Heritage Neighborhood Association

Elections

Unregistered voters have until Monday April 7th to sign up

Clark County adults who are not registered anywhere in Washington have until
5 p.m. Monday to register if they want to vote in the April 22 election.
Anyone who fits this description must register in person at the Clark County Elections
Department, 1408 Franklin St.
For more information, call the elections office at 360-397-2345.
How can I register to vote?
By Mail: Mail-in registration forms are widely available. You can fill in a form
and print it from http://www.rockthevote.com/form. Mail the completed form to:
Clark County Elections Department
1408 Franklin St.
Vancouver, WA. 98660

You should receive a confirmation notice in 2 to 3 weeks. If you do not, please
contact your local election office to verify your voting status.
In Person: Go to any registration location and complete an affidavit of registration,
which must be answered truthfully under the penalty of perjury. The questions on
the affidavit will include your name, residence and date of birth.

•Clark County Elections Department
1408 Franklin St.
Vancouver, WA
Phone: (360) 397-2345
•Library branches
•Public schools
•Auto License subagencies

Officials say emergency radio sales tax is vital (this is from t

Last week, the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency sent out fliers to every
street address and post office box in Clark County, at a cost of $33,300 for printing,
postage and delivery sorting. CRESA, which answers 911 calls and dispatches police
officers and firefighters, had the Washington Public Disclosure Commission review
the brochure to ensure it was informational only and did not use public dollars
to advocate for the tax measure.

Those brochures arrived about a week before most voters will receive mail ballots
asking them to bump up the sales tax and raise $6 million annually to pay for a
radio system expected to cost $45 million or more.

The county has received preliminary estimates from two vendors: $49 million from
Motorola, manufacturer of the current system; and $29 million from Tyco Electronics,
which later told CRESA it might have not included enough transmitter sites in its
rough estimate.

Those estimates would pay for the backbone infrastructure — radio and network controllers,
repeaters, routers and other electronics — and for subscriber equipment, namely
radios worn by police officers and firefighters, radios in fire engines and patrol
cars, and modems that allow officers to receive data communications on mobile computers.
The county’s 800 MHz radio system is slightly more than 10 years old, but it will
become difficult to operate and maintain as agencies make a nationwide conversion
from analog to digital technology. After December 2012, Motorola and other vendors
will no longer manufacture replacement parts and provide technical support to keep
the current system operating.

The April 22 tax measure would require a simple majority, not a 60 percent supermajority,
and raise about $6 million a year. If approved, it would mean an additional 1 cent
of tax on each $10 purchase, or $25 on a car selling for $25,000. It might not sound
like much, but those pennies add up quickly, and the proposed tax is expected to
net $6 million annually.

CRESA officials estimate it would take 10 to 15 years to pay off debt on a $45 million
system. By then, it likely will be time to purchase another system, so officials
envision the sales tax revenue being collected on an ongoing basis, not just for
15 years.