Fifteen Sumter County precincts will be realigned for the next election.
The realignment will eliminate four precinct locations and consolidate voters who receive the same ballot into single precincts. The county will need 44 fewer poll workers and several ballot styles will be discontinued.
“By making these changes, we will still be able to hold quality elections for the voters of Sumter County, while, too reducing our cost immensely” new county elections supervisor William Keen wrote in a memo explaining the changes.
Eliminated precincts include the Savannah Center, Continental County Club, Croom Community Building and Linden Community Building.
Other affected precincts include the Saddlebrook, Pimlico, Eisenhower and Rohan recreation centers as well as the Oxford, Royal, Wildwood and Bushnell community buildings, the Lake Panasoffkee Recreation Center and the First United Methodist Church.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold presented the changes Tuesday night to the Sumter County Board of Supervisors and Board Chairman Doug Gilpin praised Keen’s work.
“Our current elections supervisor has a very good business head,” he said. “That’s a refreshing change.”
The board also approved a $1.46-million contract with Signature Construction to build an elections warehouse and office in Bushnell. The building is expected to be completed this fall.
Arnold also told the board that the credit ranking for Sumter County’s $24-million bond issue has been upgraded by Fitch Ratings to AA+ from AA-, the second highest rating behind AAA. The 2016 bond issue provided money to build public safety buildings near Pinellas Plaza and in Bushnell.
Arnold said the ratings agency cited the county’s management, including outsourcing of some services, and growth as reasons for the upgrade.
“It does give the county greater flexibility,” he said.
