Commissioners set policy for cybersecurity, hire law firm over court budget dispute

The Lorain County Board of Commissioners on Friday adopted a 150-page county cybersecurity plan to comply with state law for computer and information technology security. The Ohio General Assembly has given the job of county cybersecurity to county commissioners, Commissioner Jeff Riddell said. "This is a result of the world we live in," he said. County Information Technology, or IT, Director Todd Sharkey will serve as the county's chief information security officer. County computer systems were attacked in May and some personal information of county employees and vendors may have been exposed, the board said in September. Commissioners also have said they want more "shared services" in county government, including in IT as a cost-saving measure. "I think this will be a way for all of us to work together in a much-better, closer organization," Sharkey said. The board also voted Friday to hire the law firm Miller Canfield after Lorain County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court ordered the Board of Commissioners to fund its 2026 budget request. State law says judges may order their county commissioners to fund their "reasonable and necessary" budget requests. Riddell said Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court was the only court to issue such an order. Court Administrator Emily Kirsch and Deputy Court Administrator Kristen Richardson said their court was surprised the board was considering hiring legal counsel over the matter. Riddell said his board had to consider "mandated-versus-non mandated" spending as part of the 2026 budget process especially after a proposed sales tax to help fund the sheriff's office failed at the polls in November. In other business, commissioners: - entered into a nearly $4.5 million, five-year contract with AT&T for upgrades to Lorain County 911 that Director Kurt Scholl said would enable real-time language transcription and translation of emergency calls, off-site call answering, picture and video submission by callers and other so-called "Next Generation 911" services. - hired the law firm Dun Isaacson Rhee to represent Lorain County in an ongoing class action lawsuit against Medical Mutual filed in Common Pleas Court in 2017. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Leigh Prugh said the lawsuit involves allegations Medical Mutual "engaged in unjust enrichment and deceptive trade practices" over benefits provided to county employees. - declared it necessary to put a 0.85 mill, five-year levy on the May 5, 2026 ballot for the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities/Murray Ridge Center. - set its holiday and meeting schedule for the first month of 2026. County offices are closed Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 for the Christmas holiday and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for New Years. The board will hold its 2026 organizational meeting at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 12 on the fourth floor of the County Administration Building at 226 Middle Ave. in Elyria and stream it live on the commissioners' YouTube channel. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com