Notes -- March 2011 Council Meeting

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
3/8/2011
Present: All Council Members present, Secretary Heather Barton.
The council approved the minutes of the February meeting.

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:
Superior I (no one present):
Requested a transfer of $1000 from med/psych evaluation to extradition to cover additional costs. Approved.

Health Dept. (Cindy Murphy):
Requested $1,477 from Health Ed. Nurse to Public Health Nurse lines to equalize pay for two nurses with equal credentials. The Health Ed position is paid at a higher hourly rate, though it is currently being filled part-time three days a week, with no cost for benefits to the county. Murphy seeks to transfer excess funds from the health ed salary line to the public health salary line to fund a change to the salary ordinance, essentially increasing the salary for that position by $1,477 for the year, though at no additional (unbudgeted) cost to the county. Much discussion ensued as to the propriety of what is essentially a raise for one individual and an increased cost moving forward. A motion to approve died for lack of a second.

Murphy also requested a transfer of $5,200 from environmental director to nursing director. Due to the vacating of the environmental director position, the Health Board and Health Officer Dr. Servies have proposed a restructuring of the department to place the entire department under a single administrator (Murphy), shifting of positions and reducing one full-time environmental health specialist to a part-time position. Total savings will be roughly $11,000 in salary, plus the benefits cost of that position. Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Sheriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested roughly $1450 to be transferred from the general to various funds (gas, medical, postage and repairs) for reimbursements. Approved.

Jail Maintenance (Campbell):
Requested $81.72 to cover damages, collected from inmates. Approved.

Highway (Rick Carney):
Requested $20,000 to cover truck driver overtime due to increased snow and ice removal. Approved.

Cum Bridge (Carney):
A request for $100,000 for bridge 32 (steel truss over sugar creek) had to be withdrawn until next month due to a typo in the advertising. Withdrawn.

NEW BUSINESS:
Prosecutor Todd Meyer was present to ask clarification on reimbursement procedure for technology expenditures. The auditor’s office is seeking clarification as to whether the reimbursements can be deposited directly into the prosecutor’s office fund rather than first into the general and then transferred through an additional appropriation request (as with the sheriff’s funds above). Meyer will return next month if necessary.

Prosecutor Meyer also gave the council an update on the county’s proposed child advocacy center. In a recent trial and conviction, the role of the CAC in Avon was repeatedly noted, and due to that publicity some additional community interest for supporting the opening of our own CAC has arisen. Prosecutor Meyer hopes to have the building and equipment ready, with staffing in line for an executive director and forensic interviewer, former DCS Director Kamilla Aeschliman (the interviewer w/therapy dog discussed last summer is no longer in the picture). Meyer asked the council to consider a contribution of $20,000 (or $50,000 if we were so inclined), as well as to make the arrangement to add Ms. Aeschliman to the county’s benefits package. The CAC incorporated last fall into a 501c3 non-profit, and is currently organizing a 14-member board of directors. It is operating through the Boone County Community Foundation as its fiscal agent. (BCCF also granted the CAC $70,000.) Questions continue about how the county’s role would work and for how long the county would be responsible for employee benefits, rather than simply paying a contract fee or making a contribution (as with Senior Services, EDC, Learning Network, etc.) for the NPO to use as needed. Rather than in the Key Bank building, the CAC will be sharing space with the Boone EDC. Concerns continue about the structure of the organization, the relation of employees to the county benefits package, and the ongoing funding needs. Meyer, Thompson and Jacob will be meeting in the next month, along with commissioners, counsel and the CAC board to work out further details and report back.

Additionally, Meyer asked for a restructuring of budgeting and benefits through the pre-trial diversion and traffic ticket funds. The part-time employee’s workload is increasing after an experienced employee’s departure, and she will now be eligible for full-time benefits from the county, the cost of which will be covered by those funds. The auditor’s office will plan to have a fixed number for those costs for next month so the change can be made.

Finally, Meyer addressed the issue of restructuring space on the fourth floor of the courthouse. Meyer, Commissioner Jeff Wolfe and Councilman Thompson have all toured the space to discuss how the space might be used by the prosecutor’s office with minimal impact on the courts who now use it for storage and with minimal remodeling required. Wolfe stated that the engineering company who did the space study several years ago has been engaged to provide some options and estimates. Wolfe and Meyer will also be meeting with Judge Edens to formulate a plan to move forward.

Steve Jacob asked County Attorney Bob Clutter to address a proposed levy increase in the CCD Fund, which is currently just over $.014, while the state allows a maximum levy of $.033. Recent news from the state that counties had actually been overpaid in county option income tax distributions for the past two years (even when Boone County’s distribution dropped 20%) precipitated a discussion of this possibility, which was actually recommended by Umbaugh consultants last summer prior to the 2011 budget hearings. Much discussion of this possible tax increase followed, with general agreement that it might be necessary in the near future, as the county continues to rely on reserve funds to cover revenue losses. Despite continued cuts the past two years, we as a county we are still spending more than we’re bringing in. No action was taken other than to request significantly more information on our current budget status before next month’s meeting.

Clutter also addressed ongoing confusion over the council’s decision to transfer some probation department salaries to a user fee fund. State rulings seem to indicate that much of that salary cannot in fact be moved from the general fund. Additionally, probation collection fees have dropped dramatically – almost 50% over the past two years – leaving the department possibly short on revenue. It’s possible that an additional appropriation of $140,000 will be required next month to correct the situation.

Brent Cardin, Executive Director of Boone County ARC Rehab services, presented his mid-year report on the program’s services and budget. The budget is down just over 7%, with most of that cut coming from federal and state reductions, including the regionalization of Healthy Families administration. ARC provided more than 154,000 hours of direct service, including 38,000 through WIC, for children ages 0-4.

Tom Kouns of the Highway Department was on the agenda to discuss highway department equipment repairs/replacement, but as he was attending the Purdue Road School today, he asked that we defer that discussion until next month.

Steve Jacob was re-appointed to the Whitestown Economic Development Council, which reviews bonding issues for Whitestown.

OLD BUSINESS:
Deputy Auditor Cindy Poore presented an update on her research into the cities and towns funds, which has been in question for over a year. The fund has been accumulating fees for several years, now up to $170,000, without any disbursements. County courts contribute 3% of fees to this fund, but municipalities can only withdraw a share if they prosecute 50% or more of their ordinance violations through the county. No town does that, has done it, or likely will do it in future. So, the money must continue just to sit there.

Poore also updated the council on the county health funds which have been created in the past several months, though some questions still remain. The county general health fund will be used for all employees (including health department) except the highway department. The highway department will continue to be dealt with separately for ease of accounting.

Council member Thompson addressed the discussion at last month’s meeting surrounding reducing the Re-Assessment fund line to $2500. With approval from Assessor Garoffolo, the council moved to reduce the line to $2500. Secretary Barton noted that it is possible the state will see the reduction as a “negative appropriation,” which may require advertising and re-doing the motion.

Thompson also addressed ongoing concerns about cost projections for the Ford Road Bridge, Bridge 220. At the council’s request, Barker Engineering distributed a cost projection estimate of roughly $1.9M, with a contingency of 10% additional. Thompson noted that the Zionsville Town Council voted last night to remove the proposed Cooper Road interchange on I-865, which will in turn put continuing increased pressure on the Ford Road Bridge for traffic. Thompson asked Commissioner Jeff Wolfe if the Commissioners would be willing to discuss the bridge, turn and interchange with the Zionsville Plan Commission. Wolfe stated that he could not speak for the commissioners, but understood that the original approval dated to 1998, a time when the Cooper Rd. interchange was approved for future construction. Much discussion followed.


PUBLIC COMMENT:
Boone EDC Director Dax Norton addressed the council regarding the proposed federal budget cuts to Community Development Block Grants of roughly 66%. This could be disastrous for smaller communities in Boone County. For instance, Jamestown has received five $500,000 grants in the past ten years for projects such as fire station, fire truck, sewer and other projects. Related to this impending crisis, the EDC will be hosting a “Rural Development Summit” at the Boone County Fairgrounds on April 21 to bring communities together and discuss strategies for future development.

Meeting adjourned after 11:00.
Next regularly-scheduled meeting will be 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 12, in the Courthouse Annex, Lebanon.

March 2011 Council Agenda

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL
BUSINESS AGENDA FOR MARCH 8, 2011
LOCATION: CONNIE LAMAR MEETING ROOM, ROOM 105
116 W Washington St
Lebanon, IN 46052


Call meeting to order – 8:30 a.m.

Approval of February 2011 Minutes

Re-Appropriation Requests:
Superior I, Health Department

Additional Requests:
Sheriff, Jail Maintenance, Highway, Cum Bridge

New Business:
Todd Meyer, County Prosecutor: Technology Grant Reimbursement, Office Personnel, SVU-CAC Contributions
Bob Clutter, County Attorney: Increase levy for CCD fund
Brent Cardin, Director of ARC Rehab: Mid year report
David Rodgers, Councilmember: Highway Equipment


Old Business:
Cindy Poore, Deputy Auditor: City and Towns Fund, Update on Co General, Highway & Health Dept Insurance Funds
Cost Projection & Funding for Ford Road Bridge
Re-Assessment Fund: Line reduction

Public Comment:

Document Signing:
Re-Appropriations, Additionals, February 2011 Council Minutes

Adjournment


This agenda is subject to change.