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CR 98-32 Hennepin Cty Elections Equipment Concept Approval• February 13, 1998 Council Report 98 -032 HENNEPIN COUNTY ELECTIONS EQUIPMENT CONCEPT APPROVAL Staff recommends approval of the following motion: Move to approve and authorize the Citv Manager to accept the general concept of Hennepin Countv's purchase of new election equipment for cities using citv -owned equipment as trade in on the new equipment. Approving the concept will allow Hennepin County to move ahead with the project. The next step will be a formal contract with Hennepin County if the project and bid process go ahead as planned. Overview In October 1997, Council approved of the concept of the purchase of election equipment by Hennepin County for all the cities in Hennepin County. The concept approved at that time included the use of city -owned equipment as trade in on the new equipment. Hennepin County Election Department is asking for a signed statement of concept approval from all cities at this time to make way for a formal contract between the cities and the county. The county is asking for cities to return the concept approval form by February 27` Primary Issues to Consider • What is the cost to the City of Hopkins • How will the contract benefit the City of Hopkins Supporting Documents • Letter from Hennepin County Elections Department • Concept approval agreement T erry Ob aier, City Clerk • Council Report Page 2 Primary Issues to Consider • What is the cost to the City of Hopkins There will be no charge to the City of Hopkins for use of the machines. The Hennepin County Board has approved a bond issue to pay for the machines. Cities will be required give ownership of their old machines to Hennepin County. The County will in turn use these machines for trade in on the new machines. The county will also negotiate a maintenance agreement for the machines. Each City will be required to pay the maintenance contract on their machines. In 1997, the City paid $3,095 for the maintenance contract on the machines we own. In 1996 the cost of that contract was $2,090. Because the machines are getting older, that cost will continue to go up. It is expected that that cost will be lower on the new machines because of the number of machines involved. It is my understanding that future equipment will be funded by Hennepin County's Equipment Replacement Fund. Hennepin County will continue programming the machines for Federal, State and City Elections, at no charge to the City. This is a benefit we have enjoyed since the present machines were purchased. Cities outside of Hennepin County are paying, at times, over $100 per machine for that programming. • How will the contract benefit the City of Hopkins The machines that are owned by the city are scheduled to be replaced in 1999. Sixty -eight thousand dollars has been scheduled for the replacement cost. The $68,000 will become available to apply elsewhere. As mentioned above, a lower cost on a maintenance contract is expected and Hennepin will continue to support this system with programming. New technology and capabilities of the new machines will allow the county to receive election results faster and staff will not be required to transport election results on election night. The new machines will have remote transmitting abilities. The new machines will also allow larger ballots, which will eliminate the need for two ballots. Time will be saved in the process of reconciling the counts on election night. In the end, tax dollars will be saved. It is believed that because of the high number of machines being purchased, the cost of each machine will be significantly lower. Alternatives 1. Approve the concept of the purchase of election equipment for cities by Hennepin County. 2. Do not approve the concept. Staff is recommending alternative one. February 10, 1998 Terry Obermaier, Clerk City of Hopkins 1010 First Street South Hopkins, Minnesota 55343 Dear Mr. Obermaier: Hennepin County Re: Election Equipment Replacement; A Cooperative Effort An Equal Opportunity Employer Cooperative efforts between Hennepin County and its cities regarding the acquisition of voting equipment is not a new concept. In 1985, A City /County Task Force was formed to consider the feasibility of countywide standardization of voting equipment. The research and recommendations of that Task Force resulted in the City purchase of the •Optech IIIP optical scan precinct voting equipment. Another important result of this effort was the county purchase of equipment and software to provide no -cost programming services to cities on an on -going basis. This cooperative effort resulted in reduced costs and more efficient elections. The voting equipment is now ten years old. It is significantly outdated in comparison to advances in technology now available. The City /County Task Force was reactivated in early 1997 to consider the benefits of a countywide replacement and upgrade. The Task Force found justification for replacement and upgrade of voting equipment. After investigation of various equipment and system alternatives, the Task Force recommended to continue precinct optical scan technology as the method of voting in the county. The features offered by optical scan voting equipment on the market are impressive. The Task Force identified desirable features necessary in justification of an upgrade, set minimum standards, and examined three systems with the potential of meeting this criteria. The three optical scan systems were tested in metropolitan precincts in the 1997 elections. The County Board has already issued bonds to successfully facilitate the replacement of old voting equipment. With the County purchasing the equipment, not only do we effectively deal with the diversity of budget situations in each municipality, but it enables us to continue countywide uniformity of voting equipment and countywide no -cost election programming services. With the funding now available, the County will provide to cities voting equtpmentwith no capital outlay requirement on their part. Contract specifications setting forth all conditions identified by the Task Force, plus additional requirements determined necessary at the County level, have been completed. An "Invitation for Bids" was issued on January 27, 1998, and forwarded to Election Systems and Software (formerly Business Records Corporation's Election Division and American Information Systems), Global Election Systems, and Sequoia Pacific Systems. Vendors are required to return their proposals to the County no later than February 18, 1998 at 2:00 pm. We cannot provide the full details of the system and how it will operate until a contract is awarded to the successful bidder in March. However, our concept to implement new countywidevoting system is as follows: 1. The new precinct optical scan units will be owned by the County. The equipment will be provided to cities with no city capital outlay requirement. Use of the equipment will remain at the city's discretion, as long as the equipment is utilized for government or government related purposes. 2. The ownership of the existing city Optech IIIP equipment will be transferred to the County for trade -in consideration on purchase of the new equipment. 3. All cities in the County will be covered by a countywide service agreement with the successful bidder. The County will enter into a contract for this service agreement, "up- front" the costs, and assess a pro -rated per unit cost back to each city to be reimbursed to the County on an annual basis. As stated Hennepin County General Services Taxpayer Services Division A -600 Hennepin County Government Center Minneapolis, Minnesota 55487-0060 Recycled Paper January 10, 1998 Memo regarding election equipment Page 2 previously, we cannot provide actual costs or details until the contract is awarded; however, we believe per unit costs on a countywide basis should be lower than those assessed on a city -by -city basis. The City and County will enter into a User Agreement which will include the conditions identified above. Timeframes applied to preliminary requirements and implementation in a project of this magnitude are realistically subject to change, however we anticipate the following schedule of events: February 18 Proposals from vendors are due no later than 2:00 pm February 19 County commences two -week evaluation process for consideration of proposals submitted February 27 Written approval of the concept contained herein must be received from all cities March 9 Contract awarded to the successful bidder for an Optical Scan Precinct County System and related full service agreements March 16 Sincerely, Patrick H. O'Connor, Director Taxpayer Services Department c: Jeff Spartz, County Administrator Sandy Vargas, Deputy County Administrator enclosure User Agreement containing all details and costs for service agreement completed and forwarded to cities. This timeframe will give cities six weeks to present the agreement to the Governing Body or proper authority for consideration and approval. April 27 Cities return the approved User Agreement to the County June 1 New equipment delivered and old equipment retrieved by the successful bidder NO LATER than June I. This condition is firm in the contract specifications! The County is requesting cities' written approval of ONLY the concept outlined above. If you haven't already done so, you may want to present this concept to your governing body or proper authority on an informational basis before any formal action is required. Approval of this concept from each and every city in the County is necessary at this time, as countywide involvement is the most critical element in the success of this city /county project. The County cannot, and will not, proceed any further until we can be assured of an agreement and willingness to participate in this group effort by all cities. Please consider this request immediately. Return the enclosed Concept Approval form no later than February 27, 1998. As you can see from our anticipated schedule, time is of the essence! If all goes as planned, this new equipment will be on hand, fully tested and available for the 1998 elections. If you have any questions, please contact Marge Christianson at 348 -5103. 1 The City of has reviewed the Hennepin County letter of and.,accepts the general concept of Hennepin County purchase of new election equipment for cities, using city -owned equipment as trade -in on the new equipment, and continued no -cost election programming services for cities. Formal approval by the City in the form of a County /City User Agreement will be requested following the County's award of a contract to the successful bidder. Date City Manager, Administrator or Mayor Return by February 27, 1998 to: CONCEPT APPROVAL ELECTION EQUIPMENT PURCHASE Marge Christianson, Supervisor of Elections Taxpayer Services Department A -600 Government Center Minneapolis, MN 55487