Resident presents concerns over council president giving internet service to city offices

A Bucyrus citizen presented a petition to Bucyrus City Council regarding what she sees as a legislative violation by the council president.

In her petition, Clarissa Slater said she alerted the Ohio Ethics Commission about Kurt Fankhouser's business providing free internet service to city government.

Among the concerns of allowing Wavelinc to provide the service, according to the document Slater submitted to council, were preferential treatment of city officials, user data sales to third parties and benefits from advertising his dealings with the city. She requested a financial audit be done on Wavelinc.

Following the meeting Fankhauser said the city benefits $30,000-$50,000 annually from free Wavelinc internet. He said he does not sell user data to third parties and he can’t see it as it is encrypted.

Slater said Fankhauser could advertise his business dealings with the city to increase his company's notoriety and benefits by having access to the city’s utility poles. Slater said the city should request a financial audit of Wavelinc “to ensure that he is not making money off of our data.”

Information access, making a profit are two concerns

“Essentially they can copy your information, and that process is called data cashing,” Slater said, stating internet providers can legally sell data to third parties. “With that information, they can gather some pretty accurate information about you, your residential address, your income, your gender, your sexual orientation, your general interests, your political affiliation, your state of health, and your occupation can all be identified through the algorithms, through the data that you send over the internet.”

She said making financial profit off the internet donation was prohibited by an Ethics Commission opinion in 2019. The opinion was issued in response to a request from then Bucyrus Law Director Robert Ratliff and Fankhauser, who at the time was City Council president-elect.

Slater said Fankhauser skipped council in securing a contract for Wavelinc. Her opinion, she said, is based on inquiries to the city and finding there was no written contract, but a gentlemen’s agreement between then Mayor Bruce Truka and Fankhauser.

“I believe he is using his position to gain unique access to city officials to secure a preferential treatment of Wavelink,” Slater said.

A lack of transparency

She further said internet service providers can see search history, video logs, video feed, emails, anything that is opened, unless certain security protocols are used.

Slater also mentioned cameras provided by Fankhauser in Millennium Park. She was concerned direct access to cameras was not given to the city emergency services.

She also expressed doubts Fankhauser operated his business with fewer personnel than larger internet providers, and he might not be aware of the legislative ramifications of his services. Slater said there is a lack of transparency.

“In my opinion, through logic and reason, we find him violating laws,” Slater said. “What assurance do we have that he is not breaking laws and procedures that we don’t know of.”

She said her motivation in presenting the petition is being a six-generation Bucyrus resident and wanting to leave Bucyrus a better place than it was for her children and other citizens. Slater said she feared Fankhauser’s intentions were not for the betterment of Bucyrus.

Fankhauser’s comments

Fankhauser said he does not have access to user data, saying the vast majority of internet traffic in 2024 is encrypted and no internet service provider would be able to un-encrypt it.

Fankhauser said he did not know who owned the utility poles in front of Millennium Park. The cameras on them were installed in 2019 by request of the parks owner, Projects Inc., and he was not an elected official at that time.

Before 2019, Fankhauser said, there were cameras installed on the same pole by a different company for many years before that and those cameras had stopped working.

Fankhauser said he does not run advertisements for his business that mention providing the city’s internet. He said he does not talk about it unless someone brings it up and asks.

“I consider it a silent donation,” Fankhauser said.

He said he estimated the internet donated by him is going to save the city between $30,000 and $50,000 annually, “which is huge in this time considering the city budget is so tight right now.”

“I do not know why Mrs. Slater is wasting the city’s time and resources dealing with things that are of great benefit to the community and the taxpayer,” Fankhauser said.

He advised Slater should instead question City Council on how it will make up the city's looming financial shortfalls to ensure the Police and Fire department budgets have adequate funding.

“To me that is way more important of a discussion than cameras on a light post,” Fankhauser said.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Resident brings petition against Fankhouser, Bucyrus council president