Nye County Commissioners still split over use of public teleconferencing, system remains in place

It was like an almost exact echo of a previous debate when Nye County commissioners readdressed the use of the teleconferencing system for its public meetings during its Tuesday, July 20 meeting.

The question at hand was whether or not to retain the system and allow residents and other interested parties to continue utilizing the call-in option in order to participate in the meetings and once again, the board was split on the matter, with two commissioners arguing to do away with the teleconference system while the other three voiced their desire to keep it in place.

According to backup information provided with the agenda item, the use of the teleconference system had cost the county $5,605.66 over a period of six months, with their figures outlining the expenses incurred between Dec. 18, 2020 and June 18 of this year. The county is currently contracted with LogMeIn/OpenVoice Audio Service, which provides the public teleconferencing system and that contract does not expire until mid-December.

“Nye County pays $0.0456 per caller, per minute,” the backup information detailed. “There is a flat ‘commit’ rate of $300 per month, unless we use more than $300 worth of service, then we only pay for what we use.” The information explained that if the county were to get rid of the system, it would expect to pay $1,800 from July to Dec. 18, when the contract comes to an end. With the system remaining in place, the cost is expected to come in around $5,000 to $6,000 if the usage continues to be consistent with the figures seen over the last six months.

When the agenda item was opened on July 20, Nye County Commissioner Frank Carbone immediately made a motion to continue using the teleconference service, with a quick second from commissioner Bruce Jabbour.

Nye County Commission Chair Debra Strickland has made no secret of her dislike of the system and she had no qualms about expressing her stance once again. “I’m not happy. We are to the point to where we need to move on,” Strickland asserted. “I’m tired of it. It’s very hard to manage, to say the least.”

Commissioner Leo Blundo agreed with Strickland’s point of view, remarking that the meeting that morning had been well attended in person by the public and he and Strickland both apparently felt that proved that the teleconference option was no longer needed.

Carbone defended his motion by explaining that he felt the cost of the current system was minimal compared to the what was previously used by the county prior to the pandemic, a different system in which commissioners and staff who were not able to attend the meeting were able to call in. That system, however, was not regularly open to the public, as the OpenVoice system is. “I think we have a better deal here than we would have doing something else,” Carbone said.

Nye County Administrative Manager Samantha Tackett said the two systems were actually relatively similar in cost per minute, about $0.04 per minute, but the OpenVoice system being utilized today comes with the additional commitment cost of $300 per month, a charge that the old system does not have. That $300 charge per month, however, is not incurred unless the county does not use a full $300 worth of service in a month. The backup information provided showed that there had been no month between December 2020 and June 2021 in which the county used less than $300 in service.

Commissioner Donna Cox asked a key question, inquiring as to whether only the public would be affected if the county were to discontinue the use of the OpenVoice teleconference system, rather than staff and the commissioners themselves. Tackett said that was accurate, ending the use of the OpenVoice system would restrict the ability of the public to call in but would not inhibit staff or commissioners from participating in the meetings remotely when necessary.

Jabbour reiterated his position on the matter as well, stating that he felt it was in the best interest of the public to keep the OpenVoice system, because there are many people all around Nye County who are simply not able to show up physically to the meetings. The fact that there was a sizable crowd of attendees that morning does not negate the fact that there are others who just cannot make it in person, he said.

Cox then jumped in again to express a thought that had just struck her, asking whether the county would possibly pay for the use of the OpenVoice system with money from one of the federal relief allotments distributed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Is it possible that we could, since this is basically because of COVID, that would could get this paid for through one of the (federal) grants, and keep it available for a little while longer without it coming out of the county’s pocket?” Cox queried.

Nye County Comptroller Savannah Rucker said that we absolutely need something that the county could look into when utilizing the American Rescue Plan Act funding that the county is set to receive in the near future.

When the subject finally came to a vote, it was as to be expected given the discussion that took place, the commission voted 3-2 to continue the use of the teleconference system, with Carbone, Jabbour and Cox in favor and Strickland and Blundo against.

Instructions for utilizing the OpenVoice teleconference system are provided on the first page of each Nye County Commission agenda, which are posted on www.nyecounty.net three days prior to each meeting.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com