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Gahanna IT outlines new unified dispatch system, cybersecurity upgrades and municipal complex work
Summary
Director of Information Technology Renee Carter told council the city will join a regional unified 911 dispatch system (EBSIS) in September, build communications and 911 infrastructure for a new municipal complex, and pursue network detection, email security upgrades and a penetration test.
Renee Carter, director of information technology for the city of Gahanna, told City Council on May 5 that the IT department is leading implementation of a regional unified 911 dispatch system, preparing technology for a new municipal complex and expanding cybersecurity measures.
Carter said Gahanna has partnered with Whitehall, Grandview Heights, Reynoldsburg and Bexley to form the Eastern Public Safety Information System (EBSIS). She said the new 911 dispatch system is scheduled to go live in late September and that Gahanna’s IT team is leading network design and implementation. Carter also described the department’s role in the municipal complex project — designing network infrastructure, building access systems, security cameras and a new 911 communications center.
On cybersecurity, Carter said the city participates in the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) cyber-hygiene scanning program, expanded single sign-on to eight additional applications, and deploys mandatory cybersecurity awareness training in June for all gahanna.gov email accounts. She described planned 2025 upgrades funded in the budget: a network detection and response (NDR) system, cloud-based email security, expanded vulnerability management and a professional penetration test (the last penetration test was in 2017, she said). Carter also said two technology-security initiatives are included in a Cyber Ohio grant application pending review in June.
Carter gave operational metrics: 559 support tickets resolved so far this year (187 from police, 101 from parks and recreation) and inventories for city devices including 42 desktops, 156 laptops, 22 cruiser tablets and 85 servers. She said police cruisers received upgraded touchscreen tablets and eCitation hardware and the city rolled out a cloud-based ticketing system that now supports HR onboarding/offboarding workflows. Carter described outreach such as an IT Cyber Café that drew 30 attendees from 12 departments.
President Bowers and other councilmembers thanked Carter; Bowers asked whether the upcoming penetration test would be the city’s first. Carter replied the city had a test in 2017 but said technologies have changed and the upcoming assessment will be effectively new.
