Pepper Pike council adopts cybersecurity ordinance as amended to reflect current practices

Pepper Pike — The City Council voted to adopt ordinance 2025‑26, formally establishing a cybersecurity program described in the ordinance as the city’s current practices and procedures, with the council instructing staff to revise an attached exhibit to remove elements that do not apply to Pepper Pike.

Councilmembers expressed concern that the provided document contained anomalies: dates and tasks that the city had already completed, references to positions the city does not have, and other boilerplate language from a template. Speaker 4 said the exhibit "has a lot of stuff that just doesn't apply to us" and asked for those items to be removed. Speaker 2 proposed language in section 1 to adopt "the Pepper Pike cybersecurity program as currently practiced" and to tune up the rest of the document next year so the ordinance would reflect local operations without implying incomplete work.

Some councilmembers questioned the urgency of adopting the ordinance before year‑end. Speaker 2 said legal counsel indicated something needed to be in place by the end of the calendar year to satisfy state requirements, prompting the compromise to adopt existing practices and revise the exhibit later.

After a motion to amend and to suspend rules so the ordinance could be adopted at the meeting, the clerk called the roll. At least one councilmember voted "No" on the suspension/adoption; a majority recorded "Yes," and Speaker 2 announced the ordinance was adopted as amended. The ordinance directs staff to update the exhibit and return with a revised policy for further council review.

The council did not debate technical cybersecurity standards in detail during the meeting; members instead focused on tailoring the policy language and the timing of formal adoption.