Trumbull County

This plan outlines Trumbull County's approach to providing language assistance to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals in its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs, in accordance with Executive Order 13166. It details a methodology based on HUD recommendations, including a four-factor analysis to assess LEP needs and the development of a Language Access Plan (LAP). The plan identifies specific steps to reduce language barriers, such as informal assessment at public meetings, documenting LEP contacts, posting signage, providing web-based information, and establishing resource lists for interpreters and translation services.

This document is a 2025 update to an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, outlining actions taken and future plans. It focuses on several key areas: education on fair housing, increasing the supply and improving conditions of housing, enhancing accessibility to housing and activity centers, and increasing funding for housing initiatives and projects. The overarching goal is to affirmatively further fair housing within Trumbull County, including the cities of Warren and Niles.

The meeting included standard opening procedures, followed by announcements for future public workshops and regular meetings. Key agenda items addressed included the approval of bills and the retroactive approval of video recordings for the February 24th and February 25th, 2026 meetings. Significant discussions centered on amending a previous agenda item to authorize the purchase of multifactor authentication hardware tokens for the county jail, at a cost of $2,539. The Board also accepted a grant award of $1,750,000 from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections for the Trumbull County jail roof replacement. Further actions involved approving an agreement modification with Gloss Pile, Shmer, Burns, and Dehaven, Inc. for additional design work. The Commissioners approved an agreement with an actuary for the 2025 self-insurance report and authorized the termination of employment for a telecommunicator in the 911 Department. Purchase of two in-bed salt spreader boxes was approved, partially covered by a grant, resulting in a final county cost of $3,031.34. The Board pre-qualified a list of professional design firms for future projects under $50,000 for the calendar year 2026. The Board subsequently approved an Enterprise Zone agreement with Charles Manufacturing Company for tax incentives related to facility expansion and increased payroll. Finally, the Board proceeded to adopt a resolution authorizing participation in a governmental aggregation electric program, with discussion clarifying the procedure for authorizing the appropriate commissioner to sign the final agreement once pricing is locked in.

Key discussions during the workshop included dispensing with previous minutes and approving video recordings, approving outstanding bills, and amending a previous authorization for purchasing multifactor authentication hardware tokens for the county jail. A significant focus was placed on accepting a substantial grant award of $1,750,000 from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation Correction for jail roof replacement due to longstanding leaking issues, noting that the county committed $500,000 toward the project. The county engineer's office reported on temporarily ceasing the issuance of overweight/hauling permits due to road conditions and addressed an agreement modification for additional design services for the Oldtown Viodok bridge project. Human resources items included entering into an agreement for the 2025 self-insurance actuary report, with extensive discussion on the $20 million annual expenditure for health insurance claims, and the approval for the termination of a probationary telecommunicator.

The meeting commenced with the pledge of allegiance and an invocation. Key agenda items included dispensing with the reading of minutes from previous workshop and regular sessions, held on February 18th, 2026, and February 19th, 2026, respectively, and approving the video recordings as official minutes. The Commissioners also dispensed with the reading of minutes from a special meeting held on February 11th, 2026. Approval was sought for submitted bills and a list of purchase orders (OC 5705.41D January 2026). A significant discussion centered on approving an enterprise zone agreement with Charles Manufacturing Company, which requested 75% tax incentives for 10 years for facility expansion creating six new offices and approximately four jobs. Debate focused on setting precedent for existing businesses versus attracting new businesses, with reference made to a prior rejected proposal (Don Incorporated). The Mayor spoke in favor of supporting the existing business. Ultimately, a motion to table Agenda item number five was made to allow for further research and discussion with interested parties, including establishing guidelines for future abatements.