Troy committee forwards cybersecurity plan acknowledgment required by House Bill 96 to council
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Summary
The Safety and Health Committee recommended that Troy City Council acknowledge and adopt the city's cybersecurity plan as required by state House Bill 96. Committee members said the plan is largely in place, its operational details are exempt from public records, and the city will continue annual monitoring contracts such as with Arctic Wolf.
The City of Troy Safety and Health Committee on Oct. 13 voted to forward a recommendation that Troy City Council enact legislation acknowledging the city—s cybersecurity plan required by House Bill 96.
Chair William “Bill” Twist said House Bill 96 requires every public entity to have a cybersecurity plan that includes monitoring and an emergency action plan for breaches and that, by Jan. 1, council must acknowledge the existence of such a plan. Twist said the plan—s operational details are exempt from public records for security reasons and that the committee was not requesting emergency legislation.
Twist said the city is largely prepared: “we're probably 85% of the way to having everything together, but we're in compliance with what they expect at this point.” He clarified the acknowledgement is procedural and not itself a funding request. The committee discussed existing annual monitoring through a contract with Arctic Wolf; Twist said that monitoring is an ongoing annual expense but the committee was not approving new funding in this meeting.
Council member Phillips cited a recent news segment and warned that smaller cities are targeted by foreign actors seeking access to critical infrastructure. Phillips said such threats make the cybersecurity requirement important for local governments.
A resident, Matt Breen, asked whether the city—s current cybersecurity measures meet the new state standard. City staff and committee members said state officials or auditors may be aware of plans and that the state does not centrally approve plans but may request them; the committee indicated the state auditor and the city—s insurance pool have mechanisms to review compliance. The committee advised forwarding a positive recommendation to council for formal acknowledgement and placement on the council agenda.
Next steps: the committee will forward the recommendation for council action; council must formally adopt or acknowledge the plan to meet the Jan. 1 requirement under HB 96.
