IRON MOUNTAIN — The city has so far received 900 absentee ballot applications for the Aug. 4 primary election, compared with just 200 for the August primary in 2016, Iron Mountain council members were told Monday.

Statewide, requests for absentee ballots have increased by 350% compared with the same time ahead of the 2016 state primary, according to date released last week by the Michigan Department of State.

Iron Mountain’s increase matches that trend, even though there is only one contested race on the ballot, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said.

The one race to be decided Aug. 4 is the Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District, where Dana Ferguson of Negaunee and Linda O’Dell of Petoskey will vie to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, in November.

The ballot will be busier in some other communities in Dickinson County, as several primaries for township offices are contested. Also, the North Dickinson County School District is seeking approval of a $300,000 bonding proposal.

Absentee ballot requests are up, in part, because Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson mailed applications in May to all of Michigan’s 7.7 million registered voters so they can take part in the election without the risk of in-person voting. As of June 30, the number of applications returned was more than 1.3 million.

An increase in absentee voters and the time it takes to count their ballots on Election Day might delay official results across the state, in some cases until the next day.

In other action, the Iron Mountain council:

— Authorized seeking bids to rehabilitate a water system well that is pumping at far less than capacity, likely due to manganese deposits. The estimated cost is $15,000.

— Approved an adjustment in the administrative salary step schedule for Chief Finance Officer Heather Lieburn, moving the position to the sixth step on a scale of up to eight, with a salary of $61,155, an increase of $1,492, or 2.5%.

— Renewed membership in the Michigan Municipal League, accepting annual dues of $5,125.

— Discussed blight issues, including the possibility of raising fees in cases where the city conducts a cleanup, and inquiring whether the process for placing uncollected invoices on the tax roll might be simplified.