for just $3,000 through a state program” last year.
“That was a crucial investment given the volume of ballots we have to process now,” said Haggstrom. “And while this machine requires an annual $2,500 maintenance fee, I successfully worked with the State Auditor’s Office to secure reimbursement for both that one-time machine purchase, bringing it down to $0, and for them to cover the ongoing maintenance cost of $2,500 a year by demonstrating the financial hardship caused by high ballot processing demands.”
Haggstrom said the Town Clerk’s Office’s “biggest need in the next few years will be additional staffing during heavy election cycles, unless the election laws change.” She also said the office will need to purchase new voting booths.
“Many are reaching the end of their lifespan,” said Haggstrom about the voting booths. “General law has strict requirements regarding the number of booths per voter, and the type and quantity of handicap accessible booths needed. Ensuring compliance with this is a priority, however, voting booths are very oddly priced. They are not cheap enough for me to sneak into our annual budget, but they are not expensive enough to qualify for a capital expense. I will be looking at solutions for this.”
While Haggstrom said some of the FY26 operating budget’s line items increased and others decreased, she said “there are no significant or unexpected changes this year.”
“With financial forecasting indicating tougher budget seasons ahead, my office will continue to advocate for funding, collaborate with state agencies to secure grants and reimbursement from unfunded mandates, and prioritize creative revenue-generating solutions to maintain and enhance our services,” said Haggstrom.
Select Board Vice Chair Phil Crawford said Haggstrom is “doing a great job” as town clerk.
“I get a lot of compliments about you not just from the residents, but the workers,” said Crawford. “You get a lot of praise from residents, so thank you.”
Select Board member Alexis Leahy commended Haggstrom for giving a “very thorough presentation.”
“I appreciate your innovative ideas and keeping a tab on some of the things we need to be more forward-looking so we anticipate preparing for them,” said Leahy.
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton concurred with his colleagues’ viewpoints.
“Thank you Amanda,” said Dalton. “Very nice job.”