December 2009 Meeting Notes

Note: These are my personal notes from the council meeting. They are NOT the official minutes, nor should they be construed as an official record of any kind.

Boone County Council
12/08/2009
Present: All Council Members, Secretary Heather Barton, Auditor Melody Price, Attorney Bob Clutter.
The council approved the minutes of the November meeting after some corrections.

RE-APPROPRIATIONS: (All Approved minus $2400 from Circuit Court)
Auditor (Melody Price):
Requested $1300 from clerical to overtime and $99.20 from dues/subscriptions to travel.

Sheriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested $2225 from medical to safe keeping; $100 from motor vehicle to reserves (pagers); $2200 from part-time to overtime (covering a staffing gap). Sheriff Campbell also requested roughly $9300 to add wireless access points to in-car cameras, as well as storage center software and recording equipment for recording sheriff’s department and jail phone lines, radios and cameras.

Enhanced 911 (Ken Campbell):
Total of roughly $775 from three funds to Equipment.

County Extension (no one present):
Transferred $446.70 to office machine/lease to cover a late fee lease charge.

Commissioners (Charles Eaton):
Requested $1000 from insurance to bonds to settle SBOA requirement for bonding. Requested $250 for . . ..

IT (John Stansell):
Requested $1250 from office supplies & $1000 from systems/app maintenance to map maintenance to help cover consulting fee for phase II software upgrade.
Requested $1516 from Communications Internet & $3268 from Systems/App maintenance to Equipment Hardware Purchase to replace failing server.

Courthouse Maintenance (Mike Martin):
requested $500 from vehicle to supplies to purchase additional ice melting supplies.

Superior II (no one present):
$250 from witness/deposition to interpreter.

Circuit Court (no one present):
Requested $7000 from juvenile placement to pauper attorney fees; requested $190 from continuing ed to dues/subscriptions; requested $25 from equipment repairs to judges pro tem & $28 from equipment repairs to overtime.
Requested $2400 from equipment repairs to equipment to purchase new computer & related equipment for new employee dedicated to securing reimbursements. Deferred pending further information.
Judge David appeared later to answer questions, and a resolution to give his office an unused computer from the treasurer’s office was reached. Request for the $2400 was withdrawn.

EMA (Rachel Hanson):
Requested $281 from part time to OT.

Probation User Fee (Kari Ragsdale):
Requested $131 from professional dues to thinking4achange; $546 from prof. dues to sleep time; $2000 from furniture & fixtures to retirement contribution; $2000 from equipment repairs to OASI; $2500 from health/life to secretary; $2000 from drug testing to secretary. Questions were raised about the additional expense for retirement, OASI & secretary funds which are not covered by the salary ordinance. Ragsdale and Heather Barton explained the need to correct negative balances due to mis-estimation when employees were changed this summer.

Juvenile Probation User Fee (Kari Ragsdale):
Requested $250 from office supplies to OASI to cover salary ordinance oversight.

Community Corrections Grant Fund (Ragsdale):
$1229 from educational materials to supplies.

Community Corrections project income (Ragsdale):
Requested $48 from office machines to travel expense; $34 from office machines to printing; $595 from office machines to training & development.

Superior II – Alcohol & Drug (Ragsdale):
$1000 from educational materials to OASI & $700 from ed materials to retirement contribution to correct oversights.


ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Prosecutor (Tonya Thayer):
Returned to renew request for $10000 which was withdrawn at Council’s request last month. Attorney Clutter, at Council’s request, had spoken with Prosecutor Meyer about the specific issues involved and affirmed that the request to reimburse Whitestown Police was appropriate, as the activities billed were specific and unusual, above and beyond an ordinary course investigation within Whitestown PD’s duties. MUCH discussion again followed regarding the propriety of paying Whitestown, but also focusing on whether the bill should paid from the general fund/prosecutor’s fund or from a pre-trial diversion fee fund. Eventually a motion to appropriate $1800 to the trial expense fund was approved 5-2, with the understanding that the Whitestown bill would be paid from the fee fund, and the additional $1800 would be added to the current trial expense fund balance to cover costs for the remainder of the year. Council members Smith and Rodgers voted against the additional appropriation from the general fund.

E911 (Ken Campbell):
Requested $1650 to pay for repairs to DVR for jail video cameras, which have already taken place. This request needs to go before the commissioners for approval. Withdrawn.


NEW BUSINESS:
Hussey Mayfield Library Board President LeeAnn Biggs and Dr. Gayle Cox were present for Dr. Cox’s reappointment.

Dax Norton of the Boone Economic Development Corporation gave an overview of the EDC’s activities for 2009. EDC is currently working on 5-6 major projects which are nearing finalist location selection. Landing the MedCo and related expansion, as well as other success have been big for the county. Being selected by Midwest ISO was also a coup for Boone County, though its rejection was a blow. EDC has determined a need to focus on workforce development, and Norton has partnered with Audra Poe of the Boone Community Learning Network to address this need. Another priority is development and retention of current employers, including developing more extensive capital financing to attract new businesses. Utilizing funds in Lebanon and Zionsville’s TIF districts may be an option. President Jacob and Councilman Thompson expressed concerns about the rejection of the MISO project and the ill effects on Boone County’s image for development, including on entities such as Zionsville, Whitestown and Lebanon as they try to attract development. Norton agreed that the impact would be negative, but emphasized that the EDC would continue to work to overcome those perceptions.

Assessor Lisa Garoffolo introduced Barry Wood of the Department of Local Government Finance to answer council questions about the timeline for reassessment. The council in October advised the Assessor’s office to delay the assessment process in anticipation of the state legislature postponing the general reassessment requirement another year. Starting at the beginning of 2010 could potentially save the county $40000 on our contract with GUTS, as well as uncover additional assessed value which would be added to the county’s tax rolls. Mr. Wood suggested that even if the state did approve the “cyclical reassessment” bill being carried by Rep. Thompson and Sen. Boots, it would not likely take effect until after the current “general reassessment” was completed as scheduled in 2012. Many questions and much discussion sought to clarify the possible costs and benefits of starting the contract early. The council moved and voted to support the assessor’s office in beginning the reassessment process early with the understanding that she would return later with a specific reappropriation request to cover the rest of the year.

The council approved a resolution to transfer the congressional school principal and interest funds to the state as discussed at previous months’ meetings.

County Clerk Penny Bogan presented a resolution based on lengthy efforts at the state level regarding reimbursement from the HAVA (Help America Vote Act) funds to reimburse the county for the now-defunct VTI (Voting Technologies Inc) contract, totaling nearly $400,000. The council approved a resolution creating a new non-reverting fund to hold the money.

OLD BUSINESS:
Cindy Poore from the auditor’s office updated the council on her ongoing research into miscellaneous funds balances which can in many cases be moved into the county general fund or “rainy day” fund. $43,000+ will be moved from the excess levy fund to county general. Just over $90,000 from the tax sale surplus fund will be transferred to county general after being held for over three years without claim. After the first of the year, resolutions will move $21,000+ to county general from the illegal weed control fund, though $100 will be left in the fund to leave it open to receive future fees. Resolutions will also be passed to move roughly $7,000 from the surplus dog and dog leash funds to either county general or rainy day. The council also discussed the possibility of donating those funds to the Humane Society for Boone County &/or other related organizations. the auditor’s office and attorney Clutter will clarify the necessary steps and the council will take up the issue early next year.
More than 20 other funds were also available to supplement specific departmental budgets. Three separate probation funds will be combined into one for administrative purposes. The council asked attorney Clutter to craft a resolution which would make these funds part of the annual budgeting process.
One fund of interest, the city & town court cost fund, w/a balance of over $150,000 is apparently owed to the county’s city and towns, and has not been disbursed as required. The auditor’s office will attempt to correct that distribution by the end of the year.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Tony Carrell of Boone County 4-H presented the council members with certificate of recognition and deck of cards in appreciation of the council’s support.

Sheriff Ken Campbell expressed his displeasure with the recently-announced increases to county employees’ health insurance premiums, as well as the inclusion of a provision which would limit those increases for employees who participate in the insurance company’s wellness plan program.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 11:30.

December 2009 Meeting Agenda

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL
BUSINESS AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 8, 2009
LOCATION: CONNIE LAMAR MEETING ROOM, ROOM 105
116 W Washington St
Lebanon, IN 46052



Call meeting to order – 8:30 a.m.

Approval of November 2009 minutes

Re-Appropriation Requests:
Auditor, Sheriff, Commissioners, Courthouse Maintenance, Superior II, Circuit Court, EMA, Probation User Fee, Juvenile Probation User Fee, Community Corrections-Grant Fund, Community Corrections-Project Income Fund, Superior II-Alcohol & Drug, Enhanced 911

Additional Requests:
Prosecutor, Enhanced 911

New Business:
Dax Norton – Economic Development Update
Barry Wood, DLGF – Re-Assessment
Appointment to Hussey Mayfield Library Board
Sign Resolution- Transfer Cong School Fund to State

Old Business:
Cindy Poore, Deputy Auditor – Update on Fund Research

Public Comment

Document Signing:
Re-Appropriations, Additional Requests, November 2009 Council Minutes

Adjournment

This agenda is subject to change.