Portage County commissioners approve routine hires, grants, contracts and set bids

The Portage County Board of Commissioners approved a series of routine personnel actions, grants, contracts and procurement steps during its April meeting.

Speaker 2 moved — and the board seconded and approved by roll call — to authorize the transfer of Alex Ross to eligibility specialist for Jobs and Family Services effective April 2, 2024, approve internal postings and external posting processes for several Social Service and Public Children Services Agency positions, and to accept several hires including Caitlin Classic and another hire effective in April and May. The board also approved anniversary and step increases for listed non‑bargaining employees.

In financial and grant actions, the board authorized the board president to sign a quarterly EMPG reimbursement request for $94,173.06 prepared by the Portage County Emergency Management Agency and accepted a $2,134.30 award from the Statewide Consortium of County Law Library Resource Boards for the county law library. The board also accepted an award from the NRA Foundation under the 2024 State Capital Improvement Grant program on behalf of the Portage County Sheriff’s Office.

On contracts and procurement, the commissioners approved entering an agreement with Schneider Geospatial LLC to provide online public access to property, tax, appraisal and GIS records. They set plans, specifications and an estimate of cost and set a bid date for the Village of Mantua water distribution replacement project administered by the Portage County Water Resources Department. The board also agreed to a real estate lease with DTMIC LLC (Tavern 1888, East Main Street, Ravenna).

Other actions included authorizing the Portage County Solid Waste Management District to enter an agreement to provide drop‑off collection services to Nelson Township, declaring the necessity to purchase one front‑load truck for the Solid Waste District, creating a fund for Judson Bridal Rehab within the county engineer's office, and acknowledging routine audit and investment certificates and kennel/county disposition reports presented by staff.

All motions recorded in the transcript were seconded and show roll‑call approval as "Yes" responses by the commissioners listed in the transcript. The transcript records the board moved into an executive session under Ohio Revised Code §121.22(G)(1) to consider discipline of a public employee and later reported no action taken following that session.

Why it matters: These votes effect county staffing, operational services (solid waste, water resources), public records access, and the flow of grant funding for emergency management and the law library.

What happens next: Staff will process hires and postings, execute contracts as approved, and continue project bid preparations and financial processing as authorized.