South Summit COG adopts cybersecurity emergency, approves dispatch funding and equipment plans

The South Summit Council of Governments on June 26 adopted Resolution 2026-07 directing the COG president and IT service provider to implement cybersecurity and ransomware protections required by recent Ohio law and state bulletins, and approved several dispatch-related funding and equipment measures.

The board voted to formalize an IT action plan after Treasurer Brian Hough told members the state now requires government entities to develop a cybersecurity response process. "This is required by the state," Hough said, explaining the rule-setting and reporting obligations and that the COG has begun additional staff training and contract changes with its IT vendor, ETC.

Director Goodrich and Dispatch Manager Leslie detailed the operational impact. Goodrich said a recent performance audit recommended updating the biannual dispatch cost-allocation and that the allocation recalculation will be conducted every two years, with the next review in June 2028. "Previously, we were paying 59% and New Franklin's paying 41%. And now we are going to be paying a greater percentage," Goodrich said, reading the new split as roughly 60.38%/39.62%.

Leslie described how 911 government-assistance funds will be used to reduce operating expenses and to pay for dispatch-specific needs: the county has consolidated PSAP accounts and will absorb much of the Vesta phone costs, dropping the COG's monthly Vesta expense from roughly $4,000 to $850. She said the assistance funds will also cover CAD costs (about $16,000 this year), EMD training for new hires and other dispatch expenses, freeing general budget dollars for other uses.

On equipment, members discussed two aging LEADS workstation computers that cannot be updated; participants estimated replacement at about $2,000 each. The board agreed New Franklin would purchase the two units and the COG would add the expense to the next quarterly bill while staff pursue a future contract amendment to clarify long-term cost-sharing.

Leslie recommended increasing dispatch bandwidth from the current 50 Mbps to 500 Mbps to accommodate growing system demands; ETC and Spectrum quoted pricing that would raise the monthly cost to about $750. Members agreed to proceed with Spectrum (already in place) to avoid migration costs.

Why it matters: The cybersecurity resolution ensures the COG meets state statutory requirements and lays out reporting and ransom payment limits; the dispatch funding and equipment decisions affect how emergency communications will be staffed, trained and sustained in the coming budget cycle.

The board adopted the cybersecurity resolution and the dispatch-related measures by roll call. Staff will implement the IT standards with ETC and return to the board with contract or policy updates as needed.