Nelson Fiscal Court gets a demo of the next generation voting machines

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 — Nelson Fiscal Court got its first preview of the new voting machines offered by Harp Enterprises at its meeting Tuesday morning.

Harp representative Ross Robertson previewed the latest model voting machines to the court, including the latest machines designed for voters with disabilities.

Nelson County Clark Jeanette Hall Sidebottom said the county will need to replace all of its voting machines prior to the 2024 election. The county currently uses Harp voting machines, which have reached the end of their usefulness.

The new machines have improved security features. Like the current voting machines, they are not connected to a network or the internet.

No decision was made at the meeting. The next fiscal court will eventually vote on the vendor for the county’s new voting machines.

911 CELLPHONE FEES. Emergency Services Director Joe Prewitt told the court that the Commercial Mobile Radio Service board (CMRS) has hired an audit specialist to ensure that phone companies are providing accurate subscriber numbers to CMRS.

According to Prewitt, the numbers are critical because the determine the funding that 911 dispatch centers receive. Each phone must pay a 911 fee, and those fees are supposed to be routed to your local dispatch provider.

After Verizon’s purchase of Bluegrass Cellular subscribers, a large number of subscribers were “lost” in the process, which led to a substantial loss of 911 fees to Nelson County 911 dispatch.

SHERIFF’S VEHICLES. The court approved a change to purchase two new Chevy Tahoes for the sheriff’s office road patrol. According to Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa, the local dealer told him they would not receive any Ford Explorers equipped with the police package. The court approved the purchase, which was already in the budget. The county will pay to outfit both vehicles with the needed safety and police equipment.

In other business, the court:

— heard that Nelson County households will receive their two free 2023 landfill passes in their electric bill in the next billing cycle.

— heard a report that design work is being finalized on the landfill expansion.

— heard that the county has been approved for a special project grant that will pay half the cost of installing a new weather siren.

-30-