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The Washington County Commissioners could be responsible for $800,000 to $900,000 to upgrade the county's voting equipment, according to board of elections chair Dennis Sipe.
Commissioner David White mentioned at their weekly meeting Thursday that the board of elections is reaching out to the county to help with a needed upgrade being mandated by the Secretary of State's office.
"We have to approve the spending of the money," he said. "They informed us that we are going to be forced to buy all new voting equipment, probably by 2018, so we are going to start budgeting for it."
Peggy Byers, deputy director of the Washington County Board of Elections, explained that there could be legislation proposed to make the state pay 80 percent and the county pay 20 percent. But if the legislation does not go through, the county could be responsible for the full cost of updating the equipment.
"The state is encouraging every county to upgrade by 2018, if possible," Byers said. "We've been getting regular advisories from the state and the commissioners have been alerted to this in their County Commissioners Association meetings, so they're aware of it."
Byers said much of the equipment is 10 years old at least and specifically addressed that handicapped voting machines and tabulators are in need of replacement.
"They're failing all the time and it's time for an upgrade," she said.
Sipe said it would be the worst case scenario that the county would be liable for 100 percent of the cost to upgrade but they could also potentially be reimbursed by the state.
"The board is mindful that money doesn't grow on trees. We're looking at a lot of vendors and comparing costs," Sipe said.
¯ Also at Thursday's meeting, Washington County Engineer Roger Wright requested and was granted an adjusted completion date for a paving project on Ohio 60 near Lowell. The project was supposed to commence once work on the Lowell T Bridge rehabilitation work was done. Construction on the bridge has been pushed back due the contractor "experiencing delays in receiving specified materials outside of the contractor's responsibility."
Wright stated that all paving operations, to be completed by Shelly and Sands, Inc., will be finished within three weeks after receiving notification from the engineer's office that the bridge project is complete.
What's ahead
¯ Monday – Joint Solid Waste Meeting at Lori's Family Restaurant at noon
¯ Tuesday – Monthly County Home Meeting, 8:30 a.m., at County Home
¯ June 19 – Council of Governments at Lori's Family Restaurant at noon
¯ RSVP Annual Recognition Dinner, 6 p.m., at Lafayette Hotel
¯ Planning Commission, 7 p.m.
¯ June 21 – Finance Committee, 10 a.m.
¯ June 27 – Tour of Ohio River Stabilization Project with OSU President, 9 a.m., on the Valley Gem Sternwheeler
¯ July 4 – Courthouse Closed for Independence Day