Lorain County Administrator Dave Greenspan told the Board of Commissioners on Jan. 17 that the county will begin executing short-term strategic-plan goals on Jan. 28 with a day-long session hosted at a local college and supported by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Why it matters: The county’s strategic plan identifies topics—such as urban forestry and H2Ohio water-management issues—where state technical assistance and grants may be available. The Jan. 28 convening is intended to connect local leaders with ODNR resources and grant programs.

What Greenspan said: The October strategic-plan process produced 56 short-term (one-year) goals; the Jan. 28 session will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the college and is expected to host about 50 participants, he said. The college is offering an optional lunch reservation for attendees; the county is not paying for lunches. Greenspan said ODNR will present on natural-resources topics and introduce attendees to grant-application resources that local communities can use.

Neogov payroll rollout: Greenspan and staff reported that the county went live on Jan. 1 with a new Neogov time-and-attendance/payroll system. He said the rollout produced some glitches and frustration as staff adapted, but that the county completed its first payroll cycle and “everybody got paid on time.” Greenspan thanked employees and named Megan Tayler and Todd Sharkey for assistance with on-site training for outlying departments.

Airport program manager and federal funding: Greenspan also reported a change at the FAA regional office: the program manager assigned to Lorain County Airport is now Mark Rinnell, replacing Georgina McDonald, and he said the change affects the county’s conduit to FAA funding sources.

What was not decided: The session was informational; the board did not adopt new policy at this meeting. Several agenda items requiring separate votes (contracts, change orders and grants) were handled on the consent rolls and are reported separately in the meeting record.

Quote: “We went live whether we were ready or not,” Greenspan said of the Neogov implementation, adding that the county made it through the first payroll and staff are producing training materials and videos.

Next steps: Greenspan said county staff will begin executing the short-term strategic-plan goals starting Jan. 28 and will circulate information about the ODNR session and registration details to partner communities.

Meeting context: The remarks occurred during the county administrator’s report and were followed on the agenda by other routine business and an executive session.