Satcher Requests Budget Increase for SOE Office

BRADENTON — Manatee County’s new Supervisor of Elections James Satcher is requesting a budget amendment that would increase the Supervisor of Elections' approved FY24 budget by $841,340. The item is scheduled to be heard before county commissioners during a regular BOCC meeting on Tuesday, May 28.

The budget amendment request—an increase of slightly more than 26% of the SOE’s currently approved budget—was submitted roughly four weeks after the former commissioner received the gubernatorial appointment to the post.

Satcher was made Supervisor of Elections on Friday, April 12. The following Tuesday, Satcher appeared before his former colleagues, the board of county commissioners,  representing his new office. 

During a special meeting on April 16, Satcher informed commissioners that in his first two days in his new position as the SOE, he had already identified “needs” for which he would be returning to the board to request additional funding.

In the days following Satcher’s comments before the commissioners, TBT received information from multiple sources alleging Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge had met with Satcher and his new Chief of Staff David Ballard at the SOE's office the day before the special meeting. One of the sources who spoke with TBT about the alleged meeting suggested that Van Ostenbridge may have met with Satcher to discuss matters relating to the SOE’s budget.

When reached for comment on the allegations, Satcher and Van Ostenbridge confirmed Van Ostenbridge’s having been at the Supervisor of Elections Office on the date in question, but both told TBT that it was not “a meeting” but rather a visit from a “friend” who had “popped by spontaneously.”

The county’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. The FY24 budget will conclude in four months, and constitutional officers are scheduled to appear before commissioners to present their FY25 budget requests on June 17.

However, Satcher is seeking an increase to the SOE’s approved FY24 budget—approved and adopted last fall at $3,180,645—rather than presenting a budget increase for FY25. 

In a letter dated May 13, Satcher wrote, “This budget amendment will allow the Supervisor of Elections to expand safety and security measures and audit vital information and operations to ensure public confidence in the 2024 Presidential Election…Hardware and software upgrades are required to perform a complete and full audit of certified election results.”

Besides new equipment, Satcher wrote that the requested increase in funds would also be used to add additional voting locations in the North River Ranch area and to open two SOE “satellite offices,” one in Lakewood Ranch and one in North River Ranch. Satcher explained in his letter that additional funds will be required for operational and personnel costs at these additional locations.

"We buy old equipment," he said. "We are watching your nickels."

When his department needed a new van, he said the state had negotiated prices if counties wanted to use its vendor. Instead, Bennett said he chose to shop locally and saved "a couple of thousand dollars along with keeping the business in the area."

TBT reached Bennett by email for comment concerning his successor submitting a budget amendment request to the county. Responding by email, Bennett told TBT that he was surprised to hear of the requested increase, particularly so soon after assuming the office.

“I do find it somewhat amazing,” wrote Bennett, “that Satcher was able to find, in less than a month or so, all of the shortcomings of the office that I could not find in twelve years.”

Bennett pointed out that upon reviewing the SOE’s itemized list of expenditures meant to justify the budget increase, many of the items were expenses that would have already been accounted for when the FY24 budget was submitted under Bennet last summer and approved in the fall.

The former Supervisor of Elections also shared that from his many years of experience as head of the office, he felt none of the expenditures included in the list were items that would be needed prior to this year’s elections or prior to the next scheduled budget hearings for FY25.

Bennett also questioned whether his successor understood how challenging it can be to find new polling locations.

“Wanting to add new polling places is difficult to do,” Bennett explained in his email to TBT. “The burden placed upon the locations is heavy from traffic, parking, and the required security.”

Concerning software and equipment upgrades, Bennett said that he and his Chief of Staff had spent the last 4-5 years exploring computer audit equipment options. “We looked at all of the costs our office ever spent on audits and determined that it would take at least 8-9 election cycles to pay back the expenditure. By that time, the equipment would need to be replaced. We chose to save the taxpayers money.”

Bennett told TBT that the SOE’s office has three machines for tabulating ballots.

Concluding his email, Bennett said that he hopes when the SOE budget increase item goes before the board on Tuesday, the request will be discussed in depth and receive an in-depth review.

Come August

The 2024 primary elections will be held on August 20. As of now, only two candidates—both Republicans—have entered the Supervisor of Elections race: James Satcher and Scott Farrington. The next Supervisor of Elections will most likely be decided in the primary.

Farrington, Bennett’s former Chief of Staff, has already received his certified petition letter—an important step in qualifying to appear on the August primary ballot. 

Farrington is the only certified elections administrator in Manatee County and is a Master Florida Certified Election Professional. Satcher is a minister who served less than a full term as a county commissioner. Though his time as a county commissioner included a year as chair of the Port Authority, Satcher has no prior experience in conducting or overseeing elections or managing a multi-million dollar budget.

With the primary elections so close, commissioners will be faced on Tuesday with determining whether to approve a significant increase to the SOE’s budget for satellite offices, new software and equipment, as well as personnel changes before Manatee County voters have the opportunity to elect their next elections supervisor.

The governor’s selection of Satcher over Bennett’s recommendation of Farrington to serve in interim created some controversy in local political circles, within the SOE and across the community.

Farrington resigned from his post the day DeSantis appointed Satcher. He was in his 12th year as second in command at the Manatee elections office, preceded by 10 years with the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Office. Farrington served as Chief of Staff for five of the ten years he was with the Sarasota SOE.

In 2020, under the SOE leadership of Bennett and Farrington, Satcher and three of his former colleagues from the county commission—Vanessa Baugh, Kevin Van Ostenbridge, and George Kruse—were elected to office. In 2022, three more commissioners prevailed in their races while Bennett and Farrington oversaw local elections, including Commissioners Mike Rahn, Jason Bearden, and Amanda Ballard, whose husband has since been hired by Satcher to serve as the SOE’s current Chief of Staff. 

Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter and investigative journalist for The Bradenton Times covering local government news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.