Notes -- August 2013 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
8/13/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raug.

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. (rather than the standard time of 8:30 a.m.) due to the expected use of the council’s meeting room by the jury in the Camm trial.  Next month’s meeting will also begin at 8:00 a.m. for the same reason.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from its July meeting. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

Highway (Rick Carney):

Requested $13,000 from Road Striping to New Equipment for purchase of a new, small tractor for mowing purposes.  The purchase price will include the trade-in of an older tractor.  Approved.

Carney also advised the council that one of his mechanics will be shifting duties to fill an empty truck driver position.  Carney would like to take the opportunity to eliminate the open mechanic position and add a truck driver position, which would be at a lower salary rate. (Over the past ten years several truck driver positions have been eliminated due to funding constraints.) Carney was advised to return next month requesting a change to the salary ordinance to reflect those position changes.

Area Plan (Rachel Cardis):

Requested $2000 to be transferred from litigation to Office Equipment to replace a “plotter” printer which has reached the end of its serviceable life after 11 years. Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff/Community Corrections (Mike Nielsen):

Requested just over $700 in transfers to Medical, Meals and Inmate Supplies (CC) for reimbursements.  Approved.

Auditor (Deanna Willhoite):

Requested $34,000 to a new line, Ineligible Deductions, to cover a contract payment with Maximus corporation for services in recovering property tax payments from individuals who had filed ineligible homestead exemptions.  Maximus has recovered over $80,000, with the possibility for more to be recovered in future from delinquent taxes.  This should be a one-time payment for a one-time contract. 

Health (Cindy Murphy):

Requested transfer of $475 into the Postage line, which was a reimbursement from the changeover of postage machine services.  Council member Thompson asked if the department would in fact need this money in the postage line before the end of the year.  Ms. Murphy explained that the department did in fact expect to need the funds.  Approved.

Coroner (Shon Hough):

Requested $5,340 for office supplies to purchase two safes for storage of vital records.  As the coroner’s office has upgraded to have a permanent county office and storage space, Mr. Hough is moving to improve the security of storage.  Some discussion followed as to the propriety of delaying this expenditure to include  it in the 2014 budget.  Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:

Lori Schein of the Prosecutor’s Office spoke to explain two new re-appropriation requests which were withdrawn today regarding a change to salary ordinance involving a prosecutor’s diversion fund and a compensation for the “on-call” prosecutor.  Attorney Bob Clutter also spoke regarding the confusion as to whether the proposals would be properly a re-appropriation or salary ordinance change. Schein and Clutter plan to return next month with an update, if not a formal request.

Commissioner Jeff Wolfe and HR Director Dennis Dunlap presented an update on the county’s compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s regulations regarding part-time employees.  Though the Obama administration has delayed the implementation of the employer mandate provision, the county will continue its “look-back” period as planned.  Much (inconclusive) discussion of the law’s implications for part-time employees and the county’s budget and other responsibilities followed. 

Council President Jacob updated the Council on the current plans for the mandated non-binding review of local taxing entities’ budgets.  Those reviews must be completed and submitted by October 1, though they will not be submitted and accessible to the council until September 3.  Jacob, with Auditor Willhoite’s input, recommended that he, along with councilors Wheat and Shubert, review those budgets and ask that any which exceed the state’s growth quotient be invited to attend the council’s budget hearing workshops in mid-September.  Any units for whom this process is a binding review (Solid Waste Board and libraries who exceed the growth quotient) will be asked to attend the council’s September 10^th regular meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:           

Councilor Wilhoite reminded department heads and elected officials to be sure that they had scheduled appropriate times for the council’s budget workshops with Auditor Willhoite.

Councilor Wilhoite also requested an update from Highway Superintendent Rick Carney on the summer road work program.  Carney reported that his department is actually ahead of schedule, including having converted more than seven miles of gravel road to hard surface.  Carney expects nearly nine miles to be converted by end of year.  The county has approximately 250 miles of gravel road remaining.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Commissioners Secretary Karen Maue reminded the council that the meeting room will be needed on September 10 at 11:00 for the Camm trial jury. 

Boone County Chamber of Commerce Director Michelle Wiltermood addressed the council – at the request of the Lebanon City Council – regarding the chamber’s plan to update and repair Lebanon’s downtown holiday decorations.  The Chamber requested $25,000 from the Lebanon City Council, and was asked to pursue other funding options, including the county.  After much discussion, the council asked Wiltermood to return next month with a specific request, and in the meantime to forward any relevant information to the council.

DOCUMENT SIGNING

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:20.

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, September 10^th, at 8:00 a.m.

Notes -- July 2013 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
7/9/2013

Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Chelsea Young.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from its June meetings with minor corrections. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

Prosecutor (Lori Schein):

Requested redistribution of $15,000 from one deputy prosecutor salary line into three other lines for deputy prosecutors who will be picking up duties being vacated by the first deputy.  Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff (Ken Campbell):

Requested transfer of $25,000 from the General Fund into the Communications Center fund to support the Interact/CAD project.  These monies come from ATT as a reimbursement from the past 800mHz rebanding program, which led to discussion as to whether there was a need for this money to be moved from the General Fund.  After discussion, no action was taken.

Requested $3000 for safe keeping.  Approved.

Requested roughly $800 for reimbursement of inmate postage and medical funds.  Approved.

Requested $104,000 to fund three additional special deputies for courthouse security, upon the recommendation of a security committee appointed by the county commissioners, as part of a broader courthouse security plan. Sherriff Campbell introduced Judge Matthew Kincaid, chair of that committee, to address the council regarding security issues at the courthouse. Judge Kincaid presented the council copies of the buildings security strategic plan, which covers various aspects of security being implemented over the next five years. During further discussion and questions from the council, Campbell noted that the requested amount would be for the entire year’s salary for three deputies, though he would only need half that amount to cover the rest of the year. There was some discussion of whether the amount was accurate or would be sufficient; the distributed plan notes an annual cost of nearly $69,000 per special deputy, rather than the $34,000 being used as the basis for this additional request.  The $69,000 would include uniforms, equipment, training, pension, FICA and insurance at their maximum levels for a new special deputy.  Taxpayer Aaron Smith spoke against the request, suggesting that the council look further into the proposal at its budget hearings later this year.  Judge Rebecca McClure (whose courtroom was referenced by Judge Kincaid due to an incident there which sparked the formation of this committee) answered questions and spoke about the changes she has seen in her decades of service at the courthouse, supporting the increased security needs.  Judge Jeff Edens and Major Mike Nielsen also answered questions and spoke in support of the request. Judge Edens shared an anecdote from the previous day regarding a request by an officer of the court to be escorted out of the building due to a perceived threat from an upset hearing participant.  In providing the escort, the courthouse officer’s post was temporarily unattended.  Several council members spoke with questions or comments about the appropriate timing of the request. Commissioner Marc Applegate, who served on the committee, spoke in support of moving ahead.  County Treasurer Debbie Ottinger also spoke in favor moving forward today, as did Clerk Penny Bogan, Auditor Deanna Willhoite and Jon McDonald of the Boone County Bar Association.   Eventually, a motion was made to adopt and, in a roll call vote, the council voted 2-4 against the motion at this time.  (Butch Smith, a former merit deputy who may in future be used as a special courthouse deputy, recused himself.)

Auditor (Deanna Willhoite):

Requested $26,000 to cover increased unemployment payments for the remainder of the year, due primarily to increased turnover in the courthouse.  Approved.

Commissioners (Jeff Wolfe):

Requested $163 for two change of venue charges from the courts.  Approved.

Requested a total of roughly $2,700 of reimbursements into the Telephone line from payments various departments. Approved.

EMA (Rachel Hansen):

Requested $462 for reimbursements from grant money for equipment purchases.

Drug Free Boone County (Penny Rader):

Requested budgeting of $20,000 into a grant funding line in order to fund grant requests for the remainder of the year.  Ms. Rader gave some examples of the grants that have been funded thus far this year.  Approved.

Highway/Cum Bridge/CCD (Rick Carney):

Requested $80,000 from Cum Bridge to complete the contractor payments for work on Bridge 312 (Grant St. in Lebanon). Approved.

Requested $1500 from CCD to Building Repair to cover electrical work for moving an asphalt plant to a new location.  Approved.

Health Dept. (Cindy Murphy):

Requested $13,700 to Food Safety Inspector and Social Security line to fully fund that line for the year from grant money.  An apparent clerical error resulted in the line being under-funded.  Approved.

**PUBLIC HEARING – CUMULATIVE CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND RATE**

President Jacob opened the public hearing regarding the possible increase to the CCD fund rate. County Attorney Bob Clutter introduced Paige Sansone of Umbaugh & Associates, CPA, who presented information regarding the fund’s history and uses, as well as the history of the rate establishment.  She explained that the “re-establishment” of the fund’s rate is a fairly routine procedure across the state due to the statutes regarding the state role in the rate.  The rate was originally set at its statutory maximum of .0333 per $100 of Assessed Valuation, but as the county’s total AV increases, the state Department of Local Government Finance adjusts the rate down each year in order to maintain the annual income from the levy at a fairly stable rate.  Over time, as Boone County’s AV has grown, the CCD rate has fallen to .0127 per $100AV.  Ms. Sansone also addressed the impact a rate increase would have on owners of various values of property in different taxing districts across the county, in particular regarding the impact of constitutional property tax caps both on the CCD fund and on the various other taxing units.  As most of Boone County’s taxing districts are currently at property tax rates below 2.0, this increase would have little if any impact related to the caps in those districts.  However, the impact would be felt most in Zionsville and Lebanon, where more properties are closer to the caps currently.  Other council discussion centered on the fact that the balance of the CCD has continued to fall for the past several years, as the council has used it to fund more and more purchases, including most of the upcoming expenses related to the purchase of the new building on Washington Street. 

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith spoke extensively in opposition the reestablishment of the rate, presenting several pages of information regarding the county’s finances and his view of the impact of any increase on various groups of Boone County residents.

After lengthy discussion, a motion to re-set the rate at .0230 (approximately halfway to the maximum increase) died for lack of a second.  A second motion, to increase the rate the full amount, to .0333, failed 3-4.  Ms. Sansone pointed out that the budget hearings in September will determine the actual rate, and that a vote here would merely allow the council the flexibility to set the rate higher. A third motion, to establish the rate at .0330, passed 4-3.

NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Jeff Wolfe presented a proposal from the commissioners to re-organize the facilities maintenance and management staff and responsibilities.  The new proposal would combine management of the county jail with the other buildings under a single Facilities Manager, with no additional employees.  With a slight raise for that overall manager’s position, the re-adjustment of positions and salaries would still include a savings of about $3000 per year.  The proposal also includes a possible future addition of a part-time administrative assistant, but that would be addressed at budget hearing time.  Eventually a motion to approve the changes was adopted.

OLD BUSINESS:

Councilor Wilhoite reminded council members that while meeting with their assigned departments for budget planning they should clarify part-time vs. full-time employees and compile any information for the council’s hearings in September. Wilhoite also reminded that some situations will require advertising budget proposals from multiple sources.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Cindy Murphy of the Health Department followed up on an email she had sent regarding filling a vacant position.

DOCUMENT SIGNING

The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:55.

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, August 13^th, at 8:30 a.m.

Council Agenda -- July 9, 2013

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL

BUSINESS AGENDA FOR JULY 9, 2013

LOCATION:  CONNIE LAMAR MEETING ROOM, ROOM 105

116 W. Washington St

Lebanon, IN  46052

Call meeting to order – 8:30 a.m.

Approval of June 11, 2013 minutes

                                       

Re-Appropriations:

Additional Requests: 

Sheriff, Auditor, Commissioners, EMA, Boone Co. Drug Free, Highway, and The Health Department.

New Business: 

Jeff Wolfe – Commissioner Wolfe would like to discuss the Reorganization of the Maintenance Department.

Consideration of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund “Public Hearing” -- Approximately 9:30

                       

Old Business:

Public Comment:

Document Signing: 

June minutes, Salary Ordinance, additionals

 Adjournment

      

This agenda is subject to change. 

Notes -- June 2013 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
6/11/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raub.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from its May meetings with minor corrections. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

None.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff (Ken Campbell):

Requested $1500 for Safe Keeping of an inmate placed with the Department of Corrections.

Requested just under $600 in reimbursements into lines such as inmate postage, inmate supplies (from County Corrections), inmate medical and part-time.

County Commissioners/Soil & Water (Kathy Clawson):

Requested transfer of $3432 to part-time line of money already budgeted. Approved.

Health Dept. (Greg Inman):

Requested transfer of $1000 in grant money for their sharps program.  Approved.

Prosecutor (Todd Meyer):

Prosecutor Meyer addressed the council regarding a request that had been tabled at our March meeting to amend the salary ordinance to reflect a new employee and new rates paid from the pre-trial diversion funds.  Clarification had been needed regarding the original request for an additional appropriation.  In the end, no additional appropriation was required due to the source of the funds.  An amendment to the salary ordinance was approved.

Highway (Rick Carney):

Mr. Carney submitted an outline for a summer road maintenance program, as requested by the council.  The program would repave or “chip and seal” just over 19 miles at a cost of roughly $1.5M. Carney had advertised several different options for funding the program for this year. The council discussed a variety options, eventually approving three separate funding motions: $500,000 from Food & Beverage, $104,000 from the Riverboat Gambling Fund (the idea being to close that fund out), and $700,000 from the Economic Development Fund. 

Carney also gave some updates on the changes to county highway funding resulting from the recent legislative changes.  Boone County’s projected revenue for 2014 will be nearly $2.7M, a roughly $605,000 increase from 2012.  Late 2013 payment will include an estimated $268,000 beyond what had been budgeted for the year.

NEW BUSINESS:

County Attorney Bob Clutter addressed the council regarding a proposal in the works to be presented next month to restructure the county’s maintenance department.  Separate from that, Clutter, on behalf of the county commissioners, requested a change to the salary ordinance to convert one part-time position to a full-time position, as originally discussed at the council’s March meeting. 

Sheriff Ken Campbell presented a proposal regarding the positions of Jail Matron and Jail Commander, both of which are recognized in statute as deputy positions eligible for deputy pay, though Boone County’s Jail Matron has been classified as a part-time employee.  With changes to the position and to definitions of full- and part-time employees, Sheriff Campbell would like to convert the Matron to a full-time position, with the position’s benefits package paid out of the Jail Commissary Fund. Eventually the council approved by a 5-2 vote an amendment to the salary ordinance to reflect the change.

During the discussion of Sheriff Campbell’s proposal, a wide-ranging discussion emerged of definitions of full- and part-time employees, as well as seasonal employees and possibilities of employee-sharing among offices.  That discussion will continue at next month’s meeting and leading up to the 2014 budget hearings in  

September.  Informational items requested included the number of part-time employees who will be affected by the Affordable Care Act requirements and new Commissioners’ policy defining benefits eligibility, as well as the number of current full-time employees working either 35 or 40 hours.

Councilor Wilhoite raised the issue of the continuing decline of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund and ask Attorney Clutter for input on the process of addressing a change in the levy rate for the fund.  The council has – on the recommendation of the County Commissioners – gone through the public hearing process each of the past two years to discuss the possibility of adjusting that rate. The council consensus was that it would be prudent to investigate the issue again and instructed Mr. Clutter to make the necessary arrangements and advertising.

OLD BUSINESS:

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Auditor Deanna Willhoite asked for clarification of the council’s plans for its annual budget workshops and hearings.  In years past the workshops have been held in mid-August, but recently the state has failed to provide accurate revenue numbers by that time, making the process difficult and often creating the need for correction of errors later.  This year the workshops will be held September 17-20, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The actual budget hearing will occur during the council’s regular monthly meeting in October.

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith addressed the issue of increasing the CCD fund, noting that the overall county levy rate has fallen roughly 8% in the past two years and that an increase to restore that level would not be out of line, though he also cautioned the council to beware of the impact of any increase on other taxing entities in light of the state’s property tax caps, noting particularly the struggles of Zionsville with revenue lost to the caps.

Auditor Willhoite also revisited the issue of council and commissioner access to the new CYMA financial software.  She now believes that read-only access is available, though there are concerns over the number of log-ins available.  Willhoite will follow up with Eric Goodnight of GUTS.

Councilor Thompson asked Treasurer Debbie Ottinger to discuss the Finance Committee’s investment strategy, and whether it involved investment in CD’s.   

DOCUMENT SIGNING

The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:45

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, July 9^th, at 8:30 a.m.

Council Agenda -- June 11, 2013

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL
BUSINESS AGENDA FOR JUNE 11, 2013
LOCATION:  CONNIE LAMAR MEETING ROOM, ROOM 105
116 W. Washington St
Lebanon, IN  46052
 
Call meeting to order – 8:30 a.m.

Approval of May 14, 2013 minutes
                            
Re-Appropriations:
 
Additional Requests:
Sheriff, Surveyor, Health Department, Highway
 
New Business:
Bob Clutter - Presentation on behalf of the Commissioners regarding the buildings maintenance department.
Discussion of CCD fund 
 
Old Business:
 
Public Comment:
 
Document Signing:
May minutes, additionals

Adjournment
      
This agenda is subject to change.

Notes -- May 2013 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
5/14/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raub.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from its February, March and April meetings. 

NEW BUSINESS:

County Attorney Bob Clutter presented for approval a four-year contract with GUTS for IT services on behalf of the county commissioners.  Because of the length of the contract, state statute requires approval from both the commissioners and the council.  Some discussion followed regarding the budget implications of this contract, as well as its relation to other IT contracts (such as those for re-assessment services and the health department).  The contract fees are already in the budget, so no additional appropriation was required, just approval.  Approved.

 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

Assessor (Lisa Garoffolo):

Requested $500 from state meeting to travel to fund additional training expenses.  Approved.

 

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff (Ken Campbell):

Requested $1400 for “Safe Keeping,” which is a payment to the Indiana Dept. of Corrections to care for a prisoner who was deemed unsafe under local supervision.

Requested roughly $1900 for a variety of other reimbursements of funds for such things as postage, inmate medical, damage reimbursement, etc.

Councilor Thompson asked Sheriff Campbell to address whether it was necessary to reimburse the inmate medical fund some $1400 when that fund was budget $200,000 for the year and in fact already has a balance of over $300,000.  Sheriff Campbell gave an extensive answer regarding his fiscal prudence and the propriety of his actions. Approved.

 

County Corrections (Ken Campbell):

Requested roughly $210 for reimbursement of inmate supplies.   Approved.

 

Statewide 911 Training (Ken Campbell):

Requested $90 of reimbursement.  Approved.

 

IT (no one present):

Requested $5268 to cover the final expenses of the Harris financial software contract.  Councilor Wilhoite asked for clarification that after Harris is no longer under contract the county would still be able to access past data, and was assured that it would be.  Approved.

 

Drug Free Boone County (Officer Phelps):

Requested an additional of $2400 for the Drug Free Boone County Chairperson Stipend.  The stipend, as with the entire user fee-based fund, is overseen by a local coordinating council, which moved in November to increase the chair’s salary in light of the state’s cutting of funding for the liaison who had previously performed many duties now being picked up by the chair.  Approved.

 

CCD (Mike Miller):

Requested $10,178 to replace a large compressor as part of the Courthouse Annex air conditioning system.  After discussion, the council declined to make a motion at this time in light of an account balance of nearly $125,000, and nearly 90% of the annual budgeted amount still remaining, but did advise Mr. Miller to return later in the year should the fund run short.

 

Rainy Day/Highway (Rick Carney):

Requested $18,325 for payment on a lease agreement for the five dump trucks leased in 2011. This should cover the remainder of this year’s payment.  Carney was asked to update the council next month on the remaining balances on this lease agreement.  Approved.

 

Highway (Rick Carney):

Requested $30,000 for truck driver overtime largely related to the snow and rain events thus far this year.  Approved.

 

Cum Bridge (Carney):

Requested $35,000 to finish the Bridge 312 (Grant Street in Lebanon) project.  Approved.

 

Economic Development/Highway (Carney):

Requested $64,000 to transfer reimbursement from INDOT for right-of-way purchase on the 400 South project at the north end of the Anson development. 

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith addressed the council regarding the 400 South project and the Anson development in general in relation to their impact on taxpayers to fund the developments. Approved.

 

Highway Equipment (Carney):

Requested a total of $701,000 for new equipment (one Gradall and two dump trucks), as discussed at the previous two months’ meetings.  After extensive discussion, including concern about the upcoming request for summer road maintenance funding and the possible additional funds from the state thanks to the legislature’s recent actions, the council opted to move $381,000 from the Rainy Day fund for the Gradall and $320,000 from the Food and Beverage fund for the two dump trucks.  Approved.

 

Commissioners (Jeff Wolfe):

Requested $6000 from the Rainy Day Fund for updating of the Washington Street office building, as discussed at last month’s meeting:  $350,000 for the base remodel, plus $250,000 for addition of an elevator. Commissioner Wolfe cautioned that both those numbers are at the high end of estimates, with the goal of the project coming in significantly lower.  Some discussion followed about the propriety of adding the elevator at this time vs. adding it on at a later date.  Eventually, the council approved a motion instructing the commissioners to move forward with the full project – elevator included – by financing the project out of the CCD fund.  I agreed to work with Commissioner Wolfe to work out the details of the additional which will be needed next month for moving forward with an RFP before full financing will be in place. 

 

OLD BUSINESS:

Councilor Thompson asked Sheriff Campbell to present some information regarding the uses, revenues and disbursements from the Commissary Fund as a follow-up to his report in March. Campbell cited state law and Boone County resolutions governing the fund.  The fund exists primarily from sale of personal items to inmates, including telephone usage time.  Other revenue comes from such things as fees for use of the county’s shooting range.  The funds are then disbursed primarily for expenses related to those items, plus equipment and training for the sheriff’s office and jail and their employees, psychological testing for employees, the sheriff’s Shred It program and advertising for various sheriff’s department activities.  Thompson raised the possibility of using the commissary fund to support expenses for such items as the jail kitchen or jail record-keeping, or supporting the GED classes offered at the jail.  Campbell stated that he did not consider those appropriate uses of commissary funds.

 

Councilor Wilhoite raised the availability of council members having read-only access to the new financial software, which had been the understanding given the council during the purchase process.  Deputy Auditor Chelsea Young stated that Auditor Wilhoite had informed her today that that access was not possible due to technical deficiencies with the software.  Council President Jacob stated that he would speak with GUTS and the Auditor to address the situation and to find at least a work-around to allow the council and commissioners to view the information the new software should be making available.

 

PUBLIC COMMENT:

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith addressed the council to laud the state legislature on its recent actions to bolster funding for both the state and local highway distributions, as well as pointing out the need for additional changes to further increase transportation funding. 

 

DOCUMENT SIGNING

 

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:35.

 

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, June 11^th, at 8:30 a.m.

Notes -- March 2013 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
3/12/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raub.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from February with slight amendment. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

None

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested transfer of roughly $1200 into various lines (part-time, medical, postage, inmate supplies, office supplies, extradition) for reimbursement tracking.  Approved.

Statewide 911 (Maj. Mike Nielsen):

Major Nielsen, Councilor Thompson & Councilor Wilhoite presented a variety of options for funding the 911 InterACT project which has been discussed extensively at previous meetings.  The council and commissioners have approved moving forward with the project.  These three, along with auditor Deanna Willhoite, have met repeatedly to explore funding possibilities.  The budget has had some funding in place for the ongoing AT&T lease, and the recommended option from this point is to purchase some of the equipment needed for the upgrade and to finance the remainder over a 7-year period.  This option is expected to save from $250-375,000 over the option of leasing the equipment.  After extensive discussion and several questions, the council voted to budget $371,500 out of the general fund into a newly-created line entitled “Communications Center” to purchase equipment and to move an additional $40,000 into the Statewide 911 line (to supplement the current $110,000 budget) to pay the annual AT & T lease. Approved.

Jail Maintenance (Ken Campbell):

Requested transfer of $141 for reimbursement for clock repairs and $36 for sale of kitchen grease.  Approved.

Prosecutor (Lori Schein):

Requested $200/hr increase into IV-D Child Support line in the salary ordinance to hire part-time help to assist in child support cases and to give a raise to a current employee.  Many, many questions were raised, primarily about the wording of the requests.  The request was tabled for more information and Ms. Schein asked to return next month.

BCSSI/Food & Beverage (Sue Ritz):

Ms. Ritz, along with representatives Christy ?? from CIRTA and Kevin ?? from Gander Mountain, requested $20,000 as a local match for a grant.  Questions were asked about the potential for ridership each direction.  Mr. ?? answered questions about why public dollars should be used to assist private employers in acquiring workers.  Gander Mountain alone is looking to add 40-60 employees in the next six months beyond their current needs, which they are already having difficulty filling.  Extensive discussion and questions followed from various council members, as well as comments from some other elected officials. Eventually, my motion to approve $10,000 failed on a 3-4 vote.

Courthouse Maintenance (Mike Miller):

Requested $124,000 for repairs to the new Washington Street Building purchased last summer.  The council actually approved $350,000 last year as an additional to purchase and improve the building, but not all of it was spent by the end of the year and contracts were not in place to allow encumbrance of those funds.  This number is what was left at the end of the year in that approved account.  Approved.

Requested $7,000 into a Maintenance Supervisor line, $3600 to part-time and $6500 to Health Insurance to replace a retiring full-time employee and move one part-time employee to full-time.  The council tabled these requests for further clarification next month.

Requested $750 for utilities to transfer a rebate payment from Vectren.  Some discussion followed on the propriety of transferring rebates and other refunds through additional appropriations rather than budgeting a higher amount in the annual budget and allowing these reimbursements to stay in the general fund.  Approved.

Auditor (Deanna Willhoite):

Requested total of $12,900 from three different funds for various aspects of Plat Book Maintenance, which is collected from user fees.  Several questions followed about the funding of a part-time employee for additional hours vs. Overtime for current full-time employees. This would merely be additional hours for current part-time and would not approach the full-time hours threshold.  Approved.

IT (Sean Horan):

Requested $9000 for Copier Maintenance.  This grew out of conversations last month and during budget hearings last month which revealed a misunderstanding about whose budget was responsible for covering these costs.  We believe the issue has now been straightened out. Approved.

Highway (Rick Carney):

Requested $132,000 for Highway 400 South extension to pay right-of-way claims.  Several questions arose about whether the payments had already been made. Auditor Willhoite and Commissioner Jeff Wolfe attempted to address concerns and, along with Mr. Carney, explain changes in INDOT procedures.  Eventually, Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:

County Attorney Bob Clutter presented a resolution for approval allowing the sale of the Camp Street office building.  Approved. 

While Mr. Clutter held the floor, Councilor Brent Wheat asked Mr. Clutter to address the issue of public comment at appropriate times within the monthly meeting.  Resident Aaron Smith, Lebanon, raised questions about the opportunity to comment on each additional appropriation request, as they had apparently been advertised as a public hearing rather than a public meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:

Highway Superintendent Rick Carney presented an update on four specific pieces of equipment he wishes to purchase this year.  The council asked questions about prioritizing purchases for this year and deciding what could be deferred until budget hearings in August.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

DOCUMENT SIGNING:

The meeting had not adjourned when I had to leave at 10:50.

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, April 9, at 8:30 a.m.

Special note:  The Council’s May meeting will be Tuesday EVENING, May 12, at 6:30 p.m.

What's Up Boone County?

This past week I had the pleasure of being Kent Frandsen's guest on RadioMom's "What's Up Boone County?"  You can find the show at the link below.
http://www.radiomom.fm/Boone/Whats_Up.php

Notes -- February 2013 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
2/12/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raub.

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from January with slight amendment. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

Highway (Auditor Deanna Willhoite):
Ms. Willhoite presented the request as part of a series of changes due to straightening out differences between the council approved budget and what the state approved.  As it turns out, the state actually approved more for the highway fund than what had been requested by the county.  This request was withdrawn.

Health Dept. (Cindy Murphy):

Ms. Murphy asked for a transfer of $5000 from Environmental to Sharps, which is a newly-created line.  The money involved comes from a grant from Boone County Solid Waste. This new line will allow for better tracking of funds.  Ms. Murphy also asked for clarification on the process of moving moneys between lines within a series.  Auditor Willhoite joined the discussion, with Council members requesting consistency in both policy and notification of the council.  Approved.

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Sherriff (Maj. Mike Nielsen):
Requested transfer of roughly $4500 into various lines (part-time, medical, postage, inmate supplies, office supplies) for reimbursement tracking.  Council president Jacob and Councilman Thompson asked for further clarification from Auditor Willhoite about the process of reimbursement and budgeting. Approved.
 
Commissioners (Jeff Wolfe):
Requested transfer into three lines for reimbursement:  Soil & Water ($1470 – for board members), Telephone ($2624 – from Community Corrections for shared lines), Trails ($1500 – from quietus).  Approved.

Community Corrections & Probation (Kara Ragsdale):

Requested $1000 (Probation) & $5979 (Community Corrections ) to correct errors in salary budgeting. These positions’ salaries are regulated by state statute and were simply overlooked in the budget. Salary ordinance will also have to be adjusted to reflect the errors (see below).  Approved.

Rainy Day/Highway (Rick Carney):

Requested $200,000 to Equipment line from Rainy Day, as directed by the Council

Highway (Rick Carney):

In line with the discussion at last month’s meeting, requested $500,000 to Bridge 220 (Ford Rd.) in order to provide matching dollars for anticipated federal funds.  Approved.
(Other request for $17,000 was withdrawn by auditor.)

Auditor (Deanna Willhoite):

Requested Additional Appropriations of $3.3M+ for County General, $95,000+ for ReAssessment and $549 for the Health Department to correct errors with data entry at the end of the year, as discussed last month.  These additionals do not actually change the amount the council approved, but rather distribute it correctly into the various lines from which it will be spent.  Approved.

Also requested an additional $20 for Dues & Subscriptions, $2000 for Overtime, $3000 for Consulting and $2000 for Training.  Much of this amount was justified as needed for the ongoing changeover to new software.  Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:

Highway Superintendent Rick Carney returned to discuss his proposed equipment maintenance and replacement program, which he distributed last month.

Sue Ritz, newly-retired former director of Boone County Senior Services, Inc., introduced new director Anita Bowen, who took over duties last month. Ms. Ritz also presented the BCSSI Annual Report and updated the council on its activities, then presented a request for $20,000 in matching funds for the Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) program, as discussed at the council’s November meeting.  Ms. Ritz noted that among other needs, Gander Mountain alone is looking to increase its staffing by 20% this year, and cannot find sufficient employees in Lebanon.  Ms. Ritz answered many, many questions from council members.  Indy location will be at Ohio & Pennsylvania Streets, with the other end at the Lebanon Business Park, with morning and afternoon service.  Fare will be $3 each way.  Bryan Brackemyre, interim director of the Boone County Economic Development Corporation, addressed questions as well about the economic impact of bringing employees to Boone County businesses.  The council consensus was that Ms. Ritz should submit an additional appropriation request for our March meeting to come from the Food & Beverage Fund.

Brent Cardin, Director of The Arc of Boone County, presented Arc’s 2012 annual report.  Cardin addressed the Arc’s increased success in job placement for its clients in 2012.  He spoke on two barriers to employment – transportation and skills – which Arc focuses on alleviating.  Arc works BCSSI and BATS (the Boone Area Transit System) on transportation issues and continues partnerships with the Lebanon Library and IndyReads on adult literacy and GED programs.

Bryan Brackemyre of the Boone EDC presented the council with a contract which has been approved by the commissioners clarifying the services provided the county by the corporation.

Cindy Murphy of the Health Department discussed some issues with clarifying where the funds designated for the Health Dept.’s insurance premiums will be drawn.  Ms. Murphy also asked clarification on changes to the budgeting of copier maintenance, the funding for which was removed from the IT budget but not correspondingly replaced in the Health Dept budget.  Extensive discussion of the appropriate role of the IT department budget followed.

Ms. Murphy also raised considerations regarding payment of employees through various grants from the health department.  Specifically, a situation arose in which a part-time position paid through a grant qualified for a pay increase within the grant.  The question is whether this position should receive the increase though the county did not allow increases for part-time employees for 2013.  The conclusion was that this did not fall under that decision, but any changes within the grant structure would still require an update to the county’s salary ordinance.  Ms. Murphy also clarified that grant moneys coming in to reimburse overtime pay for grant work would be transferred later when the moneys arrived. 

Major Mike Nielsen addressed the progress of the InterAct Project.

OLD BUSINESS:

PUBLIC COMMENT:

DOCUMENT SIGNING:

The meeting had not adjourned when I had to leave at 10:50.

Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, March 12, at 8:30 a.m.

Notes -- January 2013 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
1/8/2013
Present:  All Council members present, Secretary Crystal Raub.

Before conducting business, the council re-elected Steve Jacob as president for 2013, and Marcia Wilhoite as vice president. 

The council reviewed and approved meeting minutes from both October and November with slight amendment. 

RE-APPROPRIATIONS:

None

ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:

Circuit Court (Kandi Killin/Becky McClure):

Requested $6500 transfer from general fund for GAL/CASA grant.  Approved.
Ms. Killin also introduced Ms. McClure as the new GAL/CASA director following Ms. Killin’s retirement.

Sheriff (Ken Campbell):

Requested a total of just under $700 in reimbursement transfers from inmate Meals, Medical and Postage.  Councilman Thompson again noted his objection to the inconsistency in procedure in transferring these funds.  Approved. 

Superior Court II (No one present):

Requested $498.88 to supplement the salary ordinance for the court Commissioner, as discussed and approved at our previous meeting.  Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:

Commissioner Jeff Wolfe, with assistance from Sherriff Campbell and Major Mike Nielsen, updated the council on the ongoing upgrade to security at the courthouse and other county offices.  The current “panic button” system is largely dysfunctional, as it is nearly 30 years old.  The committee charged with leading the upgrade project has received bids for a new system.  Wolfe noted that the commissioners are looking at a larger, longer-term remodeling program for the recently-acquired building on West Washington Street which would eventually include this security upgrade, but those involved would prefer to move ahead with the security upgrade in existing buildings as soon as feasible.  The commissioners are asking guidance for an additional appropriation request for next month’s council meeting.

Major Mike Nielsen and Sherriff Campbell presented information regarding the Public Safety technology system upgrade through AT&T/Interact.  Major Nielsen has been the project leader for investigating this transition for some time, and addressed the council last month about some possible grant funding available to support the switch from the CISCO system (now Harris/Global) the department has used for the past 25 or so years.  One of the largest benefits of the new system is that it will allow interoperability not only with all the public safety agencies in Boone County, but also other agencies across the state and nationwide who are using the same systems.  Major Nielsen had shared a tremendous amount of information with the council in the past few weeks, as requested, for review and discussion.  He provided cost projections based upon the new state statute for funding 911 services, though all involved acknowledged that the state itself is unsure of the accuracies of those numbers.  Major Nielsen answered many, many questions and addressed concerns with both the technical aspects and the financing projections of the project.  Chief James VanGorder of Zionsville (and president of the county fire chiefs association) also spoke briefly in favor of the project, noting the dramatic increase in efficiency it will bring county-wide to fire and EMS, in addition to law enforcement. The council unanimously approved a motion to support moving forward with the project. 

The council approved meeting dates for the remainder of the year, meeting each month on the second Tuesday.  Additional meetings may be scheduled as needs arise.  Meetings scheduled will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the exception of those on May 14^th and November 12^th, which will be evening meetings beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Surveyor Ken Hedge approached the council for approval in filling a recently-vacated full-time position in his office for a drain inspector.  The council gave its approval.

The council officially re-appointed Marcia Wilhoite to be our representative on the county Solid Waste Board, correcting an oversight from last month’s meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:

PUBLIC COMMENT:

New County Auditor Deanna Willhoite addressed the council about a problem with the state approval of the 2013 budget, which was discovered in late December.  Apparently a data entry error on a form submitted to the state requested just over $3 million less than the council had approved.  The window of opportunity to appeal that error closed before year’s end, so now the county has to determine how best to deal with the problem.  The amount of money being received by the county has not changed from the approved budget, but it is unclear how the funds will need to be appropriated.  Auditor Willhoite will investigate further and return to the council in February with more information and a possible course of action.

Lebanon resident Aaron Smith addressed the council regarding his ongoing support of a proposal to modify the distribution of the state gas tax revenue to direct a higher percentage toward road maintenance funding.  Representative Jeff Thompson plans to introduce a bill next week toward that end.

Councilwoman Wilhoite asked Auditor Willhoite if she could prepare an update on the status of county health insurance and hospitalization funds for next month.  Councilman Thompson asked if in addition the council could receive an update on the status of the various funds.  Auditor Willhoite responded that she expected both requests to be met, and also noted that the office was beginning the transition to the new CYMA software from Harris this month.

DOCUMENT SIGNING:

 
Meeting had not adjourned when I had to leave at 10:30.
Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, February 12, at 8:30 a.m.