The Georgia General Assembly included a 2.5 percent salary increase for state employees. This one-time increase will only be in effect for FY 2009. All future salary increases will be based on performance.

The Board Member Payments category includes the payment of Board member per diem for the nearly 40 boards included in the Secretary of State’s Office. Board members receive a per diem of $105 per day of service.

Members of the boards are not employees of the Secretary of State’s Office, but private citizens who receive a per diem payment for their service, and are allowed by Georgia law to receive payment for their travel to and from board meetings, including payment for mileage and lodging.

Lapse factor is the difference between the amount it would cost the agency to fully fund vacant personnel positions and the amount that is appropriated by the Georgia General Assembly. Dollar amounts in the lapse factor category were never appropriated to the agency, so these amounts are in fact never spent.

Repairs and Maintenance includes the cost incurred to maintain or fix any property owned by the Secretary of State’s Office. Among the expenditures included in repairs and maintenance are annualized (paid once per year) equipment and janitorial contracts, and computer and telecommunication equipment repairs.

Energy includes monies spent on electricity and natural gas on properties commercially leased by the Secretary of State’s Office.

Other Operating Expenses include a myriad of expenses which do not fall into other spending categories. Examples include professional association dues, garbage collection contracts and water treatment; mailings to professional license holders and officers of corporate entities; and storage and retention of agency records. 

Secretary Handel is committed to conservative and fiscally responsible use of Georgia taxpayer dollars. She has implemented numerous rules regarding agency employee travel, including spending limits and the allowable types of employee travel. Employee Travel includes event and agency-only (not personal) expenses incurred at events and conferences, such as mileage, lodging and commercial transportation.

The majority of outlays in the Total Telecommunications category are payments to the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) for accessing the mainframe computer system that programs the state’s Voter Registration System and manages election night reporting; election supply inventory; and commissions of elected and appointed officials issued by the Governor’s Office and the Secretary of State’s Office. The category also includes salary expenses for a mainframe computer programmer, and local and long distance telephone services.

The Motor Vehicle Expenses category includes fuel, regular preventative maintenance, and expenses incurred to repair damaged motor vehicles for vehicles driven by Agency employees as they perform their job requirements only. The majority of expenses in this category are incurred by investigators and inspectors in the Agency’s Inspector General’s office.  

In 2008, the Agency made a number of changes to its fleet management practices to increase efficiencies and significantly lower vehicle operation costs.

First, a fleet tracking system was installed on each vehicle to monitor fuel usage and mileage. Within five months, vehicle fuel use dropped 36 percent.

Second, the Agency ended a previous practice of allowing investigators and inspectors to drive their vehicles home.

Third, a monthly vehicle analysis report is sent to each division director, which details mileage, start and stop times, maximum speeds driven, date and time fuel is purchased and more.

The Agency utilizes two companies to process fuel and maintenance payments, capture transaction data, and report this data to the appropriate division directors.