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County signs $57,000 contract for new election-tracking website
A website that would provide live, election night updates specific to Putnam County could be a reality by the November municipal election.
At the request of the Putnam County Clerk’s Office, the Putnam County Commissioners on Monday signed a contract with An Island LLC, which administers Elections Live, a startup website whose goal is to provide up-to-the-minute totals on election night, as well as archiving past election results.
While the contract is for the commissioners to sign, the expenditure of the money awaits the approval of the Putnam County Council during its April 18 meeting.
The contract is for $25,000 in startup costs and then an ongoing cost of $8,000 per year. This makes for an initial commitment of $57,000 over the life of the five-year contract.
The money is set to be drawn from the clerk’s perpetuation fund, which currently has a $40,000 balance.
Elections Live got its start last year with the elections in Perry County, a natural fit since the company is based in Tell City, the county seat.
Now it is trying to expand its reach, with Putnam apparently the first county to sign on besides Perry.
While Clerk Tracy Bridges was not in attendance on Monday, Voter Registration Clerk Stacia Hathaway spoke favorably of the proposal when questioned by the commissioners.
“I think it’s pretty exciting,” Hathaway said. “I think there may only be one other company that is trying to put together anything for communities of our size. I like the idea of people being able to see this wherever they are. You could be on vacation and interested in the election and see this.”
Hathaway added that she did not believe it would create more work in her office, as she has previously created spreadsheets to track vote totals by precincts, something the website should do automatically.
“I don’t think it’s going to create more work for me, but obviously we’ll have to learn the system,” Hathaway said.
Officials also noted that this site will not mean the death of the precinct whiteboard on the courthouse second floor, though it’s worth noting that the whiteboard system has never been the same since the county went to vote centers in 2018.
While the proposal received unanimous approval, with commissioners Tom Helmer, David Berry and Rick Woodall each voting in favor, the agreement still comes with some question marks.
For one thing, there is the potential for the county to sell ad space on the website, which didn’t necessarily sit well with one elected official in attendance.
“I’m not sure about the ad space,” Sheriff Jerrod Baugh said. “It seems like it’s not part of government. I’m not selling billboard space at the jail.”
Additionally, when the council was approached last month, there were questions about the $8,000 fee every year, considering that not all years in a four-year election cycle will feature an equal workload. The presidential year always has more voters than the midterm year, which in turn has more than the year with only municipal elections. Then there’s the fourth year with no election at all.
“Why would there be an annual fee that’s similar across four years?” Councilman Phil Gick asked. “I’m a little confused about that aspect.”
Company representatives said at the time that the annual cost includes hosting, maintenance, training and growth, but did not directly address the differing workloads.
The council ultimately tabled its decision until this month, awaiting action from the commissioners.
One other aspect of the website is that it could also store election archives dating back, in theory, as far as county officials want to take them. Of course, such a process would take time, but it is a possibility.
With no primary in this year’s municipal election, there would be time to build the website ahead of the November election, should the council agree to the expenditure.
The website, which could also feature candidate biographies, should be running by early fall if funding is approved.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Heard from County Engineer Jim Peck that the deck was now poured on Bridge 276, the structure carrying Saddleclub Road over CSX Railroad.
He also provided an update on a previous proposal from CSX to remove three vacated bridges over the railroad, with the company saying it was no longer in the budget.
Peck, in turn, told CSX representatives that with the current bridge budget in the county, doing any work on those would be a low priority.
The engineer also noted that recently-reported issues with Dunbar and Edna Collings covered bridges will soon be fixed by county highway employees.
Oakalla and Dick Huffman bridges will remain closed due to their issues.
• Also heard from Peck that he is working with Baker-Tilley to figure out why Putnam County collects so much less in wheel tax funds than similarly-sized counties like Montgomery and Clinton.
He estimated the difference to be $777,000 annually.
• Also recently agreed to purchase a new ambulance from Fire Service Inc. for a cost of $238,686.
When initial proposals came in from Fire Service and ARV, they were not apples to apples, as one included a power load system for cots and the other did not.
At that point, they were asked for new bids, a point that did not sit well with Woodall and led him to vote against the 2-1 majority.
“I vote no, absolutely not,” Woodall said. “The reason for that is we put it out for bid, you bring your best price.”
The delivery time on a new ambulance is estimated between 18 and 24 months.