Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2021-46JC. KENAI CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. 2021-46 Sponsored by: City Clerk A RESOLUTION.OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, ADOPTING JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2021-001 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH AND COUNCILS OF THE CITIES OF HOMER, KENAI, SELDOVIA, SEWARD AND SOLDOTNA RESPECTIVELY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ADMINISTRATION OF BOROUGH AND CITY ELECTIONS. WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2020 (NAVA), as applicable to federal elections, along with other federal laws related to protecting the right to vote, require full and equal opportunity to vote for all eligible voters and an accessible voting system for persons with disabilities; and, WHEREAS, the City has realized efficiencies in its election processes by collaborating with the Borough on the administration of the annual regular municipal election; and, WHEREAS, the Borough was required to acquire voting equipment and related software that would accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing accessible voting machines and related software and services that allow for "meaningful access to private and independent voting" in order to resolve a complaint filed with the Alaska State Commission for Human Rights; and, WHEREAS, the current voting equipment used by the Borough has passed its serviceable life; and, WHEREAS, the current voting tabulation server used by the Borough is no longer supported by software or hardware vendors; and, WHEREAS, current voting equipment used by the Borough is incapable of accommodating individuals with disabilities by providing accessible voting machines that allow for "meaningful access to private and independent voting'; and, WHEREAS, the State of Alaska is not able to provide the Borough use of its ADA compliant voting system; and, WHEREAS, the Borough and the City of Kenai share a common goal and find that it serves public interest to work togetherto minimize costs, increase efficiencies and to ensure municipal elections are conducted in a fair and consistent way throughout the borough; and, WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement for the purpose of intergovernmental administration of Borough and City Elections. Resolution No. 2021-46 Page 2 of 2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA: Section 1. That the Kenai City Council adopts and hereby authorizes the Mayor of the City of Kenai to sign Joint Resolution 2021-001. Section 2. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to execute a Memorandum of Agreement substantially in the form of the agreement attached to Joint Resolution 2021-001, for the purpose of intergovernmental administration of Borough and City Elections. Section 3. That this resolution takes effect immediately upon passage. PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 71h day of July, 2021. ATTEST: BRIAN GABRIEL, SR., MAYOR Heinz, MMC, City T Approved by Finance: ��ED . KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH r� CITY OF HOMER CITY OF KENAI CITY OF SELDOVIA CITY OF SEWARD CITY OF SOLDOTNA JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2021-001 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH AND COUNCILS OF THE CITIES OF HOMER, KENAI, SELDOVIA, SEWARD AND SOLDOTNA RESPECTIVELY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ADMINISTRATION OF BOROUGH AND CITY ELECTIONS WHEREAS, Article X, Section 13 of the Alaska Constitution authorizes local government to enter into agreements for the cooperative or joint administration of any function or power, unless otherwise prohibited by law or charter; and WHEREAS, AS 29.35.010(13) provides authority for the Borough to enter into intergovernmental cooperative agreements for the joint administration of a borough function or power; and WHEREAS, historically the borough and five (5) of the cities within the borough (Homer, Kenai, Seldovia, Seward, and Soldotna) have collaborated on the administration of the annual regular municipal election; and WHEREAS, the Borough and the Cities share a common goal and find that it serves public interest to work together to minimize costs, increase efficiencies and to ensure municipal elections are conducted in a fair and consistent way throughout the borough; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH ASSEMBLY AND THE COUNCILS OF THE CITY OF HOMER, CITY OF KENAI, CITY OF SELDOVIA, CITY OF SEWARD AND CITY OF SOLDOTNA: SECTION 1. That the borough administration and administrations for the Cities of Homer, Kenai, Seldovia, Seward, and Soldotna respectively are authorized, upon approval of this resolution by the borough assembly and respective councils for each city, to execute a Memorandum of Agreement substantially in the form of the attached agreement, for the purpose of intergovernmental administration of Borough and City Elections. SECTION 2. That this resolution takes effect immediately upon adoption of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and the City Councils of the City of Homer, City of Kenai, City of Seldovia, City of Seward and the City of Soldoma. Joint Resolution No. 2021-001 Page 1 of 3 APPROVED BY THE ASSEMBLY OF THE KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH THIS DAY OF 12021. Brent Hibbert, Assembly President ATTEST: Johni Blankenship, MMC, Borough Clerk APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOMER THIS DAY OF 2021. Ken Castner, Mayor ATTEST: Melissa Jacobsen, MMC, City Clerk AP ROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI THIS � DAY OF l—JWLA 2021. O.•' Gabriel Sr., Mayor ATTEST: A. Ij J4mi Heinz, MMC, City Clerk7?v! APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SELDOVIA THIS DAY OF .2021. Jeremiah Campbell, Mayor ATTEST: Heidi Geagel, City Clerk Joint Resolution No. 2021-001 Page 2 of 3 f APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD THIS DAY OF 2021. Christy Terry, Mayor ATTEST: Brenda Ballou, MMC, City Clerk APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOLDOTNA THIS DAY OF , 2021. ATTEST: Michelle M. Saner, MMC, City Clerk Paul Whitney, Mayor Joint Resolution No. 2021-001 Page 3 of 3 Memorandum of Agreement Between Kenai Peninsula Borough and the Cities of Kenai, Homer, Seldovia, Seward, and Soldotna For the Intergovernmental Administration of Borough and City Municipal Elections This Memorandum of Agreement (hereinafter the "Agreement") is by and between the Kenai Peninsula Borough, whose address is 144 North Binkley Street, Soldoma, AK 99669, (hereinafter "Borough") and the participating Cities of Kenai, Homer, Seldovia, Seward, and Soldotna (hereinafter "Cities," or "City") whose addresses are included on the signatory page below, for the purpose of intergovernmental administration of the Borough and the Cities' local municipal elections (hereinafter "municipal elections"). WHEREAS, Article X, Section 13 of the Alaska Constitution authorizes local government to enter into agreements for the cooperative or joint administration of any function or power, unless otherwise prohibited by law or charter; and WHEREAS, AS 29.35.010(13) provides authority for the Borough to enter into intergovernmental cooperative agreements for the joint administration of a borough function or power; and WHEREAS, historically the borough and five (5) of the cities within the borough (Homer, Kenai, Seldovia, Seward, and Soldotna) have collaborated on the administration of the annual regular municipal election; and WHEREAS, the Borough and the Cities share a common goal and find that it serves public interest to work together to minimize costs, increase efficiencies and to ensure municipal elections are conducted in a fair and consistent way throughout the borough; and WHEREAS, the parties hereto wish to memorialize past practices and understandings through this written document which shall constitute their specific agreement on terms and conditions related to roles, responsibilities, permissions and fees associated with the Borough's administration of municipal elections; THE PARTIES THEREFORE AGREE, in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this Agreement and the services and fees provided, as set forth below: 1. PURPOSE AND INTENT This Agreement is established and entered into between the parties for the purpose of jointly administering municipal elections. This Agreement contemplates basic and core election services for municipal elections, including special elections. The Borough Clerk's Office will be primarily responsible for providing the basic and core election services as set out below. The Cities agree to pay the Borough for reasonable costs related to the election services pursuant to the fee schedule established below, or as amended by mutual written agreement of the parties. In-line with current and past practices, the Borough's Clerk's Office will collaborate with the City Clerk's Offices regarding administration of municipal elections. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT— LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 1 of 11 2. BOROUGH'S OBLIGATIONS a. Election and Ballot Programming: i. The Borough Clerk's Office will program the election(s) and ballot(s) for all regular and special municipal elections. ii. Each City will pay an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. Each City will provide final approval of ballot proofs to the Borough Clerk's Office. iii. Ballots shall be delivered to each City at least 15 days before each regular election and at least 10 days before each special or runoff election. b. Logic and Accuracy Testing i. The Borough Clerk's Office will ensure all ballots and equipment is tested and set for municipal elections. ii. Each City will pay an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. iii. Copies of the logic and accuracy testing will be provided to each City. c. Voter Pamphlet — to include Borough and Cities candidates and issues i. The Borough Clerk's Office will provide the Cities forms for candidate and ballot propositions submissions, and sample ballots, to be included in the Information Brochure (aka Voter Pamphlet). The completed forms will be submitted to the Borough Clerk's Office camera ready. ii. Each City will pay an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. d. Shared services for absentee voting i. The Borough Clerk's Office will open an absentee voting site two weeks prior to the regular election and provide for absentee voters to have access to borough and city ballots for all precincts within the borough. ii. This is an in-kind service; there is no administrative charge for this service. e. Election worker recruitment, training, and administration i. The Borough Clerk's Office will, in collaboration with each City, recruit, train, and provide for administration of all shared election workers, to include election judges, election officials, canvass board, election board, and any other similar terms in City or Borough codes referring to election workers. Election workers hired for a regular municipal election will be considered temporary employees of the Borough. ii. Each City will pay or cause to be paid an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. iii. For the purposes of Workers' Compensation and all other employment related matters Election Workers shall be considered temporary employees of the Borough. iv. Because City of Seldovia is within the Seldovia/Kachemak Bay voting precinct which is a by mail precinct for the borough, the Borough Clerk's MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT —LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 2 of 11 Office will only be responsible for hiring an absentee voting official to work on Seldovia/Kachemak elections. f. Equipment delivery and storage i. The Borough Clerk's Office will provide for all necessary election equipment to be delivered to polling sites and absentee voting stations, unless specific arrangements are otherwise made with individual cities. g. Precinct/Polling Site Rental i. In the event a polling site requires a rental charge, the KPB will handle all aspects of securing the site for use. ii. Each City will pay an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. h. Special elections support i. Section 2(a) through (g) above do not apply to City special elections. ii. Unless specific arrangements are otherwise made with individual cities, the Borough Clerk's Office will program ballots, provide logic and accuracy testing, and provide for use of Borough election equipment for the City's special election which will include print ready artwork to printer, ballot tabulator, ADA compliant tablet, ballot printer, and ballot box per precinct for special elections conducted by a City. iii. Each City will pay an administration fee for this service as set out in Section 3 below. The Borough will not provide for an absentee voting site for special elections conducted by a City. Each City will pick up the Borough election equipment that it will use in its special election. 3. CITIES OBLIGATIONS AND FEES a. The Cities' respective Clerk's Office will open an absentee voting site two weeks prior to the regular election and provide for absentee voters to have access to borough ballots for precincts within or near the city limits. Except that it is understood City of Soldoma and the KPB will share an absentee voting site at the Borough Administration Building located at 144 N. Binkley Street. b. The Cities' respective Clerk's Office will provide all candidate information and proposition language in order to accommodate timelines for ballot programming and voter pamphlet information. c. By signing this Agreement, Cities consent to the following fee schedule: Service Cost Description Ballot Programming $500 per regular See description of services in election 2(a) above. Logic and Accuracy $100 per regular See description of services in Testing election 2(b) above. Voter Pamphlet $100 per page See description of services in 2(c) above. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT —LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 3 of 11 L� 4. ELECTION WEBPAGES AND LOCAL INFORMATION The parties agree that the Borough and each City shall continue to maintain, with each party continuing to bear respective associated costs, its own election webpage and other information items regarding municipal elections. 5. WITHDRAWAL a. If the Borough or a City wants to withdraw from agreement They must provide 4 months' written notice. b. The Borough or a City cannot cancel or terminate this agreement within 90 days of the regular municipal election. 6. TERM OF AGREEMENT This Agreement shall be in effect for five (5) years beginning 2021 and terminating 2026. This Agreement is eligible for two (2) 5 -year renewals by mutual written consent of the parties. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT—LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 4 of 11 Shared services for No charge, in kind See description of services in absentee voting service provided 2(d) above. Election worker 50% of wages and Wages are based on the current recruitment, training, employer's share of election worker hourly rate as set and administration FICA for all election by the Division of Elections officials working at polling locations See description of services in within city's 2(e) above. jurisdiction. Equipment delivery and No charge See description of services in storage 2(f) above. Precinct rental or lease 50150, with a See description of services in fees maximum charge to 2(g) above. the city of $50 if charged by the site City's Special Elections $1500 flat rate See description of services in 2(h) above. 4. ELECTION WEBPAGES AND LOCAL INFORMATION The parties agree that the Borough and each City shall continue to maintain, with each party continuing to bear respective associated costs, its own election webpage and other information items regarding municipal elections. 5. WITHDRAWAL a. If the Borough or a City wants to withdraw from agreement They must provide 4 months' written notice. b. The Borough or a City cannot cancel or terminate this agreement within 90 days of the regular municipal election. 6. TERM OF AGREEMENT This Agreement shall be in effect for five (5) years beginning 2021 and terminating 2026. This Agreement is eligible for two (2) 5 -year renewals by mutual written consent of the parties. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT—LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 4 of 11 7. CITY AND KPB CODE AND STATE LAW f— This Agreement does not supersede any City or KPB code or state law. If a provision of this Agreement conflicts with KPB or City code or state law, the respective code and state law controls. 8. WORKERS' COMPENSATION; LIABILITY INSURANCE Each Party shall be responsible for the purchase and maintenance of minimum insurance coverage as specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. Insurance coverage shall be in acceptable form, and for the amounts specified by the Borough, or as required by law, whichever is greater. Insurance coverage shall remain in effect for the life of this Agreement, and any extensions thereto. This insurance shall be primary. a. Commercial general/automobile liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit bodily injury and property damage per occurrence. b. Worker's Compensation and Employer's Liability insurance shall be provided for all employees and volunteers as per Alaska State Statutes. 9. DEFAULT Failure of either party to fully perform its obligations under the terms of this Agreement will constitute a default. If default is not cured, within 30 days, by full performance under this Agreement, then the non -defaulting party may immediately terminate the Agreement by delivering written notice to the defaulting party. 10. AMENDMENT OF AGREEMENT This Agreement may only be modified or amended by written agreement of the parties. 11. COUNTERPARTS; ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and may be executed by way of facsimile or electronic signature in compliance with AS 09.80, each of which when so executed shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. 12. ENTIRE AGREEMENT This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties. There are no other understandings or agreements between the parties, either oral or memorialized in writing regarding the matters addressed in this Agreement. The parties may not amend this Agreement unless agreed to in writing with both parties signing through their authorized representatives. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT— LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 5 of 11 L_J 13. SAVINGS CLAUSE If any provision of this Agreement shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the invalidated provision shall remain in force and effect only to the extent not invalidated and the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect. 14. OBLIGATIONS All of the Borough's and the Cities obligations as specified in Sections 1 and 2 are subject to lawful appropriations, if necessary, for the specific purpose of carrying out the Borough and City's obligations. KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH 144 N BINKLEY STREET SOLDOTNA, AK 99669 By: Charlie Pierce, Mayor Date: ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: Johni Blankenship, Borough Clerk Sean Kelley, Deputy Borough Attorney MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT —LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 6 of 11 CITY OF KENAI 210 FIDALGO AVE. KENAI, AK 99611 By: Paul Ostrander, City Manager ATTEST: Jamie Heinz, City Clerk MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT —LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 7 of 12 CITY OF HOMER 491 E. PIONEER AVE. HOMER, AK 99603 By: Rob Dumouchel, City Manager Date: ATTEST: Melissa Jacobsen, City Clerk MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT—LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 8 of 11 CITY OF SELDOVIA f� PO DRAWER B SELDOVIA, AK 99663 By: City Manager Date: ATTEST: Heidi Geagel, City Clerk Lj MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT— LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 9 of 11 r— CITY OF SEWARD PO BOX 167 SEWARD, AK 99664 d� By: City Manager Date: ATTEST: Brenda Ballou, City Clerk MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT— LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 10 of 11 7 CITY OF SOLDOTNA 177 N BIRCH ST. SOLDOTNA, AK 99669 By: Stephanie Queen, City Manager Date: ATTEST: Shellie Saner, City Clerk MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT— LOCAL ELECTIONS Page 11 of 11 I *V KENAI City of Kenai 1 210 Ficialgo Ave, Kenai, AK 99611-7794 1907.283.7535 1 www.lcenaixity MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Brian Gabriel and Kenai City Council FROM: Jamie Heinz, City Clerk DATE: June 29, 2021 SUBJECT: Resolution No. 2021-46 The purpose of this memo is to recommend adoption of Resolution No. 2021-46 which authorizes the Mayor to sign Joint Resolution No. 2021-001 and the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the purpose of intergovernmental administration of Borough and City Elections. For many years, the City has collaborated with the Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) on the administration of the annual regular municipal election. The MOA referenced in these resolutions seeks to memorialize past practice and provide continuity for the City and KPB in administration of municipal elections. This agreement came out of the clerks meetings over the past few years when considering voting methods. In the past, the City and KPB were able to utilize the State of Alaska's election equipment with the exception of their ADA compliant voting system and, after an ADA complaint, KPB purchased their own election equipment. The costs for the services will now be associated with KPB equipment instead of the State's. With the execution of this MOA the City will now be paying an additional $600 per regular election to the Borough for ballot programming and logic and accuracy testing which is reasonable, considering the amount of work that goes into those services. This amount has been included in the FY22 budget. The City has always shared services for absentee voting and paid 50% of wages for election workers and 50% of the rental fees for precinct rentals. A change worth noting is that with the execution of this MOA the City will be paying $100 per page included in the voter pamphlet. These would be pages providing voters information on ballot propositions, sample ballots, and candidate information pages. Given the past few elections, it can be assumed that these fees would rarely exceed $1,000 and would typically be between $300 and $800. It is in the City's best interest to provide its voters with information that they will be voting on. Funding to cover these costs have been provided in the FY22 budget. Your consideration is appreciated