MAHONING COUNTY New system will link almost all court computers

Another person has been appointed to the county visitors bureau.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A new computer system will allow nearly all courts in Mahoning County to be linked into the same system within a year.
County commissioners approved purchase Thursday of $1.1 million worth of new software for the project. Clerk of Courts Anthony Vivo said it will be obtained through a state purchasing consortium. He credited the county auditor's office for negotiating the cost down from the original estimate of about $2 million.
"This represents a tremendous leap forward," said Robert Rupeka, common pleas court administrator, who said the plan has been in the works since 2000. "It's been a long time coming."
Present system
The present system has been in place since 1989, and court officials say it is outdated.
Vivo said revenue from a court computerization fund established by judges several years ago will be used to pay for the software. It will also pay for new PCs and other hardware to complete the system, an additional cost which Vivo said will run between $400,000 and $500,000.
The system will be installed in nearly all courts in the county, including common pleas court, domestic relations, juvenile court, the county's four area courts and Youngstown Municipal Court. Only Campbell and Struthers municipal courts will not be involved, because those communities opted against participating, Vivo said.
When the system is finished, employees at each court will be able to access records from all the other courts. Local police departments also will have access to all the court information, Vivo said.
The new system also will allow the county to begin scanning court documents and saving them on computers rather than having to keep actual paper copies in the courthouse.
The final phase will be creation of an Internet Web site that will allow the public to access most court documents from their home computers.
Vivo said the project will take six to 12 months to complete.
Vivo said about 25 other counties in Ohio use the same system, including Trumbull, Columbiana, Ashtabula and Portage.
Commissioners also approved purchase of 32 new Dell computers for the auditor's office at an estimated cost of $40,401. These computers also will be bought through the state purchasing system.
Joins bureau
In other matters, commissioners appointed Jeffrey Maurer to serve in the newly formed Mahoning County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The only other members are Commissioner Ed Reese and Joseph Caruso, interim assistant county administrator.
Maurer is vice president of the Mahoning County Lodging Council and is manager of the Red Roof Inn, Boardman.
bjackson@vindy.com