By Michael Lang

The Vidette

The Grays Harbor County Commission sent a strong message to the state at its Monday meeting, demanding that it be reimbursed for ballot box installations.

Early in the meeting, the commissioners approved a resolution regarding the state’s required installation of ballot boxes throughout the county. With the resolution was a strongly worded letter expressing the Commission’s frustration with costs related to the state’s requirement of 19 ballot boxes throughout Grays Harbor.

“Grays Harbor County is demanding reimbursement for all costs associated with the purchase and operation of the ballot boxes,” the letter addressed to the state Department of Enterprise Services’ Office of Risk Management states.

“I think that this is an important statement by the Commission to the state because these are, again, part of unfunded mandates that are passed down” Commissioner Randy Ross said during the meeting. “We don’t mind doing the state’s business, as long as they give us money to do this. This (letter) puts the state on notification that we expect money to come for these kinds of issues.”

The commissioners claim that the state is required by law to fund these sorts of projects.

“We have lots of other things that will take a higher priority than ballot boxes,” Ross said.

“I don’t mind putting ballot boxes up if that’s what the state would like,” Commissioner Vickie Raines said in a session with media during the meeting. “But the state needs to pay for them. They not only need to pay for them, they need to pay for the staffing. Because you need to have two people collect the ballots and to have 19 (ballot boxes) throughout the county, that’s a lot to be collecting ballots from and to staff.”

Installation of the first two ballot boxes cost the county $9,066.83.

The state did not respond to a request for comment prior to deadline for this story.

With Commissioner Wes Cormier granted an excused absence, Ross and Raines proceeded quickly through the remainder of the 24-item agenda.

There was little discussion for any of the agenda items.

The Commission, acting in its various roles, granted its unanimous approval on all 24 items, ranging from authorization of an $806 advertising agreement for the Grays Harbor County Fair to approving a $1.3 million loan agreement with the state Department of Health for the construction of a booster station and water reservoir for the Pacific Beach Water System.