County Approves Voting Machines
In order to comply with federal regulations, the Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court on Aug. 8 approved purchase of five voting machines at a total cost of $30,000. A federal grant will reimburse the county for the purchase, and will pay for training in the use of the equipment, according to County Clerk Becky Batla. Voters will able to either mark ballots by hand or use the machines.
The machines will enable a person with disabilities or other special needs to mark a paper ballot privately and independently, but will not tally nor store the ballots. Among the machines features are an audio function (using earphones) for the vision-impaired, multiple-language capability, and support for writing in candidates.
It will cost approximately $550 to program the machines for each election. After the first two years, the county will pay $625 per year for maintenance. Ballots will be printed by the equipment company at little or no increase in cost above current printing, Batla said.
Court Denies Tax Penalties Waiver
The court declined to waive penalties and interest on past-due 2004 taxes for two taxpayers who said they had inadvertently not paid on time. Saying they sympathized, the court nevertheless did not want to set a precedent.
County Judge Wilburn Bednar said $22,000 spent for new digital radio equipment purchased by the sheriff’s office will be reimbursed by grant monies provided by Homeland Security.
The court discussed a bill from Warren CAT because no one knew who had authorized the work. They decided to delay payment on another Warren CAT bill, believing the maintainer repair should have been covered by warranty.
Commissioner Jimmy Strube will replace County Treasurer Alan Dierschke on the board of West Texas Rural Counties. The group, which handles the county’s insurance and risk management, meets monthly in San Angelo.