Hello and welcome to Cats Week. I'm Martin O'Neill. A special Monroe County Election Board hearing was
held on August 12th. Candidate Joe Davis, who lost this year's Democratic primary election for Monroe
County Clerk, is attempting to get on the November ballot as a write-in candidate. Five complaints were
filed against Davis, citing what is commonly known as the Indiana sore loser law. County Attorney Jeff
Cockrell explained the relevant section of Indiana code and the complaints.
looking through all the complaints, they all seem to be the same complaint from five different people,
which is that there is a violation of Indiana Code 381 5.5, which is entitled Ineligibility of a Person
Defeated in Primary Convention or Caucus. The allegation is that
Mr. Davis is one who was defeated in a primary convention or caucus, and therefore he is ineligible
to be on the ballot for this fall. I think there is one with a second complaint of history of disruptive
behavior at voting locations. I'm not sure how that fits into where we're at in today's process, but
I guess those are kind of the
I think the primarily one that all of them complained about was the violation of Indiana Code 3815.5.
Dee Owens, one of the completants, said that adding a write-in candidate to the ballot who had already
lost the primary would be against Indiana law. I think allowing a write-in candidate at this point who
was a previous candidate is clearly in opposition to the law. We just have to follow the law. That's
all there is.
Mr. Davis already lost. That's the law of the state of Indiana. We need to follow the law. I think it's
quite simple. Prior to Davis giving his presentation, election board member Danny Shields remarked on
what the election board can do and cannot do. I think that the question is, can this election board
rewrite Indiana state law? And the answer is, no, we can't. I'm sure there are state laws that all three
of us would like to rewrite.
We can. That's what the legislature does. And you know that. And the question here is, this is what,
and we've reached out to the state election board. This is what they say Indiana code states. And we
really have no desire to change what that law states. Joe Davis started his presentation by acknowledging
the law, the results of the primary election, and the election board
could not change the law nor the election results. However, citing multiple court cases, Davis argued
that he should be allowed to run for the clerk position as an independent write-in candidate. Election
restrictions affecting political association must be evaluated by considering the character and magnitude
of the burden on candidates and voters and the precise governmental interest asserted to justify that
burden. That matters here because the burden
I cannot be a candidate for Monroe County Clerk in the November general election at all.
but it also affects voters who may wish to support an independent candidacy. I anticipate that the board
may consider Hero v. Lake County Election Board, a Seventh Circuit decision. Hero is important, but
the factual distinction is critical. In Hero, the candidate was removed from the Republican primary
ballot, but he still had alternative routes to the general election.
The Seventh Circuit therefore characterized the burden as minor. Here, the challenged statute does something
different. It eliminates the general election candidacy itself. There's no alternative independent or
right-in route left for me if
Indiana code section 3-8-1-5.5 is applied. That distinction is reinforced by the Indiana Supreme Court's
later discussion of a hero in Morales v. Rust. The Indiana Supreme Court emphasized the availability
of alternative routes to the general election ballot in conducting that a restriction was minor. Those
alternative routes are precisely what
Indiana Code Section 3-8-1-5.5 removes in this case. After Davis ended his presentation, a recess was
declared to allow the Complaintants and the Election Board to review exhibits Davis submitted. Complaintant
Dee Owens offered her thoughts on how the board should proceed. Having heard
the presentations and having reviewed the exhibits, I would like to kindly say that this is the wrong
venue for this argument, that this board has no authority over the United States Constitution. And therefore,
you can only rule, of course, on what's in front of you, the law that's in front of you, and the evidence
that's in front of you.
Shields agreed that ultimately the issue was not for the Monroe County Election Board to decide. Well,
ma'am, that is exactly the thought that I had that if we don't write the law, we read the law and make
decisions based on what it says, it seems to me that if Mr. Davis wants to be on the ballot as a write-in
candidate, he needs to seek injunctive relief
that we can't offer. And if you wish to try, if you wish to file suit somewhere to be put on the ballot,
that same constitution you're talking about gives you that right. The election board voted unanimously
to remove Joe Davis from the ballot, but acknowledged that Davis does have the right to petition the
courts and appeal the decision. The Monroe County Council met on August 11th during public comment
Bloomington resident Gerhard Glohm called attention to federal immigration detentions and invited officials
and the public to a vigil. 65,765. That is the number of people, as I Googled it today, that are currently
held in ICE detention. 65,765.
Various independent agencies have verified that roughly 70% of those detainees have no criminal record.
Every day in this country, injustices occur hour after hour after hour, state by state by state. The
powers that be cause suffering
for tens of thousands of people and their families. On August 28, at 8.50 p.m., there will be a vigil
right outside this building on the southeast corner of the square. Vice President of Life Designs, DSI
Chris Hardesty, thanked the county for their ongoing support.
He outlined plans for a new day program to serve people with developmental disabilities who've been
stuck on wait lists. He explained how county funding is especially critical as Indiana Medicaid changes
create uncertainty. Things at a state level are definitely not getting any easier. Every day seems to
bring a new challenge and so having this support as it is is fantastic and just hoping that it continues
and hoping to continue this relationship and the support from you guys is extremely helpful.
County Surveyor, Tron Enright Randolph, delivered a 20-year retrospective on the Surveyor's office work,
showcasing the office has brought Monroe County's Public Land Survey up to modern standards. Made it
a priority to have higher standards, do the perpetuation work per state mandate, stay on top of technology,
continue to create databases.
Also the GIS division is within the surveyors office and we have created public applications and we
also have been incorporating other data into a GIS where we have provided that data to our constituents,
colleagues, elected officials and created valuable tools for policy decisions in general outreach.
Later, the council approved a modest health department grant amendment to extend funding for sexually
transmitted diseases prevention and disease intervention specialists. Health administrator Lori Kelly
said the money breaks a gap until a larger amount arrives. This is just a standard grant amendment.
So this funding supports our disease intervention specialists. This funding will last us about into the fall.
and we are expecting an additional $110,000 to be arriving soon. That was initiated by the Indiana Department
of Health July 1st. So this is just essentially helping to cover an additional gap as we work our way
through the grant period. The Council then spent time discussing how to handle the special purpose local
income tax that funds youth and court programs. The rate was cut twice in recent years to spend on a
large cash balance.
County Auditor Breanne Gregory explained the current situation and made a recommendation. We're definitely
going to be in the red if we don't take some sort of action, either budget reduction or rate increase.
So FSG's recommendation is to put this back at the original rate that we reduced from the first time.
So they are recommending 0.0950.
The next County Council meeting will be held on August 25th. The Bloomington Utility Service Board is
preparing to present its 2027 budget to the Bloomington City Council. Utilities Director Catherine Zager
told the board that the budget has been reduced. There was a $748,000 overall decrease in the budget
split across all funds.
due to the removal of a placeholder for the union contract by the Office of the Controller. The Board
will present their budget to the City Council on August 19th. At their meeting on August 11th,
the Bloomington Board of Public Works approved several temporary road and sidewalk closures tied to
the construction of the Bloomington Convention Centre. Board members also raised concerns about access
to nearby properties, including parking accessed through the alley. We did issue the letters
to the same group that we've affected with the full college closure. So everybody between second and
third street. But on this one, we included Bunger and Robertson's team and Juan's cells for this closure
duration. City officials said additional land closure and sidewalk requests are expected as construction
continues. Those requests will come back to the Board of Public Works for approval. The Alexville Town
Council met on August 10th where they heard comments focused on complaints from residents living near
the SIP, a local pub.
Neighbors cited loud music, lighting, trash, parking and traffic through a private easement. Tyne Council
said they are aware of the concerns and are working with police and planning officials to find a solution.
Tyne Manager, Mike Farmer, said that Tyne wants the business to succeed while also addressing the impact
on nearby residents.
We've got civilians running up against commercial and it's a problem so I hope to be able to come up
with a solution that'll make everybody happy. The Oldsville Town Council will meet again on August 24th.
The Monroe County Commissioners met on August 13th. First, Becca Street, Executive Director of Community
Corrections, gave an annual report. Street reported on how their funding from various sources was being
used and stressed that the program would suffer from lack of funding in future years.
So in 2025, we received about $1.5 million from the Department of Correction, and that funds our community
corrections program, specifically our home detention, our drug treatment court, and mental health court,
and then our pre-trial services. The Department of Correction has flatlined our grant funding for, I
believe it's now six years, and, spoiler alert, for 2026 and beyond, it unfortunately
the funding is reduced and it gets worse. Our Community Corrections Program also receives funding from
the Indiana Office of Court Services through the Indiana Supreme Court. That specifically funds our
Veterans Court, part of our pre-trial services program, and then
all four of our problem solving courts receive some money, not for personnel but for bus tickets, what
we call barrier busters, incentives like gift cards for our problem solving court participants, staff
training and drug testing supplies so that our participants in problem solving courts don't have to
pay for their drug testing. For Indiana Office of Court Services, that's the part where we don't have
news yet for 2027. This is just a visual to let you know that
Grant funding by the state has been flatlined. It is not keeping up with program needs, with personnel
costs. We have been, across the state, we're being very vocal up at the state level, but this is the
reality of what's happening right now. The commissioners also approved two contracts with the Bounds
Flooring to repair flood damage to the Charlotte-Zitlow Justice Building.
On July 24th, there was a sewer line backup in the justice building that affected both the
court's administration area and clerk's office. The backup resulted in damage and replacement of carpet,
drywall, ceiling tile, and light fixture lenses that were affected in both offices. That brings me to
a pair of agenda requests before you today. The first is the request to ratify an emergency contract
with bounce flooring in the amount of $23,682.50.
for the replacement of carpet in the court's offices following damage caused by flooding at the Charlotte
Zitlow Justice Center on Friday, July 24th. The commissioners also approved contracts for a surveillance
system in the voter registration office at the County Government Building. Election Supervisor Kylie
Fierce discussed the purpose of the surveillance system.
I just want to say thank you so much to Richard Crider and the maintenance department for ensuring that
this is going to be taken care of. I want to say thank you to each of you as well, but also just to
make sure that this is being very clear and comes across as we are ensuring that there is as much security
measures as possible for all of the election equipment, but also for the staff in our office. We are
still waiting on a couple of more things to be completed in the office to
finished that security measures. And once everything is completed, we believe that we will be in one
of the most safest options and offices within the county for voter registration for the first time since
I've been here for three years. Commissioner Jody Madeira shared a statement on claims made by Monroe
County Consular David Henry.
Every employee has the right to a safe and clean workplace. When employees raise concerns, these concerns
deserve to be heard, investigated, and addressed. But hearing an allegation isn't the same as establishing
that allegation is fact. And that certainly isn't evidence that commissioners knew about a hazardous
condition and chose to ignore it. So I think Dave, Councilor Henry's arguments rest on two unsupported
leaps. The first is that reports that the Justice Center was, quote unquote, not cleanly established
that remains unsanitary.
They don't. Iosha's letters related to employee allegations. The letters themselves expressly stated
that they were not citations and that Iosha had not determined that alleged hazards existed. Iosha's
visit is part of determining the facts and should not be represented as proof of a violation before
a process is complete. The second and more serious leap is the suggestion that if some area still requires
attention, the commissioners must have known about it and deliberately chose to do nothing.
That's not logical or accurate. And so before accusing public officials of knowingly allowing employees
to work in unsanitary conditions, one should establish what condition existed, when it was reported
to whom, and what happened in response. The documented response was definitely not nothing. So after
the July 24th incident, the building was closed for four working days. Professional remediation crews
were brought in an hour after the incident.
damaged carpet drywall and other materials removed as necessary and affected areas were cleaned, sanitized,
and dried. And the cause also matters. The sewage backup occurred after materials were deliberately
flushed to the jail's plumbing system.
The later drain cleaner exposure was a separate incident involving an operational decision
by jail maintenance staff to use an unfamiliar product. The commissioners didn't direct or authorize
that substitution. These events have to be assessed and prevented from occurring, but they should not
be collapsed into a narrative that the commissioners knowingly chose to tolerate unsafe conditions.
Employees reported that representatives of IOSHA and the State Board of Health commented on the air
quality in separate tours off the building.
the state did come down and do their assessment. That was done prior to the sewage event. So that was
prior to that. But their report was that the air quality in the building was appropriate. One of the
things that they looked at was the, they looked at the mold spores and everything and they were acceptable
as per their report.
They also look at the CO2 levels. And again, all the levels that were checked were, I think, between
six and probably 807-something high numbers. The 11 to 14 is, I think you actually had 700 to your 700
number. And that gives you what is not acceptable. So we were all fine on that level.
We brought the State Board of Health in to do this assessment to help support all the work that has
already been done and to show that we are in fact trying very hard to ensure a proper and adequate and
acceptable air quality. There is no defined numbers for that, if you'll find out, other than CO2 levels.
We're trying to show that we are taking all of these concerns seriously and we want to have the most
safe environment for our employees. Commissioner Thomas also spoke about the state of the Justice Building
and the public response to it. I really wish people would not talk about things they don't know anything
about. And what it highlights for me is the fact that this Justice Building doesn't need quote, a lick
of paint and new carpet as has been said
previously, this building is in terrible shape. We are continuing to work with VET, as you can see by
the Curry Building item on our agenda, but we are continuing to work with VET on every one of our buildings
to keep the mold counts down for all of our employees and for all of our visitors, for all the residents
of Monroe County. We are working with
a terrible building, structurally HVAC-wise, functionality-wise, everything is wrong with that building
that you could name. I don't think there's much right about that building. And this is a good reminder
that we need to move forward as quickly as possible with our jail project.
Commissioner Thomas finished the meeting with a series of announcements urging community members to
fill board and commission vacancies, sign up for the resident alert systems and the Ivy Tech blood drive.
The Monroe County Commissioners will meet again on August 20th. And that's all for Cats Week. Thanks
for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Martin O'Neill.