Miami County updates IT password policy to meet industry standards; county administrator authorized to sign

The Miami County Board of County Commissioners approved an update to the county’s IT password policy and authorized the county administrator to sign the new policy.

Lucas Mellinger, assistant county administrator, said the changes were recommended by the county’s cybersecurity contractors ISG and Arctic Wolf and were intended to bring the county "up to industry standards" and strengthen protections beyond network defenses. "The best fire on the firewall in the world can't protect a bad password," Mellinger said during the discussion.

Mellinger asked the board to allow the county administrator to sign the new policy. A motion to update the password policy was moved and seconded; the commission approved the policy unanimously.

The county did not present the draft policy language on the record during the meeting and no statutory citations were given. Commissioners did not record additional implementation timelines, enforcement mechanisms, or training requirements during the public discussion; staff follow-up may clarify operational rollout.