The Waunakee Village Board approved a pay bonus for the Deputy Clerk Laurie Helt at their meeting Monday. Helt orchestrated elections during the clerkâs maternity leave February.
She then took the lead in the next two elections, Clerk Caitlin Stene wrote to Village Administrator Todd Schmidt in a memo.
âAmid preparations for the April 2020 election, the COVID-19 pandemic started in Wisconsin and Laurie took the lead in coordinating the election during unprecedented times which included responding to over 4,000 new requests for absentee ballots. With my remote help, Laurie was successful at administering the April election in the beginning of a pandemic during a time when Wisconsin election laws were being challenged and changes right up to election day. Without Laurieâs dedication and adaptability, the 2020 election cycle would not have run as smoothly as it did,â Stene said.