ADP Board Special Meeting - September 27, 2023
Meeting Details: The Automatic Data Processing Board (ADP) met in special session at 10:00 am on September 27, 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 – Sheila Bevington
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County Commissioner – Jim Dvorak
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Engineer – Katie Taylor for Joe Cattell
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Board of Elections – Michelle Lane and Nora McGinnis
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County Prosecutor – Jim Flaiz (arriving at 10:39 am)
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Recorder – Celesta Mullins
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Sheriff – Scott Hildenbrand
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Treasurer – Christopher Hitchcock, absent
ADP Staff Attendance:
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Frank Antenucci – Chief Deputy Administrator ADP
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Allen Keener – Chief Technology Officer ADP
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Corey Thompson – ADP Systems Administrator
Other Government Representatives:
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Nick Gorris – Interim Director of Water Resources
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Linda Burhenne – Assistant County Administrator
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Ron Leyde – Chief Deputy Auditor (virtual)
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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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Josh Widdiefield – Geauga County Auditor’s office (virtual)
Others Present:
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Amy Patterson – Geauga Maple Leaf (virtual)
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Anastasia Nicholas – Geauga Times Courier (virtual)
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Gail Roussey – League of Women Voters Geauga (virtual)
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Del Champion – Representative from Missions Communications, LLC (virtual)
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Keith Dobbins – Representative from Intertech Security, LLC (virtual)
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Diane Jones (virtual)
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 am by Mr. Antenucci.
Minutes: Minutes from the August 16, 2023 special meeting were approved.
The following actions were taken:
APPROVED - ADP DocuSign, Inc. eSignature Enterprise ($40,443) - Mr. Antenucci reported that the DocuSign software provides for the transition of ADP approvals from a paper-based system today to a digital solution that will speed up the approval process and meet State Auditor’s requests for documents. It has been tested in ADP for the past year with good results.
APPROVED - Engineer’s CCI Security Camera Campus Upgrade ($37,143) - Mr. Antenucci explained that this is a continuation of the effort across the County to upgrade video surveillance cameras. Administrator Katie Taylor from the Geauga County Engineering office explained the project, and it was noted that the cameras being installed are approved by the Department of Homeland Security. The project is expected to take six months to complete.
Observer Comment: The next item was postponed from the special meeting held on August 16, 2023.
APPROVED - After a presentation by Mr. Gorris about Geauga County Water Resources’ use of Missions Communications and its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software solution, the Board discussed requests for the continuation of this service for the water and sewer functions for a three-year period for each. Mr. Gorris explained that Water Resources began using this tool in 2012 and that it provides water and sewer equipment monitoring, collection of real-time data and periodic reporting. Del Champion, a representative from Missions Communications, answered questions from the Board regarding password strength and multifactor authentication (MFA) capabilities of the software. He explained that password requirements are determined by each client, but the tool provides flexibility in length and use of special characters. Mr. Gorris stated that current Water Resources department requirements are passwords of at least 6 characters in length with at least one number. Due to the user account structure used by Water Resources, MFA is not currently available, but Mr. Champion confirmed MFA flexibility will be provided by the end of 2023. Mr. Champion also stated that Missions Communications currently maintains a super administrator account for the Water Resources’ Missions software solution. The Board approved expenditures of $30,000 and $9,200 for the sewer and water service contracts, accordingly, with the following amendments: 1) Water Resources will be required to adjust their department password policy to be consistent with ADP recommendations; 2) this policy will include the elimination of the super administrator account currently in place for Mission Communications; and 3) the Board will revisit the software’s MFA capabilities in January 2024 and require use of MFA consistent with ADP recommendations.
Reviewer Note: As part of this presentation, two other significant items were noted:
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Not all locations for Water and Sewer have generators, but in the event of an emergency would have portable generators brought to the site.
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Mr. Gorris reported that University Hospital Geauga tied into the County Water System. This was discussed at a BOCC meeting on August 8, 2023 but not approved, and it had been anticipated that ARPA funds would be used. It is not clear when this was approved and how it was funded.
APPROVED - The Board approved an interim Geauga County Office building access control strategy to address the longstanding issue of who will control access into the new office building. Observer Comment: This topic relates to the earlier legal action taken by the Board of Geauga County Commissioners (BOCC) against the County Auditor and certain individuals employed by ADP. See Observer Report from May 9, 2023 where this action and its resolution are discussed. After background discussions with the key card vendor (Intertech Security), the County Maintenance department and the County Commissioners, Mrs. Burhenne presented to the Board a potential solution to the office building access control issue. She suggested that ADP take immediate control of the onsite software and data server and that the BOCC control the creation of access cards for employees going forward. After much discussion of questions regarding today’s process and the departments involved, it was agreed that a better understanding of current responsibilities and capabilities was needed. Ultimately, the Board approved the transfer of physical access to the key card server to ADP. In addition, ADP will work with Intertech to structure a siloed key card access system, allowing each department to control access to their individual areas. Any subsequent costs (e.g., additional equipment, software licenses or training) will be covered by the BOCC. Ms. Burhenne thanked everyone for working toward a collaborative solution to this matter.
Regular Business: Mr. Antenucci asked if there was any regular business the Board needed to address. There was none.
Public Comment: Mr. Antenucci asked for any public comments/questions. There were none.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:54 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: Sarah McGlone
Submitted 9/27/23
The League of Women Voters of Geauga is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. They do not support or oppose individual candidates or parties. Learn more about the LWVG at www.lwvgeauga.org.