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Hartland board adopts mandatory cybersecurity training after trustee fraud scare
Summary
Following a reported email scam and a trustee's withdrawn reimbursement request, the Village of Hartland board voted to require annual cybersecurity training for all board members after spring elections and to coordinate training with its IT vendor.
The Village Board of the Village of Hartland voted Dec. 9 to require cybersecurity training for members of the board to take place after the spring election and before newly elected trustees take office.
The action followed discussion of a recent email scam that targeted Trustee Ed Walshlager and a request by Walshlager to remove his $1,200 reimbursement claim from the agenda. Walshlager told the board he had asked for the agenda item to be removed in writing and by telephone on Dec. 6 and said he no longer sought village assistance on the claim. “So at this time I am officially again requesting to have this item removed from consideration,” Walshlager said during public discussion.
Why it matters: Board members said the incident showed the village’s elected officials are at risk of phishing and impersonation schemes. Board members and staff argued a scheduled, in-person training session would increase uptake and let officials ask questions in public rather than relying solely on optional email-based modules.
Board members described a plan coordinated with the village’s third-party IT provider, OnTech. A village staff member told the board OnTech proposed a webinar-style session that would be held in April after election results are certified and that staff will store evidence of completion. “What they're looking at doing is a webinar training that would be mandatory for all staff…in April, after the election results, that the entire Board would take,” the staff member said.
A trustee moved and the board approved a policy to hold cybersecurity training in the boardroom during a public meeting period after the spring election and before newly elected trustees assume office. Board members said staff will organize the session and work with OnTech to make completion verifiable; one board member urged that participants receive an automated confirmation after completing the training so the village can document compliance.
The board voted unanimously to carry the motion. There was no formal vote recorded on the withdrawn reimbursement claim; Walshlager had removed the item prior to further consideration.
What’s next: Staff will coordinate scheduling with OnTech and place the training on a future agenda as a public, post‑election item. No sanctions or penalties for nonparticipation were adopted; trustees said the village will make the training “as mandatory as we can.”
