HomeMy WebLinkAbout5B, Elections Contract for 2013-2016 lt
,—ARZEN HILLS
Request for Council Action 5B
i
Prepared By: Sue Iverson,Director of Finance and
Council Meeting Date: August 13,2012
Administrative Services
Elections Contract for 2013 -2016
Budgeted Amount: Actual Amount: Funding Source:
N/A $15,500 in 2013 General Fund
(Budget not approved at this time) $15,500 in 2014
Recommendation:
Recommend that the City Council approve the contract between Ramsey County and the City of Arden
Hills for election services.
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Supporting Documents:
1. Memorandum dated August 13, 2012, from Sue Iverson.
2. Ramsey County's proposal for election services for 2013 - 2016.
'It
EN HILLS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 13,2012
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
Patrick Klaers, City Administrator
FROM: Sue Iverson, Director of Finance and Administrative Services
SUBJECT: Elections Contract
Background/Discussion
At the October 10, 2011, work session, the City Council discussed the election services
proposal from Ramsey County. This discussion included: the proposed Voter ID
legislation, the liability and financial exposure of the City to lawsuits related to recounts
and contested election procedures, and the need for continuing education to keep current
on legislation by City staff. Ramsey County personnel are full-time professionals in the
"elections business" and are continuously trained and up-to-date on election issues.
One benefit to having the County do our City elections is that we gain significant storage
space as Ramsey County stores all the equipment and ballots, they take care of the data
retention and destruction of documents, and we do not have to hire or train our election
judges. This provides staff with time to devote to other activities.
On October 24, 2011, the City Council approved a contract with Ramsey County for
2012.
Ramsey County has basically proposed the same contract for the 2013-2016 election
years, but have added a provision in section 11.3 to enable them to deal with any
additional costs incurred if the laws change, for example,the approval of the voter ID
amendment. They have proposed the same budget for 2013-2014 as in the 2012 contract.
They will provide the cost for the 2015-2016 to the City no later than April 1, 2014, and
will base this on the actual cost for the previous similar election years and adjust it
accordingly. This is found in 11.1 of the attached contract.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve the contract between Ramsey County
and the City of Arden Hills for election services for 2013 —2016.
City Council Meeting
P:\Admin\Council\Agendas&Packet Information\2011\10-24-11 Page 1 of 1
AGREEMENT BETWEEN
RAMSEY COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
FOR ELECTION SERVICES
2013-2016
This is an agreement between the County of Ramsey, through the Ramsey
County Elections Office, 90 West Plato Boulevard, St. Paul, MN ("County") and
the City of Arden Hills, 1245 West Highway 96, Arden Hills, MN for the provision
of election services by the County ("Agreement").
1. Term
This Agreement will be in effect for the four-year period from January 1,
2013 through December 31, 2016 ("Initial Term"), unless earlier
terminated pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
2. Renewal and Termination
This Agreement may be renewed for one additional four year period by
written agreement of the parties, in the form of an amendment to this
Agreement. An amendment for renewal of this Agreement must be
executed by all parties no later than June 1, 2016.
This Agreement may be terminated by any party by written notice to the
other parties no later than June 1 of any year, effective on January 1 of
the following year. Upon termination of this Agreement, the City-owned
voting equipment, election supplies and related materials will be returned
to the City.
3. County Responsibilities
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the County will provide
all services, equipment, and supplies as required to perform on behalf of
the City and all election-related duties of the City under the Minnesota
election law and other relevant state and federal laws. These duties will
include but are not limited to:
• Recruitment, training, and supervision of staff to carry out the duties
specified in this Agreement;
• Annual inspection of polling places to verify compliance with all
state and federal accessibility requirements;
• Recruitment, training, and assignment of election judges;
• Payment of compensation to election judges in an amount
determined by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners;
• Operation, maintenance, testing, demonstration, storage, and
technical support for electronic voting systems;
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• Maintenance, storage, and replacement of voting stations for each
polling place and for absentee voting purposes;
• Preparation and transportation of voting systems, voting stations,
and other election materials to and from each polling place;
• Providing election forms, supplies, and other related materials for
each polling place;
• Conducting preliminary tests and public accuracy tests of electronic
voting systems;
• Programming, layout and printing of ballots for City elections;
• Compilation and reporting of election results and election statistics
for dissemination to the appropriate canvassing boards and the
public;
• Providing election-related information on the County web site;
• Conducting recounts for City offices and ballot questions;
• Preparing, posting, and publishing election notices;
• Providing information and assistance on election laws and
procedures to City officials, candidates, the news media, and the
general public;
• Administering absentee voting;
• Administering campaign financial reporting and economic
disclosure activities;
• Performing duties of candidate filing officer, including acceptance of
affidavits of candidacy and petitions;
• Analyzing proposed state and federal laws on election-related
matters to determine impact on the City;
• Maintaining a database and preparing maps of election district and
precinct boundaries;
• Providing technical assistance to the city council in redrawing
precinct boundaries as required;
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• Retaining election records for at least 22 months following each
election; and
• Retaining permanent archive of election results.
4. City Responsibilities
The City will perform the following election-related responsibilities:
• Conduct official canvass of election results following each City
election;
• Provide the title and text of City questions to be placed on the
ballot;
• Provide final approval for polling place locations; and
• Designate a person who will be the principal contact for the City.
5. Office Space and Equipment Storage
The County will provide suitable office and warehouse space to conduct
all election-related activities and for storage of election equipment and
supplies.
6. Upgrading or Replacing Voting Systems
The County is in the process of acquiring a new voting system for state,
County and City elections. The cost of upgrading or replacing voting
systems is not included in this Agreement and will be the subject of a
separate agreement.
7. Special Elections
7.1 The County will conduct all special elections required by law during
the term of this contract. The costs of all special elections that are
not held concurrently with a regularly scheduled state, County or
City election will be paid separately from payments for regularly
scheduled elections under this contract.
7.2 The City will pay all costs of any City special election that is not
conducted on the date of a regularly scheduled City, County or
state election. The City will also pay all costs applicable to the City
of any state special election that is not conducted on the date of a
regularly scheduled City or state election.
8. Insurance
During the term of this Agreement, the County and City will maintain,
through commercially available insurance or on a self-insurance basis,
property insurance coverage on the voting equipment each owns and for
the repair or replacement of the voting equipment if damaged or stolen.
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Each party shall be responsible for any deductible under its respective
policy. Each party hereby waives and releases the other parties, their
employees, agents, officials, and officers from all claims, liability, and
causes of action for loss, damage to or destruction of the waiving party's
property resulting from fire or other perils covered in the standard property
insurance coverage maintained by the parties. Furthermore, each party
agrees that it will look to its own property insurance for reimbursement for
any loss and shall have no rights of subrogation against the other parties.
9. Indemnification
Each party to this Agreement will be responsible for its own acts and
omissions, and the acts and omissions of its officials, employees, and
agents, and the results thereof, to the extent authorized by law and shall
not be responsible for the acts of the other party, its officials, employees,
and agents, and the results thereof. Liability shall be governed by
applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, liability of the parties shall
be governed by the provisions of Minnesota Statutes Chapter 466 (Tort
Liability, Political Subdivisions) or other applicable law. This provision shall
not be construed nor operate as a waiver of any applicable limits of or
exceptions to liability set by law. This provision will survive the termination
of this Agreement.
10. Legal Representation
The Ramsey County Attorney's office will advise and represent the County
in all election-related matters except that the Arden Hills City Attorney will
advise the County on any election-related matter applying to the Arden
Hills municipal code.
11. Election Costs and Payments
11.1 Regular Elections
Payments to cover the costs incurred by the County in the
performance of the provisions of this Agreement for regularly
scheduled elections will be made by the City in eight equal
quarterly amounts for each two-year budget period, for a total of 16
quarterly payments during the Initial Term of the Agreement, based
on invoices submitted by the County. Payments will be due on
March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31 of each year.
The cost of election services for Regular Elections for the 2013-
2014 calendar years will be $31,000.
The County will provide the cost for the 2015-2016 calendar years
to the City no later than April 1, 2014. The County will base the cost
for the 2015-2016 budget period on the actual cost for the previous
similar election years, adjusted as necessary by the County to
account for the following factors: 1) estimated voter turnout; 2) labor
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contracts and agreements for non-represented employees
approved by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners; 3)
changes in the Consumer Price Index for the Minneapolis-Saint
Paul metropolitan area, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics for the previous two-year period; 4) changes in state,
federal, County or City legal requirements, as applicable; and 5)
other factors having a significant impact on election costs.
11.2 Special Elections
The County will submit an invoice payable within 30 days of receipt
to the City for all costs incurred by the County to conduct a special
election.
11.3 Costs resulting from changes to election laws
The County will notify the City of additional costs that it will incur as
a result of changes to applicable election laws. The County will
include and separately identify in any invoice for a regular election
or a special election the cost that was incurred as a result of the
enactment of new election laws.
12. Data Practices
All data created, collected, received, maintained, or disseminated for any
purpose in the course of this Agreement is governed by the Minnesota
Government Data Practices Act, any other applicable statute, or any rules
adopted to implement the Act or statute, as well as federal statutes and
regulations on data privacy.
13. Alteration
Any alteration, variation, modification, or waiver of the provisions of this
Agreement shall be valid only after it has been reduced to writing and duly
signed by all parties. Any amendment must be approved no later than
June 1 of any year for implementation on January 1 of the following year.
14. Entire Agreement
This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties
and shall supersede all prior oral and written negotiations.
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IN WITNESS THEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the last
date written below.
RAMSEY COUNTY CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
Julie Kleinschmidt David Grant
County Manager Mayor
Date: Date:
Approval recommended: Approval recommended:
Mark Oswald, Director Patrick Klaers
Property Records and Revenue City Administrator
Approved as to form and insurance:
Assistant County Attorney City Attorney
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