TRUMBULL COUNTY GOVERNMENT Officials to approve payment to bureau

Commissioners will seek bids for a new voter registration system vendor.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Commissioners are expected to approve a $106,636 one-time contribution to the Trumbull County Convention and Visitors Bureau during today's regular meeting.
Prompting the contribution was last week's Trumbull County Common Pleas court order that stated that the money must be given to the bureau so that it can be distributed to several community organizations.
Jason Earnhart, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said that once visitors bureau officials receive the money they are to immediately distribute the funds to the different organizations.
The court order was a result of a visitors bureau lawsuit regarding past funds it claimed were due from the 4 percent lodging tax the county collects.
There was more than a year's worth of friction between commissioners and the former Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau over board membership appointments and investment of $200,000 county lodging tax money.
Commissioners wanted to be in charge of board appointments, and opposed investing the money that was to go toward tourism promotions. Therefore the contract with the old board was severed in 2004.
In May, commissioners established a new entity, the Trumbull County Tourism Board, to receive 2 percent of the county's lodging tax. The other 2 percent goes to the Western Reserve Port Authority to run the airport in Vienna.
Voter registration
In other matters, commissioners also are expected to advertise for bids for a new voter registration system vendor for the board of elections.
All counties must link up with the secretary of state's office to be in compliance with the Helping America Vote Act.
The election board decided last week to pursue litigation against Diverse Integrated Systems Inc. of Modesto, Calif. The company was the county's vendor of voter registration software.
DIS was hired by Trumbull County last year to make the county's voter registration database link to the state.
The company was paid $16,000 to provide the service but the software didn't work, election board officials said.
sinkovich@vindy.com