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Electronic voting plan looks to some like waste Would eliminate Medford council roll calls; critics say it cuts accountability By Jessica Smith Medford City Council members� names � and their opinions � could someday be up in lights. The cost for such a feat: $7,200. The price tag for a proposed electronic voting system represents just a fraction of the $240,000-plus budget for a planned renovation of the council�s chambers at City Hall, but it has some people scratching their heads. "There are eight people on the council," said Ernest Garb, who heads up United Medford Citizens, a civic watchdog group. "The city recorder doesn�t seem to have a problem getting the votes. Why do they need an electronic voting system? "It�s a glaring example of waste." For Susan Hand, who lost a bid against Mayor Lindsay Berryman in November, her opposition to the voting system is about accountability more than accounting. Council members should "take ownership of their own decisions by saying yea or nay with their own lips," she said. It appears some city leaders feel the same. Councilman Bill Moore said he disapproved of the electronic voting system � and most of the council chamber renovation plans � when the city included it in the 2000-01 budget. The budget sets aside $240,810 for the chamber renovation, including money for carpeting, upholstery, furnishings and fixtures, acoustical treatments, media upgrades, heating and air conditioning. A tentative plan calls for reconfiguring the chambers by relocating the council�s table to one end of the room, giving the audience three banks of seating. The table now sits squarely in the middle, providing seating on all four sides of the room. The proposed voting device would include a board of some type that would list the council�s names and their votes on a particular issue. It would eliminate the need for a roll-call vote, which the council now uses. Moore said he considered the renovation project "extravagant" and "wasteful." "I like it the way it is," he added. "I don�t think we should be squandering money on it." Council President Bob Strosser and members Jim Key and Claudette Moore echoed Councilman Moore�s thoughts. But at least one council member, John Michaels, says he sees the benefits of an automated voting system. An electronic device allows council members to vote all at once to maintain their independence, said Michaels, who�s seen the system used in another city. "What it eliminates is the situation where everyone watches as the vote goes around the table," he added. "You�re getting a truer representation without all the political garbage." Though the voting system is included in the chamber renovation budget, it�s not a foregone conclusion that the thing will be installed, said Cathie Davis, assistant city manager. According to Davis, the chamber renovation will likely be carried over to the 2001-02 budget. Construction in the chamber won�t start until the city finishes renovating City Hall, a $3.8 million project now under way. That means the council gets another crack at determining whether to include the voting system in its plans for the chamber, Davis said. Deliberations on next year�s budget start sometime this spring. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.