FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Chardon, Ohio, August 9, 2022– The Geauga County Automatic Data Processing Board (ADP) is asking the Ohio Supreme Court’s governmental dispute resolution section to help mediate an issue with the Geauga County Board of Commissioners failing to follow Ohio law.
The Ohio Revised Code provides legal authority to the Automatic Data Processing Board in Section 307.84, which states that “no county office shall purchase, lease, operate, or contract for the use of any automatic or electronic data processing or record-keeping equipment, software, or services without prior approval of the board.”
“As the Chief Administrator of ADP, I have consistently made attempts to work with the Geauga County Commissioners with regard to the Commissioners’ Water Resources Department’s failure to comply with the law and the Commissioners’ Maintenance Department illegally controlling security access controls in the Geauga County Office Building,” Auditor Charles E. Walder said. “The Department of Water Resources has been operating its technology in violation of the law for roughly 30 years.”
In January of 2021, the ADP Board made Water Resources aware of its failure to comply with the law and began a process to work with Water Resources’ compliance with the law. While the Department of Water Resources has agreed to comply with the law, Water Resources has done nothing but delay, obstruct, and ignore ADP’s requests for Water Resources’ compliance.
Additionally, with the move to the new Geauga County Office Building, the Commissioners’ Maintenance Department has taken on the administrative control of the security key card access controls system for the entire Geauga County Office Building without making application to and prior approval by the ADP Board.
“On multiple occasions, I have requested access credentials to the security key card controls system, and again, while the Commissioners’ Administrator Gerry Morgan has made promises to the ADP Board and myself to turn over the access credentials, he has not followed through with his promise and has violated an agreed-to deadline to turn over the credentials,” Auditor Walder said.
“Unfortunately, in my experience, promises and assurances by Gerry Morgan in his representation of the Commissioners to comply with the law and turn over authority as promised has left ADP with no alternative but to pursue legal action.”
In the Emergency meeting of the Automatic Data Processing Board on August 9, 2022, at 10:00AM, the Board took action on motions to pursue possible legal action and prior to taking legal action, to pursue free mediation through the Ohio Supreme Court.
“While the ADP Board has voted to pursue legal action, we hope to reach a swift collaborative agreement without unnecessary costs with the understanding that we must follow the law,” Auditor Walder said. “I have great hopes for the free mediation phase, but I am also realistic enough that promises have been made and not kept, and so we must pursue a mediated agreement through the Ohio Supreme Court. Because of the urgency of this matter, our counsel has immediately made application for this mediation.”
For further questions, please contact auditor@co.geauga.oh.us.
Read Official PDF Release