12-03-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes-December 3, 2007 3297 Beer Onlv Red River Valley Fair Association, West Fargo Beer and Wine Rodney Hogen, The Vineyard LLC, Buffalo e. Authorize the county auditor to offer the cities any unsold properties from the annual tax sale list for $1.00 per property plus recording fee of $13.00, with the stipulation that the county will cancel all taxes and the city will cancel all specials against the property. f. Authorize the chairman and county auditor to sign county deeds for five properties sold at the annual tax sale. g. Ratify the Social Services board action of December 3, 2007, to approve the reclassification of position number B23 5040 444 1 (state number 5537) from a Senior Financial Worker I (B23) to a Financial Worker (B22). h. Contract approval North Dakota Department of Transportation-traffic safety grant in the amount of $8,000 for one (1) speed display radar trailer; Cities of Casselton, Mapleton, Horace and Kindred-renewal of police service agreements; Lease of county-owned flood lots. 7. ELECTION PRECINCT CHANGES, Approved Michael Montplaisir, County Auditor, said state law requires the county to complete changes in precinct boundaries before December 31st. Over the last few months, his office has been studying election practices and planning for 2008 elections. Some of the issues considered included removal of precincts from schools wherever possible; finding and training election workers; and making the process easier for voters to find their polling locations. Mr. Montplaisir and his staff met with district party chairs from all the legislative districts to discuss proposed changes. The City of Fargo and City of West Fargo both approved the county's plan. Currently, the county has 58 precincts, and if the board approves the recommendations presented today, there will be 35 precincts. The changes will only affect Fargo and West Fargo polling locations. DeAnn Buckhouse from the county auditor's office provided a presentation and said the goal is to ensure every eligible voter has access to a ballot and receives a ballot containing the appropriate races and issues pertaining to the voter; and to ensure all polling places run efficiently. She outlined expenses for ballot layout and programming and said with the changes, the county will see a cost savings of $13,802. Numerous challenges with existing precincts include inadequate space; security concerns at schools; limited and inconvenient parking; confusion among voters regarding where to vote; and changes in state laws. She reviewed the proposed polling sites within each legislative district. Mr. Montplaisir said his office will provide an updated precinct finder on the website and will try to send information in conjunction with city and school district mailings to educate voters about polling site changes.