Huron County commissioners correct claims register, reappoint public-defender member and approve hiring

The Huron County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 14 amended a claims register, approved several routine resolutions including a reappointment and a hiring, and reviewed county employee health-insurance arrangements and a 911 phone outage that briefly dropped a call.

The commissioners — Harry Brady, Tom Dunlap and James R. Morgan — voted unanimously to amend Resolution 25-279 to correct a credit in a claims batch, changing the claims schedule total from $482,980.94 to $483,119.82. The board then certified payment batches #411410 and #410443 to the Huron County Auditor under Ohio Revised Code 305.10.

The board approved Resolution 25-285 to reappoint Mile Mull to the Huron County Public Defender Commission for the term Nov. 1, 2025–Oct. 31, 2029. Commissioners also authorized hiring Michael Spayde as a full-time Recycling/Transfer Station laborer beginning Oct. 20, 2025 at $20.50 per hour, contingent on a pre-employment physical, drug test and background check; the hire includes a 120-day probationary period and a $0.50-per-hour step increase after successful completion.

The commissioners approved requests for expenditures over $5,000, including a Buildings and Grounds service contract with Buckeye Excavating for a Shady Lane water-line project priced at $17,535.

Lara Hozalski, the county human-resources representative, briefed the board on employee health insurance and dental coverage. She said CEBO rates have been approved and recommended maintaining the current 90/10 employee premium split; the board agreed to keep the wellness program that reduces employee premiums by $50 for qualifying participants and to continue the annual $1,300 prorated stipend for employees who do not take county coverage. Vickie Ziemba, the county administrator/clerk, will prepare resolutions for the next meeting. Delta Dental participation remains voluntary with no county contribution and no rate increase.

Officials also described recent phone-system problems that affected emergency services. Sheriff Todd Corbin and 911 Coordinator Jessica Spears reported the county’s phone system crashed the day before the meeting, taking a 911 trunk offline and causing a dropped 911 call that could not be called back; Frontier restored the trunk in about 45 minutes. "One of our 911 trunks went down," Spears said, and "they dropped a 911 call and could not call this person back." IT staff member Joel Riedy said he was unaware the problem continued and that he would contact the county’s contractor, Forerunner, to prioritize the sheriff’s office as bids for a new phone system arrive later this week.

Deputy David Ditz told commissioners staff are seeking quotes to order four new patrol vehicles and have received a quote to produce proposal plans for internal and external renovation of the sheriff’s building.

After a brief recess, Mary Habig of NCAT briefed the board on transit service: NCAT completed about 12,000 trips in 2024 and about 10,000 through Sept. 30, 2025. Habig said service hours have increased even as total trips fell and that general-public trips are up roughly 70 per month while JFS-sponsored trips have declined about 80%, reducing the agency’s local-match revenue. Habig said about 20–25% of rides are work-related and described NCAT as the most cost-efficient option for the county.

At 9:35 a.m. the board entered executive session under Ohio Revised Code 121.22(G)(2) to discuss the purchase or sale of property; it returned to public session at 9:51 a.m. with no public action taken, and adjourned at 9:52 a.m.

The clerk certified the record of the board's actions taken Oct. 14, 2025.