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Brookings resident urges audit of emergency radio interoperability, questions election-system certification
Summary
Public commenter Rick Weibel asked the commission to audit emergency communications interoperability across county and city first responders and criticized state-level certification of the county's election system as inconsistent with administrative rules.
At the start of public comment, Rick Weibel told the commission that local emergency communications remain incomplete and formally requested an audit to verify whether radios used by ambulance, fire, public works and sheriff's offices can communicate during incidents. He asked the county to run a tabletop exercise that includes 911-call codes and mutual-aid procedures to ensure the right people are notified.
Weibel also raised concerns about the state certification of the county’s elections system. He presented printed material and argued the system’s certificate indicates it met older EAC standards, not the 2015 (1.1) voluntary voting system guidelines. “So I am trying to work through this with the secretary of state as well as the state board of elections to pull back the certification, redo it, and do not approve it because it breaks our own law and our own administrative rules,” he said.
Commissioners thanked Weibel for the packet. Staff and other officials discussed radio compatibility later when the ambulance funding and radio purchases came up in the meeting. The commission did not take immediate formal action on the certification claim during the meeting; Weibel asked for further follow-up with state election authorities.
