DATE: February 20, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Brandi L. Orth, County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT: Fixed Asset Exchange of Automated Voter/Mail Equipment
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Authorize and approve the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters or designee to execute Purchase-Exchange Offer Letter from OPEX Corporation, dated January 26, 2018; and
2. Authorize the Purchasing Manager to issue a no cost purchase order to exchange a mail sorter machine for a mail extraction machine of equal value.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with this action. Approval of the recommended actions will enable the Elections Office to exchange an OPEX Mail Matrix sorter that is no longer utilized for a refurbished OPEX Model 72 Rapid Extraction Desk at no additional cost to the County. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action, the County Clerk - Elections Office will not be able to complete a fair market trade with the manufacturer (OPEX Corporation) to dispose of the sorter and obtain an extraction machine that will meet the operational needs for processing Vote-By-Mail ballots in time for the June 2018 election cycle.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with this action. The manufacturer of both pieces of equipment (OPEX Corporation) has established the Fair Market Value of each unit to be $20,000. The Mail Matrix sorter, which was purchased in FY 2007-08 and is no longer utilized by the Department, will be exchanged for a used, fully restored Model 72 mail extraction machine. No funds will be exchanged for this transaction.
DISCUSSION:
The Mail Matrix sorter was acquired in FY 2007-08 to comply with the implementation requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which required that ballots received by mail be sorted by precinct for purposes of isolating 1% of the precincts chosen at random for a manual tally of the ballots each election. The equipment was purchased with one-time HAVA grant funding. The sorter was utilized in every major election until November 2016, when a new signature capture/signature recognition system was implemented that could be configured to perform the sorting functions more efficiently.
The County Clerk worked with Purchasing and OPEX Corporation to find a buyer for the sorter. After an extensive search, which included elections offices and other county departments, no interested parties came forward until OPEX Corporation agreed to exchange the sorter for a refurbished extraction machine of equal value. OPEX Corporation will dismantle the sorter and transport the equipment back to New Jersey to refurbish the sorter for resale. In exchange, OPEX will deliver a refurbished Model 72 mail extraction machine in time for the June 2018 election. This exchange will allow the Elections office to have a total of three extraction machines available to handle the growing number of Vote-By-Mail ballots processed during a two week period each election cycle.
Approval of the recommended action will result in the disposition of the fixed asset (sorter) and the acquisition of an extraction machine (program number 91416) at no additional cost to the County for the exchange. The State and County requirements for disposition of the asset purchased with grant funding will be followed.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Purchase-Exchange Offer Letter
On file with Clerk - Purchasing Requisition
CAO ANALYST:
Ronald Alexander