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Minutes
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
October 16, 2006 .
Tapes: 10A2006 & 10B2006
The Weld County Council met in regular session in full conformity with the Weld County
Home Rule Charter, Monday, October 16, 2006, 6:35 p.m., at Weld County Centennial
Center, 915 10th Street, Greeley, CO.
ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by President Gene Stille. Vice President
Tom Pettit and Councilwoman Ginny Buczek were present constituting a quorum of the
members. Councilman Dwaine Kurtz and Councilman Chip Marks were excused. Also
present: County Attorney Bruce Barker, Weld County Clerk and Recorder Steve
Moreno, Weld County Election Staff Gaye Florio and Adam Gonzales, Chief Deputy
Assessor Chris Woodruff, and Bev Thomas, council secretary.
REVIEW PROGRAM: Weld County Clerk and Recorder Steve Moreno summarized the
implications for Weld County resulting fromthe recent Conroy, et al., v Ginnette Dennis,
et al. law suit attempting to decertify electronic voting in Colorado. Mr. Moreno
distributed copies of the November 2006 Weld County Election Judges' Guide which
pictures seals to the Weld County election machines and ballot bags required as a
result of the lawsuit. Mr. Moreno described additional security required by Conroy v
Dennis including: 24/7 surveillance cameras on election equipment, detailed logging
requirements to complete a secure chain-of-custody required by the State of Colorado,
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) election machines in no way connected to the
Internet, no electronic transmission of election results, and professional trainers for
election judges. Increased efficiency measures initiated by Weld County election staff
were outlined including an increase in the number of early voting sites and a
tremendous increase in absentee voting. Encouraging residents to vote has been
promoted by signatures cards mailed to residents, election staff going to parades,
festivals, and senior citizen facilities with information about access to voters with
disabilities, voter registration opportunities, and hands-on-voting-machine
demonstrations.
Mr. Moreno stated the election machines are pre tested for accuracy and a post election
audit is conducted by the Colorado Secretary of State's office on a percentage of the
300 plus machines used in Weld County. Since 2002 the costs of elections has greatly
escalated due to increased federal and state election requirements.
Council members thanked Mr. Moreno and his staff for his extensive work to create an
accurate election process. Mr. Moreno praised his staff and the entire Weld County
team including contributions from the Printing Office, the Sheriffs Department, the
County Attorney, and staff"loaned" by the Assessor's office.
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Weld County Council Minutes
October 16,2006
Page 2 of 3
AGENDA: Councilwoman Ginny Buczek made a motion to approve the agenda with the
addition of the re appointment of Councilwoman Ginny Buczek to District 2 County
Council seat through 2008. The motion was seconded and carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Chief Deputy Assessor Chris Woodruff presented his thoughts
regarding the history of the legislature's decisions in setting counties' elected officials'
salaries. He acknowledged the council's important oversight of county government and
its philosophy of fiscal conservatism and accountability for the use of public funds. He
pointed out the County Assessor's position requires a professional administrator with
legal knowledge, experience, and skills. Mr. Woodruff asked the council to reconsider
the proposed Assessor's salary resolution, and to set the Assessor's salary for 2007
through 2010 at $87,000 per year, the same amount adopted by the Colorado
Legislature for other Class 1 counties.
Council members discussed the increased complexity of the Assessor's role and the
ever-increasing number of multiple-taxing districts. President Gene Stille said it is
especially important to keep the salary competitive because of the effect of term limits.
Correspondence
The October 9, 2006 letter from Chris Woodruff was considered.
OLD BUSINESS:
Resolution 155 Setting the Salary of the Weld County Assessor
President Gene Stille relinquished the chair to Vice President Tom Pettit so President
Stille could make a motion. President Gene Stifle made a motion to adopt Resolution
155 to set the salary of the Weld County Assessor at $81,000 for 2007 and 2008 and
the salary for 2009 and 2010 at $87,300. The motion was seconded and adopted with a
unanimous roll call vote. Councilwoman Ginny Buczek stated she was glad to vote for
the salary amounts she had suggested in her original Assessor-salary-setting
resolution.
APPROVAL OF DOCUMENTATION:
Approval of Council Minutes
Councilwoman Ginny Buczek made a motion to approve the September 18, 2006
council minutes. The motion was seconded and carried.
Approval of 2006 Third Quarter Report to the People
•
Vice President Tom Pettit made a motion to approve the second quarter Report to the
People dated October 16, 2006. The motion was seconded and carried.
Weld County Council Minutes
October 16,2006
Page 3 of 3
NEW BUSINESS:
Weld County Council Vacancies Beginning January 1, 2007
The Council discussed interview questions to use with applicants for the Weld County
Council At-Large and Districts 2 and 3 vacant seats. It was decided the council should
advertise this week for the open council seats and conduct applicant interviews
beginning at 7:15 p.m., November 20, 2006.
Re Appointment of Councilwoman Ginny Buczek
The need to re appointment Councilwoman Ginny Buczek was discussed, as it was
recently discovered, she should have run for the District 2 council seat in the 2006
November election (the first election after her original appointment June 2005.) It was
decided, pending approval of County Attorney Bruce Barker, Ginny Buczek will be re
appointed at the November 20 council meeting to complete the term for District 2 until
December 31, 2008. Councilwoman Ginny Buczek would be sworn in on January 2,
2007 with other newly-elected officials. The council asked Bev Thomas to get an
opinion from Bruce Barker regarding this plan.
Payment of the Bills
Vice President Tom Pettit made a motion to pay the bills as listed:
Mileage for Vice President Tom Pettit $ 8.50
Mileage for Councilwoman Ginny Buczek $27.20
Mileage for President Gene Stille $ 9.78
The motion was seconded and carried.
ADJOURNMENT: President Gene Stille adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m.
November 20, 2006
Date Approved Gene Stille, Council President
Beverly Thomas, Council Secretary
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