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City Commissioners want more $ for poll workers

City Commissioners asked City Council Monday for more money to give a raise to poll workers and to pay for an education campaign about the new voter ID law.

City Commissioners asked City Council Monday for more money to give a raise to poll workers and to pay for an education campaign about the new voter ID law.

The office's budget request for fiscal year 2013 includes a $1.5 million increase over its current $8.9 million.

Since 1999, poll workers have been paid $75 to $100 for a long day's work, Stephanie Singer, chairwoman of the Office of the City Commissioners told Council during a budget hearing. Singer proposed increasing pay to $152 based on a prevailing hourly wage of $10.88 for 14 hours, which would cost the city $1 million.

"I realize that's a large number, but our poll workers deserve it," Singer said. Survey and data analysis related to Voter ID's would cost $100,000.

City Councilman Bill Greenlee agreed that poll workers should be paid more but said the proposed state budget cuts may impact the city's social services and he could not say whether Council could support the proposal.

Meanwhile, the Department of Human Services asked for an extra $930,000 to fund debt service for the Juvenile Justice Center; the Department of Public Health requested $1.2 million more to continue anti-tobacco and anti-obesity efforts related to the Get Healthy Philly campaign and the Office of Supportive Housing requested an extra $1.2 million to, in part, increase staff by 10.

Contact Jan Ransom at 215-854-5218, Ransomj@phillynews.com, follow @Jan_Ransom on Twitter.