WARREN — Although the Trumbull County Board of Elections’ deputy director has identified ways to save money with staffing, it will not come close to reaching the 10 percent cuts requested by county commissioners.

Also, with uncertainties looming about how much the primary election cost and how the general election will work in November, the board doesn’t want to make any drastic cuts.

Deputy Director Ron Massullo said he and board member Ron Knight studied how Niles implemented voluntary furloughs and floated the idea with the board’s nine active employees last week. There is some interest, he said.

But the savings will amount to a few thousand dollars per employee.

“This in no way is getting us to 10 percent,” board member Mark Alberini said.

A 10 percent cut would amount to more than $100,000, Alberini said.

Making the attempt to save costs on staff would be a show of good faith with commissioners, he said.

Although the board saved money on poll workers in the all-mail primary, it incurred other costs from postage and seasonal workers who helped process the ballots.

The board usually budgets $120,000 for poll workers, but only spent $20,000, saving $100,000 in the primary. The extra seasonal workers who assisted with the primary only cost the board $21,000. The board saved another $12,000 on election night for various reasons, such as not needing workers to unload ballots, supervise voting locations and manning phones, Massullo said.

Postage cost $21,800 for ballot applications, ballots that were mailed and the return postage for ballots, according to numbers provided by Massullo.

The voluntary furloughs may be difficult because of the amount of work to be done, but depending on employee interest and scheduling, around $2,000 per employee who takes it could be saved, Massullo said.

The board also is expecting extra funding the state promised to help with the expenses of the unusual election.

“We are trying to find a way to deliver on the commissioners’ request, but we need to be fiscally responsible, too. We don’t know how November will go, whether or not it will be mail-in or in-person. We are to figure out the best way to accommodate the request without putting us in a bad position when it comes to the presidential election,” Alberini said.

The board is expected to include an executive session at its Friday meeting to discuss the furloughs and two employees who have not been to work in some time due to health issues.

Board members at previous meetings discussed terminating the two, but it appears there would be little to no savings because they already have exhausted paid leave options and are on the employee rolls without receiving pay, Massullo said.

The board also voted to reject 279 absentee ballots for various reasons. The bulk of the ballots — 225 — were rejected because they were received after the postmarked deadline.