MADISON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS REGULAR SESSION Board of Elections Conference. Room Wednesday, May 11,2016 3:001 PM  MINUTES CALLTOORDER  Chair Smathers called the meeting of the Madison County Board of Elections to order at 3:00 p.m. at the Board of Elections Conference Room. In attendance were 2 members oft the public; Dyatt F. Smathers, Chair; Ray Lewis, Secretary; Jerry Wallin, Member; Wade Gahagan, Deputy Director; and Kathy Ray, Director.  AGENDA  Moved, Seconded (JW,RL) and Carried (3,0) to set the agenda.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES  Moved, Seconded (RL, JW) and Carried (3,0) to approve the April 13, 20161 meeting minutes.  CHAIR'S REPORT  Chair Smathers reported that he spoke with new school superintendent to inform him of school usage for the. June 7th He also reported that he spoke with the State Board of Elections and was granted permission to reduce the number of poll Chair Smathers updated those present regarding the ongoing litigation tot the congressional redistricting and the impact of Federal District Court. Judge Schroeder's. HB: 589 decision. According to the Carolina Journal May 2016 edition, aj panel ofthree judges will rule whether or not the new redistricting is constitutional. Ifnot, the. June 7h Congressional Primary could be called off even as late as one day prior to the election. The. Judge Schroeder ruling upholds photo ID, and will eliminate Same Day Registration and out-of-precinct voting for all elections after the. June 7" Congressional Primary. Member Wallin commented on the unpredictability oft thej judge's decision. He also expressed gratitude to Chair Smathers for following up with the State Board regarding the reduction of poll worker assistants for the. June 7h  Congressional Primary and reviewed the circumstances at the Laurel School site. worker assistants from 61 to 5 at each precinct for the Congressional Primary.  MEMBERS' REPORTS  Congressional Primary.  Secretary Lewis commented that Judge Schroeder'sruling was very thorough and informative.  DIRECTOR'S REPORT  The April 30, 2016 budget and expenditure report was presented. Some line items reflect deficits. Budget amendments have been submitted to cover the line items. The Director will meet with county commissioners to finalize the proposed budget for 2016-2017. The current budget contains sufficient funds for the upcoming Congressional Primary election Anl NCADE Conference will be held in Wilmington April 9-11,2017. The Charlotte Conference is scheduled for  expenses. Noadditional funding will need to be requested.  August 7-9, 2016.  Page 1 of3    Eight hundred fifty pounds of election documents and records were disposed ofa at American Recycling onl Friday, May 6". The documents included various dated miscellaneous office documents, documents that have been superseded in administrative value, and disposable election records from the Municipal 2011,2013, and 2015 elections and the May  2014 Primary Election. NEW BUSINESS  A discussion ensued regarding the proposed deputy director job description and minimum qualifications. Member Wallin questioned whether an associate's degree is necessary; and cited, as example, the exemplary job performance ofthe former deputy director. Chair Smathers opined that 92 percent ofthej job will require technology and computer science or related field, and that the requirement is a necessity. Secretary Lewis commented that applicant's meeting the minimum requirements will require less training and mentoring. Chair Smathers underscored thei importance ofl hiring election Moved, Seconded (RI,JW) and Carried (3,0) to approve the deputy director, job description as presented. Thel Board will review the annual office staff evaluation instrument for the director and complete it at the. June meeting. Thel Director will complete the annual evaluation for the deputy director for presentation at the. June meeting. A discussion ensued regarding the deputy director'ss salary. The Chair presented a spreadsheet to refer to duringa a Moved, Seconded (DS, JW): and Carried (3,0) to increase the Deputy Director's salary by $100 per month, $0.63 cents per hour, effective immediately. Secretary Lewis commented that the amount is a very modest increase. Moved, Seconded (DS, RL) and Carried (3,0) to increase the Director's salary by $100 per month, effective immediately. The Chair instructed the Director to prepare the necessary information and documentation for the finance department. Secretary Lewis complimented the former Board ofl Elections that hired the Director. Moved, Seconded (RL,JW) and Carried (3,0) to approve the changes to the poll worker assistants as presented by the Director. The Board agreed tol keep an additional poll worker assistant at the Hot Springs and Spring Creek precincts Thel Director presented information regarding the Certified Election/Registration Administration (CERA) Professional Education Program. She indicated that both she and the Deputy Director were willing to obtain the national certification with the Board's approval. She pointed out that the program was expensive but would promote al higher level of professionalism, knowledge, and skill. There are two upcoming trainings - one at Ft. Myers, Florida in July and a National Conference in Philadelphia in August. The Director indicated the certification could be completed in two years. Board members will review the program manual for discussion at an upcoming Board meeting. Secretary Lewis indicated het thought it would be a good investment in the Board of Elections employees, but he understood the budgetary  workers and office staff that have the level ofc computer literacy necessary for the job.  discussion.  unless needed by another precinct.  considerations. CITIZEN COMMENTS of2 percent.  A citizen commented that a 1 percent increase in salary is outpaced by the Federal reserves' targeted annual inflation rate A citizen questioned why Department of Social Services (DSS) records were not kept on upper levels of buildings in downtown Marshall to avoid destruction by flooding. The Chair responded that the DSS building was a single story building at the time oft the floods. The Chair elaborated that the current administration building was purchased with  federal flood reimbursement and insurance funds.  Page 2 of3    Ifthe court decides the old 118" congressional district stands, there wills still be a primary for the judges. The Chair A citizen asked why election notices were not run in the newspaper: as Public Service Announcements. The Chair responded that they were legal advertisements that required an affidavit for the election retention records. A citizen commented that there would be significant savings as well as other benefits by pursing vote-by-mail as is done  responded there will be a primary, but it will be contingent upont the 3j judge panel's decision.  inc other states such as Oregon.  Comments were made regarding unaffiliated voters.  OTHER MATTERS  The Director informed the Board Chair and Secretary that they will be eligible for North Carolina Election Official The Director informed thel Board that she is communicating with the school system to obtain onsite assistance for the Laurel School polling site on Election Day. The precinct elections staff needs someone readily available that has knowledge ofthe building and campus int the event of power outages and/or blown circuits, problems with water, Thel Director informed thel Board that the Board of Elections security cameras are being replaced with cameras and internet based monitoring. The current system is experiencing interference that seems to be either an electrical grounding orl hardware problem. The decision to replace the system was made in collaboration with the Madison County IT staff. Moved, Seconded (DS, JW): and Carried (3,0) to hold the August 10, 2016 Board meeting at 9:00 a.m. rather than  Certification in August 2016 and May 2017 respectively.  problems with door and gate locks, or any other building related issues.  3:00 p.m. The public will be noticed accordingly.  ANNOUNCEMENTS ADIOURNMENT  Absentee Meeting: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. at the Board of Elections.  The Chair adjourned the meeting at 4:39 p.m.  Dyatt Smathers, Chair B  RayLewis, Secretary  35  Page 3 of3