Butler County commissioners updated the employee information technology policy and created a committee Wednesday, Sept. 23, to improve security and ensure responsible use of artificial intelligence and other technology.

IT policy updates include an AI use policy that prohibits releasing sensitive information and a password policy that requires employees to use passwords containing 16 characters instead of the 14 characters that had been used, said James Venturini, the county’s IT director.

The AI use policy is the main addition to the IT policy, he said.

“It’s more about using it responsibly,” Venturini said.

County computers contain a lot of data, and technology is constantly evolving, Venturini said. Employees must change their passwords every six months under the password policy.

Commissioner Kevin Boozel said the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania recommends creating an IT committee.

Commissioners approved the new Information Governance and Oversight Committee to ensure employees use county technology including AI, data systems and digital tools in a responsible and secure manner.

The committee is charged with ensuring county data is handled safely, consistently and in line with legal requirements, reviewing and approving AI tools, guiding the use of emerging technology, maintaining cybersecurity policies and planning technology incident response.

Representatives from the IT, human resources, court administration, commissioners and solicitor offices will make up the committee.

In addition, commissioners approved a one-year extension of the contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture while it is developing permanent contracts for counties for the Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program.

The current contract expires Sept. 30. The contract extension expires Sept. 30, 2027.

The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributes food to county residents through the program.

Commissioners also approved three agreements for inmate healthcare and regulated and unregulated technology services for Butler County Prison.

The two-year healthcare contract with PrimeCare Medical will cost $259,858 per month, increases the catastrophic cap from $200,000 to $400,000 and increases the hours of mid-level providers such as a nurse practitioner from 16 to 24 hours a week. An optional one-year extension is included in the contract.

The catastrophic cap is the maximum the prison spends on healthcare before insurance coverage kicks in. Increasing the cap prevents overage costs and helps with budgeting, Warden Beau Sneddon said. The prison exceeded the $200,000 cap every year, he added.

Boozel said the contract requires PrimeCare to return any unused amount of the cap.

Having a nurse practitioner work more hours is intended to reduce the number of after-hours hospital trips that result in overtime for deputy sheriffs, Leslie Osche, board of commissioners chairwoman, said.

The previous contract with PrimeCare cost $213,862 per month.

Combined Public Communications is the contractor for the unregulated 60-month messaging and handheld device technology agreement and the regulated 60-month communications general services agreement.

The messaging and handheld device agreement provides the county with a 2-cent recovery fee for every minute of inmate video visits, and the county is waiving the recovery fee for phone use in exchange for investigative and monitoring services, Sneddon said.

The communications general services agreement covers e-messaging and entertainment, and provides the county with a $500,000 per year commission, he said.

The county prison board approved the contracts last week.