09/16/2025 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council President Brossard: Thank you. Director of Finance Copfer, do you have a report this evening? Finance Finance Director Copfer: Yes, I do have a report, Mr. President. • The Finance Department has been advocating for the City to create a citywide disaster recovery plan. In the State Biannual Budget Bill, House Bill 96, the State of Ohio has required all cities and counties to adopt a cybersecurity program by January 1st of 2026, which is part of a disaster recovery plan. This sets the high-level framework for the details of documenting our plan for cybersecurity, which will then aid in completion of the full disaster recovery plan. This program is to follow generally accepted best practices for cybersecurity, such as from organizations such as NIST, which is designed by IT security professionals. It includes, but is not limited to, identify risks, potential impact, mechanisms that detect threat, process to resolve issues, training requirements for employees, and requirements to give notice to the Ohio Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio Auditor State, along with, of course, our City Council, for any cyberware or security or ransomware incident. The City Administration, led by Eric Lundberg, our IT Administrator, is working through a process to have a documented cybersecurity program in place by January 1st of 2026. And note, the City has moved forward on putting the mechanisms and safeguards in place, some of which have been expensive. However, this will document the work that has been done. Also of interest is that the actual documented plan is exempt from public records requirements, as it would give cybercriminals too much information to be able to then attack our system. • I've been reading with interest also on the property tax working group the Governor has created in early summer, and they were discussing a limited tax payment deferral program, that would allow homeowners 65 and older who have owned their home for 10 years could delay paying their taxes until they die or sell their property. There are income restrictions, and no interest would accrue on the deferred payments. I know that the mortgage industry has expressed concern over what would be first lien on the property, the taxes or the mortgage, and there's also issues when reverse mortgages are involved on the property. • There are also several other proposals that are being discussed, such as eliminating the 10% non -business tax credit, and devote some of that savings to increasing the 2.5 owner -occupied credit, which that would take the 10% of the taxes that the state pays on our behalf, would then revert to the citizens and the taxpayers paying them. Allowing local governments to create residential stability zones for income and asset testing. Homeowners that are 60 and older with a tax break as home values increase, and then also capping school district floor revenue growth to inflation by crediting property owners and recalculating that every three years, rather than every six years. There's not a consensus on this yet, but there are still concerns, if this is enough help or not enough to offset the increases that residents have seen in this past year in 2024, and Mr. President, that concludes my report. 09 16 25 Council Mooting Minutes Page3