Ross County staff to craft county-level policy under House Bill 96, expands cameras and pilots VoIP

Ross County officials said this week they are moving toward adopting a county-level policy to satisfy House Bill 96 requirements while allowing partner groups to opt in if they meet minimum standards. Andy, who led the briefing, said the goal is to "have it adopted by January 1" and described a "hybrid approach" that sets county minimums while letting other entities implement compatible policies.

Andy also outlined several operational technology projects intended to improve county services and continuity. He said cameras will be added over LCMB and at Paint and Main before year-end to give "better coverage," and staff are working on a secondary server backup application after an equipment battery failure briefly took systems offline. On phones, he said a VoIP pilot at 15 North Paint delivered features at a substantially lower price than replacing the county's legacy system: "It was $3,040,000 dollars for a new phone system… we pay $1,500, I think, a year," he said, citing a preliminary renewal quote of about $14.75 per user.

Why it matters: County adoption of a single policy for House Bill 96-related responsibilities would centralize baseline requirements and clarify county oversight. The technology changes are framed as cost-saving and resilience measures: the camera expansion addresses public-safety requests, and the VoIP pilot is designed to reduce recurring telecom costs while preserving functionality.

Next steps: Andy said he plans to return with a draft for the commission’s consideration by early December and encouraged continued offline discussion with stakeholders before formal adoption.