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Luzerne County Manager C. David Pedri’s official vendor picks and costs are in for two new major purchases — paper-trail voting machines and an upgraded 911 emergency radio communication system, according to an agenda released Friday.
Pedri is recommending council approve a $3.6 million contract with Dominion Voting Systems Inc. for the voting machines and a $24.7 million contract with Motorola Solutions Inc. for the public safety radio system, the agenda said.
These prices would include five years of maintenance for the voting system and 20 years for the 911 radio one, it said.
Both contracts are up for discussion at council’s Tuesday work session, which follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Council must vote at a future meeting for Pedri’s recommendations to take effect.
Voting system
Counties must pick a voting system by the end of the year and start using it by the April 2020 primary to comply with a state mandate requiring paper ballots or receipts that can be checked by voters and kept in case tallies are questioned. Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and Hart InterCivic also had submitted proposals.
Pedri had previously chosen Dominion but said he wanted to review the performance of all three systems in other counties in the Nov. 5 general before deciding which system he would formally submit to council for approval or rejection. A selection committee set up by Pedri had recommended a different system from ES&S.
According to Tuesday’s agenda:
The determination and selection were based on information provided in Dominion’s proposal and presentations and evaluations of system ease of use, security and integration, customer service and training.
In addition to five years of maintenance and support, Dominion’s $3.6 million price proposal includes equipment hardware and software.
The initial purchase would include 750 ballot marking devices and 230 precinct scanners/tabulators.
Instead of using actual paper ballots, computerized ballot-marking devices allow voters to make their selections on a screen similar to the way they do now. But instead of touching a screen box to cast the ballot, voters would receive a paper printout to verify their selections before it is fed into a tabulator to be read and saved.
The state will reimburse the county for 60% of the actual cost, or more than $2 million. The county also is eligible for $343,741 in funding from a Help America Vote Act election security grant, the agenda said.
Council had approved borrowing up to $1.4 million toward the new voting system.
Pedri said Friday that York County had issues with incorrect paper size and paper-feeding jams when using a Dominion system in the Nov. 5 election, but that situation is not comparable here because York opted for paper ballots instead of ballot-marking devices.
The county administration also increased the equipment recommended for purchase hereto ensure polling locations that are historically busier will have two scanners instead of one, Pedri said.
The administration said council could choose not to approve the agreement, but that option is not recommended due to the state mandate.
Posted on the council page at www.luzernecounty.org, the agenda also includes more than 30 pages of details about the pricing and proposed equipment and software purchase.
Emergency radio
The 911 radio system allows emergency responders to exchange messages throughout the 906-square-mile county. Switching from a 20-year-old analog system to a new digital one will end radio interference, open up more radio channels and improve radio coverage that is inconsistent or nonexistent in some parts of the county, officials have said.
In the proposed $24.7 million Motorola contract, $17.3 million would be for the equipment and installation costs. That portion would be funded by the council-approved borrowing and a $1 million state Department of Community and Economic Development grant, the agenda said.
The remaining $7.36 million is for the 20 years of maintenance and support and would be paid annually through the county 911, with yearly payments ranging from $332,302 to $462,261, starting in the second year.
Motorola was selected after “extensive review and negotiations,” the agenda said.
JVC Kenwood also had submitted a proposal, although officials had publicly noted in September that the Motorola proposal was significantly lower in price.
A lengthy proposed contract with Motorola is posted with the online agenda.
