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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Board of Civil Authority - 06/20/2020BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 4 JUNE 2020 The South Burlington Board of Civil Authority Held a Special Meeting on Thursday, 4 June 2020, at 6 p.m., via remote participation: MEMBERS PRESENT: C. Shaw, Chair; D. Kinville, City Clerk, P. Taylor, H. Riehle, M. St. Germain, P. Mahoney, T. Barritt, S. Hutchins, Sen. M. Sirotkin, L. Vera, M. Emery ALSO PRESENT: D. Young, Superintendent of Schools; B. Burkhardt, School Board 1. Agenda Review: No changes were made to the Agenda. 2. Comments & Questions from the public, not related to the Agenda: No comments or questions where received. 3. Minutes of 19 May 2020: Ms. Emery moved to approve the Minutes of 19 May 2020 as written. Ms. Riehle seconded. Motion passed with all present 4. Review of May 28th election: Ms. Kinville reported that just over 2.700 ballots were mailed out. 500 were not returned. There were approximately 2,500 walk-in voters on the day of the election. Reports from the polls indicate that people were very courteous, waited their turn to vote, etc. Throughout the city, 20 face masks were given out to people who had not brought their own. Ms. Emery said she received an email from a woman who wasn’t aware there was an election. The City Council would like to put out press releases. Ms. Kinville noted she was on the evening news several nights ahead of the vote. There was also notice on Front Porch Forum, The Other Paper, and various other media. Ms. Riehle suggested having the school post the election notice on the message board at Dorset St/Kennedy Drive. The Thursday date may have confused some people as elections are generally on Tuesdays. Mr. St. Germain noted there were a lot of “Vote Yes” and “Vote No” posters all over the city. He felt publicity was fine. Mr. Barritt asked if anyone reported getting sick. Ms. Kinville said she will check on that next week. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 4 JUNE 2020 PAGE 2 Mr. Taylor said that at 7-2/7-3 the only problem was with checking in all the ballots at the front desk. He felt the people out front did a very good job. There were only 2 voters with a “mask issue,” and the issue was resolved. Ms. Riehle said that at Orchard they had only one check-in person, and she was new. She suggested having 2 and separating the checklist. Ms. Vera agreed and suggested having the split checklists 6 feet apart to allow for distancing. Mr. Barritt noted that the plastic sheeting did not appear to be used at Tuttle. Mr. St. Germain said it didn’t work at Tuttle, and there were taller people actually talking over the sheeting. This also happened at Orchard. Ms. Kinville questioned whether the city should invest in plastic shields. Ms. Riehle said it will be important to discuss how much to invest. Mr. St. Germain said he didn’t feel compromised without the sheeting. Mr. Taylor suggested having 3 people to enter absentee ballot returns on the checklist prior to voting day. Ms. Kinville noted she had no staff to do that as they have been furloughed. 5. Discussion of Next School Budget Vote: Ms. Burkhardt thanked the Board for doing this election and noted that other communities have not been willing to do this. At its most recent meeting, the School Board discussed having a third vote on the budget as the Charter requires this. They are planning to re-engage the citizens budget group. The feeling is that they would like a mid to late July vote as waiting to combine it with the August election would be a challenge with the school opening so near. Superintendent Young said the date they are looking at is July 23rd, a Thursday again. The Warning would have to be approved by July 1st. There are still 18 districts without school budgets, half of which had failed budgets and half which did not get to vote before the pandemic closed things down. One community did do a mail-in only vote, and that is what the School Board is recommending for this re-vote. Mr. Taylor asked who pays for elections. Supt. Young said the City does, and the School District covers the host sites and those related expenses. Essex spent under $10,000 to do their mail-in vote. The Superintendent also offered any help they could provide with man hours. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 4 JUNE 2020 PAGE 3 Ms. Kinville said there would still have to be polls open on the election day for same-day registrations, etc. She felt $10,000 was not realistic as postage alone would be $20,000 (ballots must be sent first class), envelopes would cost $3,000, and there would also be staff overtime to stuff the envelopes. Mr. Hutchins asked if the mail-in only vote is for health reasons or to maximize voters. Supt. Young said it was a health concern as people feel “inhibited from voting freely.” There are still health restrictions, and they still don’t know if they will be able to have students back in school. Mr. Hutchins noted that a Health Dept. report today said that school in China and France had only 2 of 700 people test positive. Ms. Vera said she would not want a mail-in only vote. She preferred having options. She noted a number of voters thanked workers for making voting “normal.” Mr. Taylor asked when is the last date for a mail-out ballot. Ms. Kinville said that when the Warning is signed, they can have ballots prepared and people can request them up until the day before the election. Mr. Barritt said that anyone who wants an absentee ballot can get one. He said there needs to be a concerted effort to get the vote out. Mr. Taylor said he would like to hear the numbers from Essex. He also felt the School District should pay for the vote. Ms. Emery agreed. She felt $30,000 was a stiff number and could be counterproductive to the School Board’s wishes. Senator Sirotkin felt it was wasteful to have 2 elections so close together, one in July for the school budget revote and the state primary in August. Ms. Burkhardt noted the State Primary is 2 weeks before school is set to open. 27 people have gotten RIF notices, some of whom could “bump” other teachers. Some teachers have already taken other jobs. Senator Sirotkin said he respected that reasoning. He noted that in Montpelier, the direction is for an all mail-in vote in November. In August, every voter would get a “tear-off” asking for an early ballot. The Senator noted that the Governor is fine with not being part of the process though the law now required him to be. The State Senate and House are working to get the Governor out of the position of needing to agree with a voting process decision. It is likely that in November everyone will get a mail-in ballot. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 4 JUNE 2020 PAGE 4 Ms. Vera asked who would pay for the November election. Ms. Kinville said the Secretary of State’s office is paying all the postage and the preparing the envelopes. Senator Sirotkin said there are federal funds to pay for that. Supt. Young said he expected COVID money will help cover voting costs. Ms. Kinville said she is hearing that those funds will not cover a local election. Mr. Shaw repeated what he thinks the BCA consensus is; for a hybrid system for the July vote with some adjustments based on the lessons from the May vote, the need for more publicity early on, improvement plastic sheeting, and an extra front door person. He felt the hybrid system fully supports the democratic process. 6. Other Business: Members agreed to meet again next week to make a final decision on a voting method. Ms. Kinville will try to get more information from Essex regarding costs of a mail-in vote. As there was no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Barritt moved to adjourn. Mr. Taylor seconded. The motion passed with all present voting in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 7:22 p.m. ______________________________ Clerk