On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized a special election to take place by mail this fall. Registered voters throughout the county can expect a mail-in ballot sometime after the mail goes out Tuesday, October 13, 2009.
On the ballot will be two questions: One asks if Cook County should impose a 1% sales tax to help fund a) community centers and outdoor recreation facilities in Grand Marais and the West End; b) an addition to the Grand Marais Public Library; c) construction of a biomass-generated energy plant for public facilities in Grand Marais; and d) a countywide high-speed communications infrastructure network that would deliver phone, TV and Internet services throughout the county.
A majority yes vote (over 50%) would be needed to impose the tax, which could collect $20,000,000 for capital improvements plus the cost of financing the projects. The tax would be expected to bring in about $1,000,000 a year.
The second question asks if the county should operate a telephone utility. By law, 65% of the ballots received by the county would need to answer yes to this question in order for the county to be allowed to run a phone service.
Ballots can be mailed or delivered to the county Auditor-Treasurer’s Office but must arrive by 8:00 p.m. November 3.
A committee of 1% tax proponents will be meeting with civic groups and going door-to-door to talk to residents, and a public forum will be held Tuesday, October 13 at 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. Committee organizer Jan Sivertson asked the county board if county employees could be involved in the process of educating the public about the tax. Keeping county employees out of the process would be “prudent,” County Attorney Tim Scannell said, because the committee is advocating for the tax. Both Information Technology Director Danna MacKenzie and Community Center Director Diane Booth have been involved in many of the public discussions regarding the tax up to this point.
“The county can’t advocate one way or the other,” Scannell said. “We’re looking to the public to tell us which way to go.”
The county board also approved an agreement with Election Systems & Software to maintain its election tabulation equipment. The county will purchase a “silver” level program. The “gold” level would be “considerably” more expensive and would include an inspection once a year, according to Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers, but that level of maintenance would not be necessary in Cook County, he said. The maintenance will cost $2,210 annually.
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