Committee advances database contract for Akron police oversight office after 4–1 vote

At a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee, members voted 4–1 to advance an ordinance that would authorize the mayor to contract with West Publishing Corporation to supply a case‑management and analytical database for the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board (CPOB) and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor.

Auditor Anthony Finenel told the committee the office had previously collected records on paper and, as of last week, consolidated them into an Excel spreadsheet. He said the office selected a vendor pending the ordinance’s passage and that the vendor would migrate the spreadsheet data into a structured case‑management system to enable trend analysis, policy development and more detailed review of critical incidents such as officer‑involved shootings. "This is very important," Finenel said, describing the system as necessary to reduce administrative burden and support analytic work.

Committee members questioned whether the auditor could use the Akron Police Department’s IA Pro system. Finenel replied that his office could not use IA Pro because it is designed for law‑enforcement case management and his independent office lacks the access and functionality needed for separate analysis. "IA Pro is not designed specifically for an analytical purpose such as what we would need," he said.

Finenel told the committee the consolidated Excel file contains roughly 3,000 rows and about 26–27 columns, and that manually extracting data from PDFs and varied report formats is slow and error‑prone. He said a case‑management platform with controlled fields would improve data consistency and allow staff to generate reports more quickly.

Councilwoman Linda Amobian said the ordinance and its addendum made the need clear and argued city oversight staff should not be doing manual data entry in the 21st century. "We need to have things available to the public and the reports that you do annually," Amobian said, adding she was prepared to vote in favor.

Councilman Bruce Balden acknowledged the vendor is reputable and cited cost estimates discussed during the meeting—about $40,000 to set up the system and roughly $60,000 annually thereafter, for a total in the neighborhood of $100,000 in the first year—but expressed concern that the money could alternatively be used for patrol resources. Finenel and others said the automation would free limited staff to focus on high‑impact investigations and improve public complaint intake by allowing complainants to attach photographs and documents online.

After debate, a motion to suspend the rules and issue a favorable report for third reading passed on a roll call: Lombardo voted nay; Amobian, Wilson, Boyce and Balden voted aye. The favorable report moves the ordinance to the full council for further action.

Next steps: the ordinance will proceed to the council following the committee’s favorable report; timing for final contract execution depends on council action and vendor scheduling.