Union City council reviews cybersecurity service quote, asks staff to gather more bids

Union City council members on Feb. 17 reviewed a vendor quote to bring the village into compliance with an Ohio cybersecurity requirement that takes effect July 1, 2026.

A council member summarized the proposal from the vendor described in the transcript as LEAP IT and said the state requires a formal cybersecurity plan by 07/01/2026. The quote includes a one-time onboarding fee and a monthly service charge for 24/7 monitoring, email domain setup and ongoing maintenance. During discussion members cited a one-time figure of $5,500 (speaker who presented the quote) and another figure of $7,500 later in the exchange, and a monthly monitoring line item quoted at about $17.92 plus additional monthly hardware rental of about $2.89 for firewall/Wi‑Fi equipment.

Council members asked for comparisons with county or school contracts, noting that Darke County and Greenville and some area schools use county or regional providers. Members discussed whether to purchase hardware outright or accept monthly rental arrangements and whether a county-wide vendor (DOS in the discussion) might reduce monthly fees. The council did not award a contract at the meeting; members agreed to solicit additional quotes and to request an invitational quote from nearby school and county partners before taking further action.

The staff member who presented the quote also noted practical steps required before onboarding: devices must be inventoried and licensed consistently, and several benchmark items flagged as noncompliant will have to be corrected prior to full implementation. That presenter said the vendor would create government email domains and migrate current accounts to be subject to public‑records processes under the new domain.

Next steps: staff will gather additional competitive quotes, reach out to local schools and county IT providers for invitational quotes and return to council with comparative pricing and scope details.