ADP Board Special Meeting - October 25, 2023
Meeting Details: The Automatic Data Processing Board (ADP) met in special session at 10:00 am on October 25, 2023 in the Geauga County Auditor’s Office Appraisal Conference Room at 231 Main St. Chardon, OH 44024. Virtual access was available via MS Teams and the agenda was provided in advance. This observer attended via MS Teams.
Public Comment: ADP does not have a written policy. In practice, public comment is solicited at the end of the meeting.
Board Attendance:
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Auditor/Chief Admin – Charles Walder
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Clerk of Courts – Tammy McClintock for Sheila Bevington
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County Commissioner – James Dvorak
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Engineer – Katie Taylor for Joe Cattell
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Board of Elections – Nora McGinnis
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County Prosecutor – Jim Flaiz
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Recorder – Celesta Mullins, absent
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Sheriff – Scott Hildenbrand
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Treasurer – Christopher Hitchcock, absent
ADP Staff Attendance:
Other Government Representatives:
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Christine Lakomiak - Executive Director, Mental Health and Recovery Services
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Jim Mauser - Finance Manager, Mental Health and Recovery Services
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Don Rice - Superintendent, Board of Developmental Disabilities
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Linda Burhenne – Assistant County Administrator
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Ron Leyde – Chief Deputy Auditor
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Pam McMahan – Fiscal Office Manager, Auditor’s Office
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Kate Jacob – Chief Compliance Officer, Auditor’s Office (virtual)
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Tom Huff - IT Officer for Geauga County Court of Common Pleas (virtual)
Others Present:
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am by Mr. Antenucci.
Minutes: No minutes were presented for approval.
The following actions were taken:
APPROVED - GIS - ESRI County Government ($175,500) - The Board approved a three-year enterprise agreement covering the period from 2023 to 2025 for Small Municipal and County Government GIS software.
TABLED - Mental Health Griffin Technology Group 2024 Contract ($33,000) - Mr. Flaiz inquired about the services that Griffin Technology provides to Mental Health and Recovery Services (MHRS). Ms. Lakomiak explained that a key task that Griffin performs is the maintenance of GOSH, the system MHRS uses for billing and collection as well as report submittal. Mr. Griffin from Griffin Technology indicated that they also provide help desk support, maintenance tasks and management of the platforms that MHRS’ IT tools operate on. Given the clarification recently provided by the Attorney General of Ohio regarding what county entities should rely on ADP for IT services, Mr. Flaiz asked why MHRS doesn’t use ADP for these same services. Mr. Walder explained the risk presented by MHRS accessing the county’s network via VPN and the importance of following the ADP password and MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) policies. The Board voted to table this item to allow MHRS to assess the feasibility of using ADP’s IT services instead of outsourcing to Griffin Technologies. This matter will be discussed at the ADP Board’s next meeting.
APPROVED - For the Sheriff’s Department, the Board approved the Brite Wireless Modems for Bodycams ($42,306). Sheriff Hildenbrand explained that these modems will allow for Sheriff deputies to upload bodycam videos remotely and at a faster speed. This will eliminate the current bottleneck caused by deputies concurrently uploading videos on-premise leading to slow upload speeds.
APPROVED - The Board approved a proposal to increase the ADP Board purchase approval threshold to $50,000 from the current $25,000. Mr. Walder explained that the Ohio State Legislature recently increased the minimum bid requirement from $50,000 to $75,000, and that this recommendation was following that example. Mr. Walder also noted that recent purchase requests were trending in the $30,000 to $40,000 range, largely due to general cost inflation.
Regular Business: Mr. Antenucci informed the Board that there were four items to address in regular business. The following requests were addressed:
APPROVED - County Sheriff Body Cameras ($56,565) - Sheriff Hildenbrand explained that these cameras represented replacements for current cameras. Mr. Antenucci commented that the cameras were very durable and were a good product.
TABLED - County Sheriff Lumen Support Coverage Contract ($31,651) - Sheriff Hildenbrand explained that this support was related to 911 coverage. This item was tabled to allow for clarification on the contract coverage period since the documentation appeared to cover a period of only six months. This matter will be discussed at the ADP Board’s next meeting.
NO ACTION TAKEN - Developmental Disabilities (DD) Lake Geauga Computer Association (LGCA) Contract ($97,235) - Mr. Rice explained that the LGCA annual services agreement provides for general technology support including server configuration and maintenance. DD conducted a bidding process and selected LGCA because of their local presence. Mr. Flaiz asked why DD doesn’t use ADP for these same services. Due to 5 VPNs connecting DD to the county network, Mr. Walder again explained the risk presented by accessing the county’s network via VPN and the importance of following the ADP password and MFA policies. Mr. Walder recommended that Mr. Antenucci meet with DD to learn more about the current IT infrastructure including server lives and update status and password and MFA policies in place. Mr. Rice noted that LGCA already had been providing IT services and expressed concern that without ADP approval of the contract, they would not be paid. Mr. Flaiz explained that the county will not withhold payment if it might be determined that the county benefited from an ‘unjust enrichment’ by doing so. After discussion, the Board decided to not take action on this item.
APPROVED - ADP Tape Drive Replacement ($48,417) - Mr. Antenucci explained that after discussion with the Department of Homeland Security, it was determined that certain sensitive data is better protected when stored on tape as opposed to cloud-based storage. This item provides for the purchase of hardware to replace obsolete tape drive equipment.
Public Comment: Mr. Antenucci asked for any public comments/questions. This observer asked what the ADP Board approval limit was before the Board approved moving it to $50,000. It was $25,000.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:47 am.
The next regular meeting of the ADP Board is scheduled for December 12, 2023.
Minutes when posted are available here: Meeting Minutes | Geauga County Automatic Data Processing
Virtual Meeting Information: Contact Pamela McMahan at pmcmahan@gcauditor.com
Observer: Carol Benton
Editor: Anne Ondrey
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Submitted 10/26/23
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