The County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) utilizes the Palmer Energy Company to help manage a natural gas program for member counties. The program was designed specifically to help counties save money on their natural gas bill by utilizing the strength of group buying. By grouping together, counties can leverage their buying power when shopping for their natural gas supplies in the market, thus securing the best deals possible. The independent energy professionals of the Palmer Energy Company, on behalf of the CCAOSC, obtain the best price for natural gas from various reputable suppliers through the RFP process. Advisory committee meetings are held for oversight purposes regarding the natural gas program. Presently there are over 50 counties participating. Those counties are collectively saving millions of dollars in the program.

Palmer Energy Company is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner.

For further information, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Kirkland Mizerek
Vice President
Palmer Energy Company
5577 Airport Highway – Suite 101
Toledo, OH 43615
419/539-9180

In 2010, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) received requests from counties and townships to assist with placing opt-out electric governmental aggregation on the ballot to help save their consumers money. In response to these requests, the CCAOSC created electric and natural gas governmental aggregation programs utilizing Palmer Energy as the program manager. Palmer Energy works one on one with the counties and townships to facilitate the steps needed to successfully put the aggregation on the ballot, complete the necessary paperwork for PUCO certification and helps the counties secure pricing so residents can benefit from lower pricing. Presently, over 25 counties are in the program.

Palmer Energy is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner.

For further information, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Kirkland Mizerek
Vice President
Palmer Energy Company
5577 Airport Highway – Suite 101
Toledo, OH 43615
419/539-9180

In 2008 energy conservation became one of the centerpieces of Ohio’s energy economy when the General Assembly passed SB 221 mandating that utilities achieve a 22% reduction in electric consumption by 2025. With such a large mandate and the availability of rebates to consumers, energy conservation projects have been initiated.

The County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) has partnered with Palmer Conservation Consulting (PCC), a division of Palmer Energy Company, to be the knowledgeable third party working on behalf of the counties. As it reviews the facility(s), PCC will interview internal personnel and seek guidance over the best energy conservation measures that provide maximum savings. PCC quickly assesses the facility(s), develops a list of potential conservation measures for review and make recommendations on some projects that may be pursued to maximize savings. Depending on the complexity of the projects and the county’s preferences, PCC will assist and advise on various stages of the project and then perform appropriate measurement and verification after installation is complete.

Palmer Energy Corporation and Palmer Conservation Consulting are endorsed CCAOSC program partners.

For further information, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
Assistant Director
209 E. State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Kirkland Mizerek
Vice President
Palmer Conservation Consulting
5577 Airport Highway – Suite 101
Toledo, OH 43615
419/539-9180

In response to members’ requests, in June 2008 the CCAO Board of Directors approved a new program to provide service and savings for counties – the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) Excess Workers’ Compensation Program. This program combines high-quality claims administration services with competitively priced excess coverage for counties choosing to self-insure their workers’ compensation. Sedgwick and Excess Comp Specialists have joined CCAOSC as partners in this program.

Sedgwick is CCAOSC’s partner in the CCAOSC Excess Workers’ Compensation Program to provide claims administration services for counties choosing to self-insure their workers’ compensation. For excess insurance coverage, CCAOSC has partnered with Excess Comp Specialists (ECS) to provide our program with access to the most secure and competitive markets for the benefit of our members.

Generally, a county with strong financials (i.e., audit results, bond rating, etc.) and more than 400 employees can consider self-insuring workers’ compensation. The CCAOSC Excess Workers Compensation Program will assist counties in evaluating self-insurance, provide high-quality claims administration services and competitively priced excess coverage. The process begins with a feasibility study prepared by Sedgwick. CCAOSC and Sedgwick can then assist counties in obtaining BWC approval, obtaining excess insurance and implementing their self-insured program.

Sedgwick and Excess Comp Specialists are endorsed CCAOSC program partners.

For further information, please contact:

Elizabeth Miller, Esq.
County Commissioners Association of Ohio
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH 43215-4309
614/220-7989 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/220-0209

For regular long distance calling, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation (CCAOSC) also offers a discount long distance program for county government. Counties can save substantial funds using a discount long distance service. In addition, if a county uses AT&T or Verizon for their local landline service they can also reduce these costs as a result of wholesale invoicing. In addition to the savings, counties also benefit from services such as six-second incremental billings, accounting codes, fiber optics technology, conference calling, calling cards and 1-800 service.

First Communications is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner.

For further information, please contact:

Aaron Johnson

Enterprise Account Executive

First Communications
3440 W. Market Street
Akron, OH  44333
330/835-2244 or 800/860-2934
Fax 866/672-0810

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
CCAO Assistant Director
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215-4309
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904

As more daily functions of county business are centered on computers and the web for storing and sharing information, the exposure to inefficient processes and potential security threats increases. CCAOSC has identified a need to assist counties with their IT needs with an emphasis on being placed on security so counties can better address the vulnerabilities of their IP networks.

CCAOSC has endorsed HG Consulting, LLC (HGC) to carry out our Cyber Assessment Program. HGC addresses cyber systems and cyber security by offering counties a wide range of cyber services now, including our signature external vulnerability scan and an informative, simple to read, follow-up report. This scan will look at a county’s external vulnerability and provides a detailed rating for vulnerabilities in your different platform areas.

Additionally, HGC offers the following cyber program services to counties at a discounted price to help address various levels of IT needs.

vCIO

Many small and mid-sized counties find it difficult to justify having a chief Information officer (CIO) on staff to plan, budget and manage their every changing IT initiatives. A virtual CIO (vCIO) is a business expert who understands how to strategically apply technology to support the county organization and focus on business and IT alignment so costs go down and productivity and simplification go up.

The role of the vCIO is designed to take the pressure off the county leadership team by providing your organization with just the right amount of ongoing strategic IT guidance.

• Organizations that engage in vCIO services see the following benefits:
• Improved visibility and control over technology investments and expenditures
• A more stable IT infrastructure
• IT initiatives that are aligned with business goals
• Improved Security Posture
• IT Roadmap

Internal Vulnerability Scan & Assessment

While strong external security is paramount, savvy attackers have found ways to circumvent the firewall and other border protection devices. They often do so through client-side attacks, such as enticing users to click a link, open an infected document, and/or leading them to the attacker’s malicious website. Organizations must develop strong layers of internal security to prevent these attacks.

Our Internal Vulnerability Assessment will test and analyze a cross-section of the network that is typical or representative sample of a network whole. This cross-section will provide network administrators with information on how their internal systems could be compromised if an attack is able to circumvent perimeter defenses.

Network Best Practices Assessment

A county-wide network assessment provides a quick snapshot of the current network with an examination of the infrastructure, performance, availability, management and security. That information is utilized for making effective strategy recommendations and design proposals to the county concerning specific information systems modifications before implementing wireless network equipment or any other upgrades needed.

General IT Infrastructure & Security Consulting

Our IT consultants are familiar with the latest technologies and the best practices used to implement them. They have County operations in mind. Our IT consultants are able meet with the county to help determine the best technology to implement and then are able to help procure, design and install the solution. Our Professional Services team is intended to be an extension of your own county, an asset for you to utilize as needed to help you achieve success in an evolving environment. The expertise that we bring to the table will assist your technology teams with technology projects large or small.

HG Consulting, LLC is an endorsed CCAOSC program partner. HG Consulting is an independent IT expert corporation located in central Ohio that will not be upselling additional services to the county.

For further information about any CCAOSC service program, please contact:

County Commissioners Association of Ohio Service Corporation
John Leutz
Legislative Counsel
209 East State Street
Columbus, OH  43215
614/221-5627 or 888/757-1904
Fax 614/221-6986 or

Or contact Hamilton Gottschall at HG Consulting directly:

Hamilton Gottschall
President
HG Consulting, LLC
1339 Mentor Drive
Westerville, OH 45242
614/259-8798

Summer 2023