NOTES – October 2014 BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
All council members present except Butch Smith (ill);
Secretaries Crystal Raub and Chelsea Young.
Meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
Council approved the meeting minutes from its September
meeting with minor amendments.
RE-APPROPRIATIONS: All Approved 6-0
Assessor (no one present):
Requested $4000 from Supplies to Consulting to cover
costs of informal hearings.
Highway (Rick Carney):
Requested $100 from office supplies to meetings and $1000
from repair equipment to equipment.
Circuit Court (Judge Jeff Edens):
Requested $225 from Continuing Ed to Library for purchase
of books.
ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Commissioners (Jeff Wolfe):
Requested $1.2M to Health Insurance to cover claims for
the remainder of the year. The Council had budgeted just $2M of a $3.25M
request last year, in hopes of sparking a re-negotiated contract that would
include savings to the county. Auditor Deanna Willhoite joined Wolfe in
answering some questions regarding the total expenditures from the Employee
Health Fund and the goal of building a “reserve” in that fund to handle large
claims without requiring an additional appropriation. Alan McCloskey of
Consolidated Union, the county’s health insurance vendor, was scheduled to be
present today to assist in answering related questions, but was unable to
attend and will be scheduled again next month. Approved.
Highway (Rick Carney):
Requested $135,000 for purchase of an additional dump truck. Sufficient funds are budgeted in the Highway account for purchase of one account, but Carney had planned to purchase two. Carney had submitted requests from both the Rainy Day fund and Riverboat, giving the council the option to choose. The Riverboat fund was determined not to have sufficient funds to cover the entire cost, but Carney felt he could make up the difference from his original budget. Council moved to appropriate $120,000 from the Riverboat fund. Approved.
Requested $135,000 for purchase of an additional dump truck. Sufficient funds are budgeted in the Highway account for purchase of one account, but Carney had planned to purchase two. Carney had submitted requests from both the Rainy Day fund and Riverboat, giving the council the option to choose. The Riverboat fund was determined not to have sufficient funds to cover the entire cost, but Carney felt he could make up the difference from his original budget. Council moved to appropriate $120,000 from the Riverboat fund. Approved.
NEW BUSINESS:
County Attorney Bob Clutter, Commissioner Jeff Wolfe,
Brian Colton from Umbaugh and Heather James from Ice Miller addressed the
council regarding the issuance of a $7.6M bond for capital improvements,
including $4.2M for bridge projects. The bond requires that 85% of revenues be
spent within 3 years of issuance, which triggered discussion of possibly
splitting the bond issue into two parts. That would cost the county more than
$100,000 in additional fees, however. Commissioner Wolfe noted that several
projects scheduled in the next few years should cover that percentage, and
should they come in under budget other projects could be moved forward on the
schedule. The bond issuance description is written in such a way that it should
allow broad flexibility in dispersal of the funds. The Council approved an
Ordinance approving the issuance of the bonds for up to $7.7M for the projects
laid out in their description. In November, the Council will hold a public
hearing to consider an Additional Appropriation to cover the costs of the bond
issue.
As Mr. McCloskey of Consolidated Union was not able to
attend, his discussion of health insurance funding will be re-scheduled for the
council’s November meeting.
OLD BUSINESS:
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Bill Stuteville of Lebanon addressed the council
regarding the council’s decision not to fund a Veterans Discount Card as
proposed by Recorder Nikki Baldwin in August.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30.
Next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, October
11th, at 8:30 a.m.
Following the regular business meeting and after a short
break, President Steve Jacob called to order a Public Hearing on the proposed
2015 County Budget.
Auditor Willhoite updated the council on the estimated
revenues for 2015 in relation to the expenditures in the proposed budget. The
county expects to have an operating balance at the end of the year of nearly
$1.2M, which is near the goal the council had discussed earlier in the year and
throughout its budget hearings in August.
At Auditor Willhoite’s suggestion, the council then made
a series of motions to clarify actions taken in August.
Before approval of the COIT Fund budget, the council
discussed the continuing and dramatic increases in the sheriff’s pension fund
costs and how best to address them. President Jacob stated that he intended to
convene a committee to explore long-term options after the first of the year.
The council then moved to approve the various property
tax levies for 2015.
General Fund $6,406,647
Reassessment $325,000
County Health $405,657
Mental Health $256,200
4-H $100,000
Motor Vehicle Highway Budget $2,815,292
Local Road & Street $394,392
Cum Bridge Rate .0228
CCD Rate .0330
Council also approved the
Boone County Solid Waste Budget.
