HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary_17_2006_Briefing_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BRIEFING MINUTES
JANUARY 17, 2006
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 5:00 P.M., in the Iredell County Government Center
(South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Present were:
Sara Haire Tice, Chairman
Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams
Steve Johnson
Marvin Norman
Ken Robertson
Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Deputy County Manager Susan
Blumenstein, Planning Supervisor Steve Warren, Elections Director Becky Galliher,
Tax Administrator Bill Doolittle, Planner Matthew Todd, Chief Deputy Rick Dowdle,
and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice.
REQUEST FROM THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS FOR APPROVAL TO
APPLY FOR HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT GRANT FUNDS & APPROVAL OF
A RESOLUTION IN REGARDS TO THE PURCHASE OF CERTIFIED
VOTING EQUIPMENT: Board of Election Members Alan Carpenter (Chairman)
and Jim Dobson, along with Elections Director Becky Galliher attended the meeting to
discuss these requests.
Carpenter explained that approval was needed for the following:
1. Permission to submit an application to the State Board of Elections for a Help
American Vote Act (NAVA) Grant in the Amount of $427,609. (NAVA requires that
all voting centers be accessible to persons with disabilities.)
2. Approval of a Resolution from the Board of Elections that Recommends the
Type of Certified Voting Equipment to be Purchased.
Mr. Carpenter said the State of North Carolina required that all voting
equipment be capable of providing a "paper trail" due to voting irregularities in Carteret
County. He said by January 20, 2006, all counties had to have contracts with a certified
equipment vendor, and at the present time, only one vendor, Elections Systems &
Software (ES&S) met the requirement. Carpenter said that in the past, Iredell County's
equipment was purchased from Diebold, and this company was a qualified vendor up
until recently. Carpenter said Diebold had withdrawn from the process; however, the
company was awaiting an opinion from the Attorney General's Office which might
clear the way to become a certified vendor again. He said if a favorable ruling were
given, the board of elections would prefer to obtain Diebold's equipment. He said as it
stood now; however, the contract would have to be awarded to ES&S as follows:
Three -element system: Paper ballots with optical scanning equipment —
supplemented with AutOMARK device (translates ballot into a voice). Each precinct
will have an AutoAMRK.
For the one-stop sites, there will also be a paper trail. (Direct record equipment
will be used.)
Carpenter said the Diebold equipment had been used in local elections before,
and the staff was familiar with the machines. He said this was why Diebold was the
preferred vendor.
Elections Director Becky Galliher said the Diebold equipment was also less
expensive than ES&S. When asked if the elections staff would be ready for the May
primary, Galliher said it was difficult to say.
Carpenter said there were not that many differences in the Diebold and ES&S
machines, but he had concerns about getting the equipment installed and the staff
trained by the May primary.
REQUEST FROM THE IREDELL COUNTY SHERIFF'S
DEPARTMENT FOR THE ADDITION OF TWO NEW POSITIONS TO BE
USED IN THE TRANSPORTING OF INMATES AND THE TRANSPORT OF
INDIVIDUALS SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS: Chief Deputy Rick
Dowdle said the mental health commitment process was time consuming and an officer
could easily spend eight to ten hours on one transport. He said the commitment
transport officers were finding themselves in remote parts of the state, at all hours of the
day and night, and the department's overtime budget was being exhausted. Dowdle
said prior to mental health reform, there was a two-step process, but now the officer had
to go to the hospital, then to the Crises Center, and then wait for a placement at another
facility. Along with the mental health situation, Dowdle said his department was
experiencing more prisoner transports (to and from other detention centers across the
state and from the main jail to the annex and vice versa). Dowdle provided statistics
showing that in November, the officers were involved in 45 mental health commitment
proceedings and 116 inmate transports for a total of 8,126 miles and 265 officer hours.
He requested approval to add two new transport officer positions, and he said the
sheriffs department had adequate funds to cover the costs in this year's budget.
Dowdle said each shift would have a designated transport officer, and if any downtime
occurred, assistance would be given to the jail and road staff.
ADJOURNMENT OF BRIEFING SESSION: After the department heads
reviewed other items placed on the consent agenda, Chairman Tice adjourned the
briefing session at 5:45 p.m.
Approval:
2
Clerk to the Board