Notes -- August 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
8/9/2011
Present: All Council Members present except Marcia Wilhoite, Secretary Heather Barton.
The council approved the minutes of the August meeting. The board requested Secretary Barton distribute the monthly meeting minutes to the Council for review within a few days of each month’s meeting.

RE-APPROPRIATIONS: All approved except the $3000 request from Local Road & Street described below.

Prosecutor (Tonya Thayer):
Requested transfer of funds from Fugitive Extradition to Travel Expense ($1500) and Dues & Subscriptions ($1000). I asked about the necessity of the ever-increasing dues and subscriptions budget.

Superior I (no one present):
Requested money from Library ($231) and Continuing Education ($100) to Dues & Subscriptions.

Local Road & Street (Tom Kouns):
Requested $6400 from Road Maintenance to New Equipment to replace a damaged snow plow, and $3000 from Road Striping to Engineering Services to pay for a study required because residents on a half-mile stretch of 525 South between 650 E and 700 E petitioned to lower the speed limit from 40 to 30 on their road. Much discussion followed on the legal necessity of funding this study. In the end, the council voted to table the $3000 request until next month, hopefully with further clarity on whether the council is required by statute to fund the study, the general sentiment being that if we are not required to do so we would not.


ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Cum Bridge (Tom Kouns):
Requested $150,000 and $30,000 for replacement of two bridges in Marion Township. Approved.

Sheriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested $2000 to Administrative Assistant for the Sex Offender Registry. Money is collected from fees from offenders who are registered and used to supplement the county’s share of the Adm. Asst’s salary. Approved.
Requested $577 to the Medical line for reimbursement from inmates. Approved.
Requested $707 for reimbursement of travel expense for training for the BCSD’s DARE officer, which actually comes from the Prosecutor’s Office. Approved.
Requested $26 to Postage for reimbursement from inmates. Approved.
Requested $13000 from grant money deposited in the general fund for the purchase of new radars and digital video cameras for sheriff’s vehicles. There was some question as to whether $4000 of that was a duplicate request, but the motion was approved with understanding that clarification would be obtained. Approved.

Commissioners/Soil & Water (no one present):
Requested transfer of $2265 to pay salary of S & W Board members, as funded by Soil & Water. Approved.

Probation (Kari Ragsdale):
Requested $15,833 be transferred from User Fees as supplement to salary. Approved.

EMA (no one present):
Requested $3750 be transferred as reimbursement from grant money to EMA Planning for purchase of a generator for the EMA response trailer. Councilor Thompson asked several questions about the source of the additional funds for the $5000. Council eventually voted to approve the motion, but asked that the EMA be present next month to answer questions.

Jail Maintenance (no one present):
Requested transfer of $80 for reimbursement from inmates for damage. Approved.

CCD/Jail Boiler & Lighting (Jeff Wolfe):
Requested $11,300 for replacement of a flue on the boiler at the jail, which went bad over the winter. Approved. (Side note -- this is the only one of all these additional appropriations that is truly an additional, in that it took unbudgeted and unreimbursed funds to cover an unexpected expense.)

NEW BUSINESS:
Probation Director Kari Ragsdale asked for guidance in replacing an administrative employee who left for private employment. The primary function of the employee is administering the community corrections program, which largely funds the employee’s salary. President Jacob expressed his appreciation for Ms. Ragsdale coming before the board to discuss the situation. I asked about the concern of decreasing fees to fund the position in the future, which had been raised in funding this year’s budget. Ms. Ragsdale informed the council that her fee funds for this year had actually come in above estimates, so she saw no potential trouble. The council approved a motion approving replacement of the employee.

Assessor Lisa Garoffolo addressed the council on the upcoming issue of the Re-Assessment Fund being inadequately funded. Without a change by the state in the assessment process, the county will likely be short and so Ms. Garoffolo will be requesting an increase in the Re-Assessment Levy in next year’s budget.

Auditor Melody Price gave the council the monthly update on the county’s general fund balances and projected revenues for 2012 as preparation for the upcoming budget hearings. News was mixed, in that the county's operating balance is up considerably from last year, but the revenue projection for 2012 is down, as expected.

Gene Thompson addressed the council regarding a recent memo from the state library regarding the makeup of the Hussey-Mayfield Library Board. The state recently reviewed the makeup of the board after the reorganization of Zionsville with Eagle and Union Townships, which would shift one of the two appointments from both the County Council and County Commissioners to Town Council appointments. The Zionsville Town Council last week appointed two members back to the seats they had been granted by the county boards. Thompson questions the interpretation of state statute regarding the reorganization and the validity of the town’s appointments. Attorney Clutter advised that the responsibility for ensuring the proper makeup of the library board rests with the library itself, but agreed to speak with the legal counsel for the town and the library to ensure the situation is handled properly.

Mike Martin, Courthouse Maintenance Supervisor, submitted a list of the projects for which he will be requesting funding, and invited council members to tour the courthouse to see the projects before the budget hearings.

Dax Norton was not present for his monthly update, but I was appointed as the council’s representative to the board of the Boone County Economic Development Corporation.

OLD BUSINESS:
Brent Wheat, chair of the Personnel Committee, updated the council on the ongoing discussions of the proposed hiring freeze. Wheat stated that while he supports the proposal in theory, he does not believe that its practical implementation will be effective in saving the county money. I made a motion as follows: “If a full-time position is vacated an offer of employment to fill the position shall not be extended until approval from the County Council, effective with passage.” After much discussion – in addition to the discussion at previous council meetings and committee meetings, including yesterday’s meeting with most of the department heads – the motion failed to pass on a 3-3 vote.


PUBLIC COMMENT:
HR Consultant Dennis Dunlap recommended that the council investigate regular (quarterly or semi-annually) budget and personnel reviews with the department heads as a way to evaluate expenditures on an ongoing basis.

Sheriff Campbell addressed the council to remind us of our transfer of his deputies’ salaries at last year’s budget hearings to the Rainy Day Fund, and encouraged the council to review the possibility of implementing the Public Safety portion of the Local Option Income Tax.

Treasurer Deanna Willhoite addressed the council regarding hiring policy, suggesting (as she had at yesterday’s committee meeting) that the county create a personnel page for posting of job openings internally. The council commended the recommendation and asked Commissioner Jeff Wolfe, who was in attendance, to oversee its implementation.

Auditor Price asked for clarification on the date of the next joint Commissioners/Council meeting, which has not yet been determined. Board Presidents Wolfe and Jacob will plan to set a date and time before the next commissioners’ meeting next week.

I reminded everyone of the upcoming Boone County Cancer Society’s annual BBQ Cook-Off this Saturday at Lebanon’s Memorial Park, 5-7, which will include a team from the Sheriff’s Department and a joint City of Lebanon/County government team called Government Pork.

Meeting adjourned at 10:20.

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 13, in the Courthouse Annex, Lebanon.

Agenda -- August 2011 Council Meeting

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL
BUSINESS AGENDA FOR AUGUST 9, 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 July 2011 Minutes

Re-Appropriation Requests:
Prosecutor, Superior I, Local Road & Street

Additional Requests:
Sheriff, Soil & Water, Probation, EMA, Jail Maintenance, Cum Bridge, CCD

New Business:
Kari Ragsdale, Probation – Replace Employee
Lisa Garoffolo, Assessor – Re-Assessment Levy
Dax Norton, Director Boone EDC - Update
Melody Price, Auditor - Financial Update

Old Business:
Vote on Hiring/Replacing Employee Policy

Public Comment:

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

Adjournment


This agenda is subject to change.