Monday's Internet Edition, October 13, 2008.
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News editor - Coryell County Commissioners Monday heard budget requests from various county departments.
Lana Davidson, director of the Indigent Health Care department, requested an eight percent increase in the budget for indigent health. The increase will provide for the increase in salary for an employee who will be reclassified as a caseworker. Other expenditures in the indigent health care budget include a software program and a computer for the department.
Barbara Simpson, county clerk, asked commissioners to consider budgeting money for two DREs, computerized machines used for voting.
Simpson said the National Voter Registration Act is requiring use of the machines by 2006. Simpson said she is unsure if use of the machines will slow down or speed up the vote counting process. That and other concerns prompted her to request purchase of two of the machines for a test run for the upcoming amendment election in November.
The machines cost $3,000 to $4,000 each, but a grant will cover the purchase of twenty machines, she said. However, the two purchased for a test run will have to come out of county funds, she said.
The act also changes the ballot process, said Simpson. Effective Jan. 1, 2004, voters will be restricted to voting in the precincts they are registered in. Those who insist on voting where they are not registered will be allow to cast a ballot, but the vote will not be counted, she said.
Commissioners also approved a program that will give registered victims phone calls every time there is a status change in the criminal case.
The Victim Information Notification Everyday program keeps victims up to date on the felon who was responsible for the crime. Chief Deputy Doug West of the Coryell County Sheriff's Office presented information on VINE at a previous commissioner's meeting.
West said the program, offered in Spanish as well as English, is anonymous, accessible and monitored. There is no limit on calls and no fees, he said.
The state will fully fund the program for two years, and then the county will have to decide whether it wants to continue the project using its own funds. West also said the two-years of fully funded status starts from the time the offer was made, not when it was accepted.
Amy Lanman, of Appriss, provider of the VINE service, said the programs offers live operator support 24 hours a day, seven days a week; a toll free number for the public so there is no cost to the public; and access to jail and court information. She also said calls to the jail, sheriff and court would be reduced.