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.