NOTES – December 2014 BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
All council members present; Secretaries Crystal Raub and
Chelsea Young.
Meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
Council approved the meeting minutes from its November meeting
without amendment.
Council President Steve Jacob presented retiring members
Brent Wheat, Gene Thompson and Butch Smith with plaques commemorating their
service on the council.
RE-APPROPRIATIONS: All Approved.
Courts Intervention (no one present):
Requested $2200 from Personal Services to Director. This
will accommodate expenditures incurred before the creation of the new Director
line earlier in the year.
Prosecutor (Lori Schein):
Requested $1000 each from Overtime and Deputy Prosecutor
#3 to Deputy Prosecutor/Criminal to correct a transfer issue.
Superior Court II (Joyce Hinkel):
Requested $300 from Return Fugitive to Library to cover
cost of an extra law book.
Treasurer (Debbie Ottinger):
Requested $1400 from Office Supplies to Program
Application and $700 to Statement Processing. The office has switched
processing services and the new vendor bills costs differently than the old.
Sheriff (Brittany Hicks):
Requested $22000 total in transfers to three different
salary lines to cover costs incurred in covering vacancies, primarily from
jailer positions to Part-time and Overtime.
Requested $2000 transfer to Executive Secretary for sex
offender work, in line with the Salary Ordinance.
ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Area Plan (Rachel Cardis):
Requested $8000 for litigation for expenses related to an
appeal of a $500,000+ judgment. Approved.
Community Corrections (no one present):
Requested $3500 for Retirement Contribution. Approved.
NEW BUSINESS:
County Attorney Bob Clutter addressed the council for
approval of the new compensation contract for Sheriff Mike Nielsen, which has
already been approved by the Commissioners. The contract term runs four years,
so the sheriff will be ineligible for any elected official pay raises. Council
approved a motion to have president Steve Jacob sign the contract.
Clutter also reported that the county’s recent bond issue
earned a rating from Standard & Poor’s of AA, its second-highest rating,
and a remarkably high rating for an entity the size of Boone County. Clutter
also notified the council that the bond issue requires an annual fee from the
trustee firm, which will need to be paid through an additional appropriation
next year, and then budgeted into future years.
The council discussed a request via email from retiring
Judge McClure to amend the 2014 salary ordinance to allocate funds remaining in employee salary lines in Superior Court II to reward those employees for their
service. After much discussion, the council voted not to make the amendment and
set the precedent of awarding what are essentially year-end bonuses that could
have other impacts across the county’s budget.
OLD BUSINESS:
Marcia Wilhoite asked for information from the highway
department about the $600,000 additional request from last month which was
tabled. Kathy Jedwabny answered some questions to clarify the relationship with
Whitestown for reimbursement of right-of-way fees. After discussion about the
continuing lack of a formal contract from Whitestown, the council voted
unanimously to approve the additional appropriation, understanding that
Whitestown intends to reimburse.
Cindy Murphy of the Health Department presented the
council with reminders of the council’s actions in its budget workshops to
reallocate funds within the department to different positions based upon
shifting job descriptions and prompted by a retirement. That change resulted in
difficulties with the council’s approval of a staff pay increase, with
uncertainty as to whether the positions covered by this reallocation would be
eligible for that increase. The council clarified for the auditor’s office its
intent to include those employees in the increase. As the budget submitted to
the state did not include those funds, the council will need to approve an
additional appropriation next year to cover the expense.
Commissioner Jeff Wolfe thanked the departing council
members for their service on behalf of the commissioners. Wolfe also updated
the council on costs associated with architectural fees for the Washington
Street building, which have been higher than expected.
County Assessor Lisa Garoffolo and Commissioner Wolfe advised
that the Meijer corporation has filed a property tax assessment appeal on their
building in Anson (and all their buildings across the state) based on an appeal
they had won on a store on 96th street. The county will be
contesting the appeal, which could be expensive. The council voiced its support
for defending the appeal and confirming that the county’s assessment process
has been fair and accurate.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Auditor Deanna Willhoite and Treasurer Debbie Ottinger
both thanked retiring council members Smith, Thompson and Wheat.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:50.
Next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, January
13, at 8:30 a.m.
