Data Board advances CourtView project

Jun. 21—JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Data Board approved the technical scope of a project to improve the county's court records system at a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas serves as the chair of the board, and said the board's purchase approval process was to determine whether or not purchases above $15,000 will work with the county's systems.

Ashtabula County Prosecutor Colleen O'Toole said she was instructed by the state Auditor's Office to ask for a cease-and-desist of the project, and circulated a cease-and-desist letter at the start of the meeting.

She said the project sounds like a good idea, but they don't know what the contract looks like yet.

"There are some serious concerns about the present existence and the formations of the contract," O'Toole said.

She asked for a delay of a few weeks while waiting for feedback from the state Auditor's Office.

Voting on the project could expose the data board to potential litigation, she said.

O'Toole made a motion to table the project for three weeks.

Thomas said the data board's purview is not over contracts, it is over the technical specifications of software. If the data board were to approve the project, the commissioners would work out the contractual details, .

Commissioner Casey Kozlowski said in April of 2022, the Ashtabula County Clerk of Courts requested funding for the project, and the commissioners granted the request in June of that year.

"It's been over a year, and we're still talking about this," he said.

Kozlowski said the inaction of O'Toole's office has delayed action on this project.

"This project has continued to increase by the day," he said.

The commissioners want to move the project forward, and are working to make sure that the voices of all stakeholders are heard, Kozlowski said.

The data board could approve the technical aspects of the project, and the commissioners would move forward with the contractual aspects of the project, he said.

He called O'Toole's letter a threat.

"The county commissioners receive threats on a daily basis from the prosecutor's office," Kozlowski said.

The project will take two years to implement once the contract is approved.

"So it is imperative that we move this contract forward," he said.

O'Toole said the responsibility to comply with the law and safeguard public funds falls on everyone involved in the project.

"There are presently five contracts in this, all of which have different focus, all of which have different entities, many of which leave us as a county exposed, to the point of data breach, and other very simple and clear things," she said.

O'Toole said she has a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard public funds.

"We have tried to negotiate and negotiate and negotiate with the commissioners," she said. "They have decided universally to disregard any advice for safeguarding of public funds with the Prosecutor's Office."

Moving forward with the contract could create legal exposure and issues with the software vendor, she said.

O'Toole said she takes exception to Kozlowski's "politically charged" statement that her office has caused delays in the project, and said her office has a different role. Her office's role is to safeguard public funds and make sure county officials do not get sued.

There could be liability for officials if they wrongly approve funding for a project, she said.

"In the event that it comes back adverse, it will minimize the amount of difficulty, lawsuits, going forward," she said.

Waiting a few weeks would be easier than a lawsuit taking place, O'Toole said.

Kozlowski said the project has been in the works for a year, and the contract is not being executed at the meeting.

"Should the board take action today, it would approve it from a technical nature," he said.

Kozlowski said there is a very short window left to spend ARPA dollars, in a response to a question from County Recorder Barbara Schaab. He said if the ARPA funds are not available for the project, it likely will not be completed.

O'Toole said if the board takes a vote on whether or not to move forward with the project, it involves itself as a legal actor.

The motion to table the project failed in a 6-2 vote.

Kozlowski said the upgrade will provide remote access, streamlined and consistent data entry, advanced collection of filing fees and online imaging. The project would reduce the number of public records requests and reduce the amount of paper used by county offices, he said.

The Clerk of Courts office, county judges and court staff, Prosecutor's Office, Court of Appeals, the Public Defender's Office, Sheriff's Office, and police departments will all use CourtView, he said.

He estimated the cost at $1 million.

"We're a firm believer, with these ARPA dollars ... that these are one-time dollars, and we want to use them for one-time purchases," Kozlowski said.

Melissa Ginnard, the head of the county courts' IT department, said another county has been using the system for 12 years, and Ashtabula County has a long-standing relationship with the software company.

"When there's been changes in the law, they are quick to jump on those changes and make them happen," she said.

Rockford Benson, the county's chief information officer, said any IT issues he may have had concerns with have been addressed.

Thomas asked if there are any security concerns with the project, versus staying with the current system.

Ginnard said it is a security risk to stay with the current system.

Schaab asked if the upgrade would improve security.

Ginnard said the new system would receive continual security updates, in the background.

Thomas stressed multiple times that the data board is only approving the technical aspects of the project, not the contract for the project.

Kozlowski moved to approve the project and forward it to the commissioners' office.

The motion passed, six in favor and two abstentions. O'Toole and a representative from the Clerk of Courts office abstained.

After Tuesday's meeting, Thomas released the following statement:

"The Data Board approved this project under our role as ensuring good IT services and compatibility, we have no oversight on legal contract matters. The Prosecutor's Office has had a year and a half to work out the contract concerns and yet are still delaying. There is no pure technology issues they have, and yet they tried to scare us into delaying IT approval. Using the people's work as leverage is unacceptable. It is more dangerous to network security to keep the current system than update, it should have been done a long time ago. So we acted when given the opportunity as we have no IT concerns. Their cease and desist was more pure frivolous delays, I'm really disappointed, frankly."