Computer network outage update: Monroe County government definitely to open July 8, cybersecurity experts working to determine scope of issue

Illustration by AI (DALL·E 3) of the analytical work being done on Monroe County servers.

After being shut down early on Monday, July 1, due to a computer network outage of unknown cause, Monroe County government announced Wednesday that county offices would remain closed until Monday, July 8.

Late Friday afternoon, Monroe County’s chief technology officer, Greg Crohn, told The B Square that the latest word from county commissioners is that county government offices will definitely be back open for business on Monday morning (July 8).

On Friday, a statement about the outage was posted on the Monroe County website, which stresses that there has been “no disruption of law enforcement or emergency care services.”

Even though government offices will be open on Monday, Crohn said he does not at this point know how much of the computer network will be functioning. Crohn put it like this: “It’s still unclear at this time as to what level I will have the servers back up.”

[Updated at 9:10 a.m. on July 8, 2024. Crohn has sent a message to county staff that reads in part: “At this time all production servers are back in operation. This includes the shared, public and departmental drives.” The sign on the county courthouse door indicating closure has been removed, and the doors are unlocked.]

Continue reading “Computer network outage update: Monroe County government definitely to open July 8, cybersecurity experts working to determine scope of issue” →

Monroe County government computer network down, offices closed until July 8

Sign posted a Monroe County’s Election Central on July 1, 2024.

Sign posted on the door of Monroe County sheriff’s office on July 2, 2024.

Sign posted at the Monroe County courthouse on July 1, 2024)

After closing down on Monday and Tuesday due to a computer network server outage, Monroe County government offices look like they could be closed on Wednesday, too.

Offices would not be open on Thursday anyway due to the July 4 holiday.

[Updated on Tuesday 3:53 p.m. July 2, 2024. Via the county’s emergency alert system the following message was sent (emphasis added): “Monroe County Government Offices, including the Court, will be closed Wednesday, through Friday and reopen Monday, July 8. Jail employees and Road deputies are not affected by this closure.”

The headline for this report has been revised to reflect this new information.]

Monroe County’s chief technology officer, Greg Crohn, told The B Square that county staff, with the help of a third-party vendor, are working “diligently around the clock on it, trying to get this rectified as soon as possible.”

[Updated at 3:14 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Monroe County issued a news release on the situation. It concludes, “When we have something available for sharing we will provide that as soon as possible.”]

Continue reading “Monroe County government computer network down, offices closed until July 8” →

Backlash on Monroe County’s pending decision to change vendor for employee health clinic

Monroe County assessor Judy Sharp. (May 28, 2024)

Monroe County’s employee health clinic is located in the county’s health services building at 7th Street and College Avenue. (May 28, 2024)

Monroe County council from top: Marty Hawk, Cheryl Munson, Geoff McKim, Trent Deckard, Jennifer Crossley, Kate Wiltz, and Peter Iversen. (May 28, 2024)

A transition to a different vendor for Monroe County’s employee health clinic, which was established in 2010, appears on the agenda for the regular meeting of the board of county commissioners on Wednesday morning.

Under the terms of the contract, Monroe County will start working to transition to ProActiveMD as the new health care vendor for the county’s employee health clinic.

[Updated at 11:59 a.m. on May 29, 2024: At Wednesday’s meeting of the commissioners, county personnel administrator Elizabeth Sensenstein presented additional details about the timeline, dollar figures for the different proposals, and past performance of the incumbent vendor, which were weighed in making the recommendation to change vendors. Seven people, including four county elected officials, spoke from the public mic against the change or in support of current providers. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the agreement with ProActiveMD.]

The plan has drawn opposition from several employees, including some elected officials who are department heads in the county.

Among the department heads opposing the change in the health clinic health vendor are county treasurer Cathy Smith and county assessor Judy Sharp.

On Tuesday night, the two raised their concerns at the Monroe County council’s regular meeting. Sharp said that other county departments are also opposed to the change and in support of the letter—mentioning the auditor’s office, the airport, the clerk’s office, the sheriff’s office, and the probation department.

Smith and Sharp addressed the county council, the county government’s fiscal body, because one of the reasons that’s been given for changing health care vendors is increased costs from the current vendor—Everside Health, which is merging with Marathon Health.

But it’s the county’s three-member board of commissioners that makes the decision on the choice of health care vendor for the employee health clinic.

A letter to county commissioners signed by several employees, concludes with an appeal: “We respectfully request that the Commissioners reconsider these anticipated changes and take employee preferences into account when making decisions that directly impact the health and safety of employees and their families.” Continue reading “Backlash on Monroe County’s pending decision to change vendor for employee health clinic” →

Alea iacta est: May 7, 2024 primary election results, served when ready

Primary Election Day polls for May 7, 2024 have now closed in Monroe County.

The cutoff time was 6 p.m., which made for a 12-hour voting day. But anyone in line by 6 p.m. has to be allowed to cast a ballot.

Voters who joined the line just before the closing of the polls are just one reason that results can’t be reported immediately at 6 p.m.

Monroe County clerk Nicole Browne typically cautions against expecting any results before 7 p.m. The earliest votes that will be reported are from in-person early voting and mailed-in absentee ballots.

The B Square will add to this article with time-stamped updates from Election Central until the final unofficial results are in, or otherwise indicated here.

[Updated 8:25 p.m. May 7, 2024. The unofficial winners of the contested local races for respective party nominations: Democrat Jody Madeira for District 3 county commissioner; Democrat Julie Thomas for District 2 county commissioner; Democrats Trent Deckard, Cheryl Munson, and David Henry for at-large county council. And Republican Joe Van Deventer for District 3 county commissioner.]
Continue reading “Alea iacta est: May 7, 2024 primary election results, served when ready” →

Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries

These are the lanyards for Monroe County election board members: Nicole Browne, Judith Benckart, and John Fernandez.

Election Central at 7th and Madison streets is set up to process mailed-in and early in-person ballots.

Chart of the early in-person voting totals for the 2024 primary election in Monroe County.

On Monday night, a red-tailed hawk kept watch over Monroe County’s Election Central from the antenna on top of the justice center at 7th Street and College Avenue.

On Monday night, campaign yard signs at Fairview Elementary School were guarded by the Joe LaMantia’s Aristicat.

Campaign yard signs at Monroe County’s election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets.

By around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night, all but three of the 29 polling locations for Primary Election Day on May 7 had checked in with Monroe County election division staff at Election Central to confirm they were set for the next day’s voting.

Election Central is the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Continue reading “Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries” →

Election 2024 | 4 contested races in Monroe County primaries: 1 council at-large, 3 commissioner

Friday at noon was the deadline for declaration of a candidacy for local office in a major party primary this year.

When the deadline passed, the filings in Monroe County added up to four contested primary races—three for the Democrats and one for Republicans. The primary election falls on May 7, with early voting starting two months from now, on April 9.

It was the District 3 race for county commissioner that drew the most interest, with a total of five filings—by three Democrats and two Republicans.

The incumbent, Democrat Penny Githens, will compete in a three-way race for her party’s nomination. Filing for District 3 on Jan. 10, the first day it was possible to declare a candidacy, was former Bloomington city councilmember Steve Volan. Filing for District 3 on Friday, the final day of the window, was Indiana University law professor Jody Madeira.

For the Republicans, the primary race will be contested between Joe VanDeventer, who is director of street operations for the city of Bloomington, and Paul White, Sr. who has previously run for elected office, most recently for county recorder.

In the District 2 race for county commissioner, two Democrats filed paperwork—incumbent Julie Thomas and challenger Peter Iversen, who currently serves on the Monroe County council. Continue reading “Election 2024 | 4 contested races in Monroe County primaries: 1 council at-large, 3 commissioner” →

Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse

In 2024, the local civic cosmos could see some big changes, in the same year when a rare literal cosmic event will unfold.

On April 8, a solar eclipse will briefly cast a shadow directly over the Bloomington area, turning daylight into gloam. (Yes, that is an awfully fancy word for “twilight,” but it’s the kind of highfalutin fare that is customary for a newspaper year-in-preview column.)

During an eclipse, in the battle between dark and light across the visible disk of the sun, the dark begins with a steady assimilation of the light’s territory, but the light always reverses the trend and prevails in the end.

That’s either a great or a lousy metaphor for municipal annexation, depending on a person’s political perspective.

In fall of 2021, Bloomington’s city council approved the annexation of seven different territories, all of which are still the subject of litigation.

Metaphors aside, 2024 holds the potential for some court decisions on those pending annexations, which might settle the question of how much Bloomington’s boundaries will change.

Of course, annexation is just one of myriad civic issues that are in the queue for Bloomington and Monroe County in 2024.

Here’s a non-exhaustive rundown of topics The B Square will try to track in the coming year. Continue reading “Column: Staring into the civic sun in 2024, the year of a solar eclipse” →

Monroe County council looks at boosting employee pay in 2024: “We have our work cut out for us.”

Monroe County council (Aug. 22, 2023)

On Tuesday night, Monroe County councilors opened a discussion about next year’s salary increase for county employees.

A starting point for that discussion is 6 percent. No decisions were made on Tuesday. The county’s budget process will unfold over the course of a couple of weeks starting Sept. 6.

The 6-percent number is based on the December 2021 to December 2022 consumer price index increase (CPI) for the Midwest region, as calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure has long been used by the county council as a reference point for pay increases.

As the fiscal body for county government, it’s the county council that makes the final decision on the budget. Continue reading “Monroe County council looks at boosting employee pay in 2024: “We have our work cut out for us.”” →

Monroe County treasurer: Property taxes getting paid at same pace as last year; emailed questions better, but don’t be afraid to call

It’s spring property tax season in the Hoosier state. Payments are due next Monday, May 11. But a COVID-19 health emergency order from Indiana governor Eric Holcomb means no penalties will be owed as long as the payment is postmarked by July 10.

Cropped smaller 10-10-2019-auction-IMG_6132 — In this file photo, Monroe County’s treasurer, Jessica McClellan, auctions off property at the tax sale held Oct. 10, 2019 (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)

So even though the county courthouse is closed, and the treasurer’s office does not have to provide face-to-face counter service, the treasurer is extra busy.

“The phone never stops ringing,” Monroe County treasurer Jessica McClellan told The Square Beacon on Wednesday. She pegged the number of calls on a average day at around 140, not counting the calls that get routed to other phones at the courthouse.

Most local governmental finance departments are factoring in a delay in revenues due to the extended deadline. But according to McClellan, collections are coming in at about the same pace as last year.

“People are either very amazing or they just don’t know that the deadline has been extended,” she said.

The treasurer’s webpage urges taxpayers to pay by the due date even if the penalties are waived: “However, we are urging all taxpayers to pay their bills in a timely manner. Funds for property taxes help pay police, fire and other essential services that are still being performed.” Continue reading “Monroe County treasurer: Property taxes getting paid at same pace as last year; emailed questions better, but don’t be afraid to call” →