Warren council denies reimbursement, requests pause on SignUpGenius over FOIA and privacy concerns
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Summary
Council removed and denied a $431.91 check and voted to request a pause on the mayor’s office use of SignUpGenius pending IT and legal review after council members raised FOIA and resident‑data privacy concerns.
Warren — During debate over the city’s bills on Jan. 27, the Warren City Council voted to deny payment of check #688376 for $431.91 (a reimbursement to the mayor) and unanimously requested a pause on the use of the third‑party service SignUpGenius for city functions pending review by city IT and the city attorney.
Councilwoman Mindy Moore moved to remove the check from the bills list and said the council was concerned about "third‑party control" of resident data, FOIA access to that data and whether the mayor’s office had properly provided documents previously requested by council. "This is third party control. Personal information, names, emails, availability is stored on a non‑government platform outside municipal data protections," Moore said. She asked that any data collected be turned over to council and proposed pausing usage until IT and legal could evaluate security and FOIA access.
Councilman Lafferty and other councilmembers supported the concern about end‑user license agreements and the need for counsel and IT to review terms of service. City Attorney Jeff Schroeder recommended a pause "until there can be review of the security of the system, an understanding of what data is being collected and how it's being used and who has access to it and come back with a report." He framed the action as a temporary pause rather than an outright moratorium.
After procedural votes to approve bills with the disputed check removed, council voted to deny check #688376 and then approved the request to pause use of the program pending further review. The pause passed by voice vote; one member (Miss McGee) recorded a no vote on the pause motion. The council asked that IT and legal report back to council with recommendations.
Council members and staff discussed options including IT review, vendor contact to clarify FOIA responsiveness, and whether a policy should be drafted to limit use of unapproved third‑party tools for government functions. Moore urged development of ordinances or policies to prevent routine municipal use of unvetted third‑party sign‑up platforms until safeguards are in place.
Next steps: city IT and the city attorney will evaluate SignUpGenius’ terms of service, data export/retention practices and FOIA responsiveness and will report findings to the council.
