Piazza: $21K needed for election computer burner
Election bureau director says old burners don’t always work and may be a “fire hazard.”
Timesleader.com. September 17, 2008. By Jennifer Learn-Andes, Luzerne County Reporter

Luzerne County must find $21,000 to buy a new computer burner for the election bureau because the old burners are breaking down and may present a fire hazard, Election Bureau Director Leonard Piazza told county officials Tuesday.

Piazza told the election board he recently discovered the problem and won’t have time to bid out the purchase because the burner is needed before the Nov. 4 election. A burner is a component that makes electronic copies. The burners are used to transmit ballot information from office computers to flash drives that are then ed into the voting machines. The county currently has two burners from Election Systems & Software. The ES&S burners cost $5,000 each, and the one-year warranty has expired, Piazza said.

Piazza said the ES&S burners are running at half capacity, and he has been informed that the machines are a “fire hazard.” He said he tried to obtain a replacement machine from ES&S, but ES&S is no longer manufacturing the burners.

Piazza proposed buying a 32-bay burner from International Microsystems of Milpitas, Calif., for $21,000 and an additional 15 percent for a warranty. He said other counties have ordered burners from that company after experiencing problems with the ES&S burner. He said he isn’t aware of other companies that sell the type of burner he needs, but county officials said they want to check to make sure the county is paying the lowest price.

The county commissioners sit on the election board. Commissioner Maryanne Petrilla asked Piazza if he has any money in his budget to cover the expense. Piazza said hewould have to ask the budget office if money can be pulled from another department.

Commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Stephen A. Urban voted to buy the machine pending review by solicitors and the budget office. Petrilla voted no.

Urban asked election board solicitor Neil O’Donnell, who said he will meet with county solicitor Jim Blaum to make sure the purchase meets the requirements of a no-bid emergency. Commissioners plan to vote at tonight’s meeting on whether to declare an emergency to allow the purchase.

In other business, Piazza said the preparation of absentee ballots has been complicated by a court challenge over Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr.

Commonwealth Court ruled Monday that Barr should stay on the ballot but Piazza said he doesn’t know if the decision will be appealed. Absentee ballots for 146 military personnel in the United States must be mailed by Friday, and Piazza asked the board if he should mail ballots with Barr’s name to the printer. If not, the office must prepare the ballots by hand.

The board decided against sending ballots to the printer, in case the matter is appealed and reversed before Friday.

The county already had to mail absentee ballots to military and civilian voters serving overseas, and 292 manually prepared ballots were sent containing Barr’s name, Piazza said.

Piazza also said difficulties with the county’s Web site have prevented him from posting sample ballots and polling place lists. He urged commissioners to help, saying he doesn’t want something to happen to the 850 documents he has already posted.

County Public Information Officer Jason Jarecki said he is working on the problems.