- Okay, welcome everybody and we apologize for our tardiness today is Tuesday, September 16 2025. And
- today is our regular county council meeting.
- And so here for the record and the night you hillbill room I'm going to start from the left here.
- We have counselors Liz Spiro Kate wolves Trent Deckard, and Peter Iverson.
- And I know that counselor.
- Henry was supposed to start virtually so I'm, I'm still trying to log in here and see I know he's
- coming in.
- So, neither counselor Henry or talk are here but when they are here we will note for the record
- their arrival. So, next up on the agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance so all those able to stand
- please stand for the pledge.
- The republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for
- all.
- Okay. And so next up is the adoption of tonight's agenda does any council member wish to make
- changes to tonight's agenda.
- Okay. And seeing no changes. I am going to see if we can do this by voice vote since we don't have
- anybody virtually just yet. So all those in favor of a proven tonight's agenda signify by saying
- aye.
- Opposed same sign. All right, motion carries. We have a definite packed agenda so I hope you got
- your jammies and your treats because we are in for a long way.
- But it's the business of the public so that is what we are going to do. Next up is public comments
- so this is for items that are not on tonight's agenda.
- So if you are sitting here in the natural room and you feel compelled to make a comment about
- something that's not on the agenda. You can come forward to the lectern here in the natural room,
- you'll have up to three minutes, or you can raise your hand via teams.
- And I thought I saw one of the yellow emoji hands via teams raised, I did. Okay.
- So, if you are on teams, Mr. mg you can go ahead and unmute and you'll have up to three minutes.
- And thank you, Madam President, good evening, my name is Mr. energy for greater business and growth
- commerce.
- I do not envy you at all each department comes to you during these budget requests and the type of
- community needs yet, you're first, you're forced to say no, no, no, this is not easy work.
- I think you were asking one only made that harder. I commend your discipline and perspective that
- it requires. But here we are. It's the 2016 budget traffic carrying $8 million deficit a serious
- challenge that Monroe County has managed to finances with foresight that many of its neighbors is
- not.
- Make maintaining your ready date on the general reserves, made above state averages by comparison
- large counties have a near as projected near zero general fund balance and payroll deficits of
- counties had their door fall audit issues.
- Monroe County is in a stronger position because of sort of shift like the county council, the
- chamber urge you not to rely on the reserve funding set as a true blast.
- What the reserves are depleted options narrow quickly.
- Rebuilding those balances take years.
- The Justice Center financing at further complexity.
- Hang with that project that this magnitude requires really staying firm within our needs while
- looking at long different long term operation approach that means investing efficiently, staffing
- sustainability diversion programs that reduce future costs.
- I appreciate your leadership. I know the chamber appreciates your leadership under these difficult
- circumstances I want to thank you for the work on behalf of the community and good luck tonight, as
- you prepare for another marathon meeting.
- Thank you for your time.
- We appreciate that. Thank you very much.
- All right. Is there anybody here in the night you hill room that wish to make public comment on
- tonight's or on items that are not on tonight's agenda again you can come forward to the lectern
- here in the night you hill room, or if there are more community members
- you can raise your hand via teams.
- Seeing none. All right. Well, we appreciate.
- Do we know. Okay. All right. We had another taker. Okay, so seeing none in the night you hill room
- and seeing none, virtually via teams we will go ahead with item number five, which is department
- updates.
- These are items for department updates for items, not on the agenda, and each department is more
- than welcome to raise your hand via teams, or you can come forward to the lectern here in the night
- you hill room and give your
- department update, and each department will have up to 10 minutes, so the floor is now open for
- those who are in the night you hill room, and I would like to make department updates for items not
- on tonight's agenda.
- The record we have counselor hawk in the building.
- And seeing none on via teams. All right, you're pretty quiet today.
- All right, so next up is item number six which are the consent agenda items. Council I move to
- approve the following consent agenda item for September 16, a, the highway department's request and
- fund 8176 dash 0000 Eagleton bridge number
- 922 for the creation of account line 37416 design be the highway department's request and fund 1176
- dash 0000 motor vehicle highway, a category transfer of $30,000 from the personnel category to the
- supplies category.
- C, the aviation department's request and fund 1107 dash 0000 aviation fund, a category transfer
- from $10,000 to the from the supplies category to the capital category, and D, the county council
- summary minutes from July 8 and 22 and August 8 12 and 26 for 2025.
- All of those meetings. Second. All right, we got a motion and a second does council wish to make
- any comment on the consent agenda items.
- I know I had sent early this morning, late last night early this morning and it looks like those
- got corrected so appreciate that. Thank you very much.
- Does anybody else have anything.
- All right. Seeing none. Since we still don't have a counselor via teams, and we have six of us here.
- All those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda items signify by saying aye.
- All right. Motion carries. Thank you so much. Next up we will get on with the business at hand. And
- we have item number seven which is ongoing business and first up is the health department.
- Council as a reminder, this is the second reading of this request due to the lack of unanimous vote
- as at the August 12 2025 meeting.
- I move to approve the health department's request to amend the 2025 salary ordinance and fund 1161
- dash 0000 local public health services to remove the positions outlined on the agenda.
- Second. All right, we got a motion in a second. And we have Miss Kelly here along with board member
- Lisa Robinson. Welcome.
- Welcome. Good evening. So I'm not sure that there's a whole lot to add to this request. We're just
- coming back an additional time. So the reason that we moved these positions is due to legislative
- changes.
- So these two positions oversee public health emergency preparedness. So we really thought that it
- was in the best interest to move the move those positions to an alternative funding source just to
- ensure that we can serve anyone in need in a public health emergency.
- All right. Thank you very much. And I already see a hand by Councilor Hawk. Go ahead. Yes, I know
- there's been much conversation about anything being moved to 1159.
- And so I would like for you to comment on that. Mr. Iverson did when you met with them or is there
- anyone else have an update about that.
- I think what. Well, first of all, let us be really clear and Ms. Kelly, please chime in at any
- point. I'm just speaking as your liaison 1159 it refers to one of your funds.
- And that's where we moved a lot of these positions to 1161 is where we're at today.
- And so we're talking about moving positions between two different funds. So when we're using these
- numbers, I want to be really clear for the public that we're talking about positions that are
- moving from one health department fund to another, even though we're using numbers to clarify that.
- They lose anything in translation.
- Can I hear. Well, sure. Okay. Yeah, so the positions have already been moved and approved into 1159
- a meeting ago, the, there was a request to de appropriate 1161 for these positions that the
- appropriation was approved.
- The removal from the salary ordinance was not approved. And this is to get us in tandem with our,
- what you guys have already taken care of. So, this is just to catch us up on the salary ordinance
- with regards to what's been appropriated and the appropriate.
- Okay, Madam President. Yes, of course I get all of that.
- And Kate was anxious to say something if you want to jump in here before I think you're probably
- going to point out the difference between the funds and the right, you know, we're talking numbers
- and the public might want to know why it makes a difference.
- 1159 is the fund that is in part of what we call the frozen levy. So the more positions that we put
- in 1159, there's less dollars over there to make payroll for everything covered in county general
- and everything else that's within that frozen levy.
- So I really object to moving positions over to 1159 from a grant fund. But when when that one hadn't
- happened earlier, let me just make it clear when that happened earlier, a lot's happened since that
- time.
- And I think more is going to be addressed on that situation. So, I would not want it. I was the one
- that said, Oh, well, let's not do appropriate yet because we got to make sure we got the money
- moved over.
- I get that. But since that time we've seen some major changes in what our revenue situation is
- going to be, as well as a request for spending. So, I would expect that this council is going to
- want just move these people right back over to 1161 into the grant.
- I do not know that and that's the reason why I thought I might get more clarity. Thank you.
- Okay, thank you. Councilor.
- Oh, just to be very blunt, I think there is a possibility that we're going to have to make changes
- and verse, what we did before, I don't know that that's necessarily happening but when we discuss
- the budget later in this same meeting.
- We have to fix some stuff, and I know that's on the short list just from our previous conversations,
- my suggestion might be to table this item until we figure out what we're doing.
- That's not helpful to to continuity, but I think we're already at a point where continuity is not
- really happening. That's just my suggestion so I would move to table until a few table till later
- in the meeting.
- Is that thing. Thanks, amend the agenda. I moved to amend the agenda to move this particular item,
- just the sub item to.
- After the budget discussion item on the agenda sorry, I'm looking at it here.
- After number 10.
- Number 10 B. Sorry.
- Okay, just put it at the end of the 10th.
- Does anyone.
- What counselor will to say and is because just to have everybody know and understand and count to
- counselor hawks point arm, as we discussed last week in, and the budget, obviously there are some
- things that have happened and have come about, where we now are faced with making maybe making some
- changes and if it's the will of the council majority of the council to kind of move those items
- back into the funding where it came from.
- But this was an ongoing business that came about, didn't have an anonymous vote and so therefore,
- counselor wilts is asking to move this particular item which is seven a to the end of this agenda
- and county council business when we are talking about the 2026 budget of years.
- So, she motioned and I don't think I've heard a second.
- Okay, we got a motion in a second. Is there any discussion on this motion here.
- Did you all have anything to add to. Yes.
- Yes, thank you. I just want to remind council that because of state mandates, moving the funds from
- the 1159 fund the levy fund back to 1161 means that we have to follow for what those funds are used
- for we have to follow the state mandates.
- So those funds can only be used for citizens, and those people have to provide proof of citizenship
- so that really affects those decisions and moving that back to 1161 I think the original plan, or
- the original idea with moving them from 1161 back to the levy
- fund was so that all persons could be served even if they were not citizens. So that's really an
- important nuance to consider.
- Yes, okay. I'd like to make sure that that doesn't go out into the air that you have to be citizens
- because that's not what the legislation says they can be here as long as they're here legally.
- I don't think they're here as a student visa they're here on whatever you can't say it's just
- because they're not citizens, and that's just incorrect and we don't want that going out to the
- public, because it's not it's not a correct statement.
- I'm going to look to our attorney miss Turner King for this, so that we can kind of move along here.
- And since you know it has been stated by Miss Robinson and then.
- That was my understanding as the reason why but I just want to get a clarification for this, and
- then we can vote on this.
- Okay. Okay. In the meantime, I guess I had a question for you all.
- So when this first started back earlier this summer I think maybe may one of my first proposals,
- which was what some of some other health departments are doing is to split fund all positions.
- So take that entire amount. And so I had met with Michelle, and we kind of drafted this idea and
- this proposal of half of the money and 1159 the other half and 1161.
- So, that's one way there are counties that have just moved positions back to their county levy fund.
- There are some counties that just because of the overall reductions have started to eliminate
- positions.
- So, it's kind of happening at a couple different ways. I think the most challenging part of this is,
- I'm not an attorney.
- No one in our department is an attorney. And how do we interpret and apply this.
- It's very anxiety, I mean, provoking, I mean, just trying to understand and follow this so that we're
- in compliance.
- But then what do we do in those situations where someone doesn't have documentation, or they don't
- want to provide that and then you kind of get into a situation where we're just trying to provide
- basic public health services, and we're operating
- like we're the BMV.
- And so, have you also thought about working with other community groups like health or other groups,
- potentially, you know, I just wanted to get your take and see if y'all thought about that.
- So, I wouldn't feel comfortable speaking on specific organizations, but I would feel comfortable
- making sure that we're all aware that we have actually had our community partners pull back.
- So, because of this, these requirements and these changes, and just the discomfort and the, again,
- just trying to figure out the compliance.
- And so that's, that's been a challenge because now there's this situation of, we've had community
- partnerships, we're trying to grow that but now this like, oh, well, no, we can't operate like that
- we don't operate like that.
- And I know we're out of time now, but I wanted to see with Mr and a king or she had that pulled up.
- So I'm looking at Indiana code 1646 10 3 and subsection F and that code says funds may only be used
- for Indiana residents who are lawfully present in the United States.
- And when you look at the history of that code section 2025 amendment, substitute it lawfully
- present for legal citizens.
- Okay. Okay. So I got my degree, not in law.
- And I don't know if anybody else up here did but the it's the will of the council to figure out the
- financial aspect of this so sounds like your interpretation is what Mr and a king was talking about.
- Okay. So, as a reminder, we got a motion on the floor to move this item to item 10 to have the
- conversation. When it comes to the larger 2026 budget.
- So, with that being said, may we please have a roll call vote. Since you're just moving the item on
- the agenda, it can be a box. That's right. Okay. That's right. Okay, so all those in favor of
- moving seven, a to 10, or to item 10 which is just the 2026 budget conversation signify by saying I.
- I, all those opposed same sign.
- Okay, motion carries. So again we'll. Sounds like y'all in for the long run too. Okay. But you're
- still sitting there because you still got more business with us so item eight is news, the start of
- new business, which is the health department.
- To approve the health department's request and fund 8104 dash 9626 public health emergency
- preparedness create new account lines, and to simultaneously approve additional appropriations of $10,724
- and 63 cents in the supplies category and $9,275 and 37 cents in the services category for a total
- appropriation of $20,000.
- Okay, what would you like to add to this.
- This is just standing standard funding that the health department has been receiving for many years.
- The amount did was reduced slightly $5,000 during this grant period, but this helps just to support
- our public health emergency preparedness programs.
- All right, thank you for that. And look into my left to see if anybody has any questions on this
- item.
- Looking to my right and seeing if anybody has any.
- No. Okay, so, oh, I'm so used to being budget mode now, now we got to go back to public comment. If
- you have public comment on this item, you can come forward to the lectern here in the night you
- hill room or raise your hand via teams.
- If you have any questions on maybe please have a roll call vote.
- Councilor vital. Yes.
- Councilor will.
- Yes. Councilor hawk. Yes.
- Councilor cross.
- The partner constant cross Lee. Yes. Councilor Iverson. Yes. Councilor Decker. Yes. Motion passes
- 60. All right, next up is item B.
- The health department's request and fund 8104-9625 public health emergency preparedness to de
- appropriate 30 cents in the personnel category $62.16 in the supplies category $438.94 in the
- services category and $150.10 in the capital category for a total de appropriation of $651.50.
- Thank you. Okay, Miss Kelly.
- This is just a housekeeping items our financial manager is really trying to stay on top of, you
- know, reconciling our grant funds and so this is just funding that we did not use during the grant,
- the last grant cycle, so.
- I'm looking here, I just had a, I guess a quick question before I take it, or give it back to the
- larger council is there any particular reason why we like. Well, besides the fact that we just didn't
- use it, is there any other reason why that just went unspent.
- Yes, it was timing trying to get down to I mean it takes a while to get supply requests in and get
- orders and to get invoices so we were working to try to spend all of that money out but trying to
- align it with those dollar amounts and get it in to be able to get an invoice
- before the end of the cycle, just didn't happen. Okay. All right. Thank you. All right, now look
- into the larger council here to see if anybody has any questions on this item.
- This is maybe tangential to this item so this should come up another time that you mentioned your
- financial managers working on this, and your financial manager hasn't been to see us at all during
- these, the budget meetings.
- I'm just wondering why, because all the other departments bring their financial manager. Is there a
- reason.
- Not necessarily I guess just because I'm used.
- When I was with Penny and kind of going through that process with her, and just bringing these
- items, sort of like when I was mentoring with Penny.
- So I guess that's why.
- Because you didn't bring anybody then. Yeah.
- It might be.
- Well, I'm not gonna tell you how to do your job.
- Well, I was curious to that effect too, when it comes to that, because there's another deappropriation
- here for something else too. And I guess I'm wondering, because I know that the auditor's office
- usually works with financial managers.
- Is there a way in which like the auditor's office would be able to work with the financial manager,
- so that, you know, we can spend down every penny, even though I know this is a small amount here.
- But that's still money that we are given back. And so, I know we've had this happen a couple of
- times already and it's great that we're finding it, but I wish that we can be spending it as well.
- So I guess I was just wondering how, how could, you know, your financial manager work with the
- auditor's office or counsel for them, all of the above, so that we can try to make sure that we
- spend these dollars down.
- I guess it's really, I guess that's something to think about and consider how we can kind of expedite
- the processes and streamline processes in the, in the future to align our budgets and to be able to
- make category in house transfers to use down all of the funds.
- All right. Thank you. All right. Anybody else have any other questions on this item.
- All right, seeing none. If you have public comment on this item, come forward to the lectern here
- in the night you hill room or raise your hand via teams.
- All right, and seeing none. Maybe please have a roll call vote.
- Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
- Okay, next up is item C council I move to approve the health department's request and fund 81 12
- dash 9626 STD strengthening prevention for the creation of account line one zero one four to
- disease intervention specialist, and to simultaneously approve an additional appropriation of $58,835
- in the personnel category.
- Okay. Okay. And what would you like to add to this item.
- So, due to the recent district expansion of our GIS services. This is additional funding that was
- supporting an additional position.
- So, this would be to cover the salary expenses for a fourth disease intervention specialist and the
- grant term it would end still February 28 of 2026.
- All right.
- All right, I'm going to go to counsel Iverson and then counselor Hawk. And there's reason to
- celebrate here because for a while we had said, we're not going to do a fourth position because we
- don't have the grant funding we went around and around and around
- and we finally have the grant contract, and the language for this so it's reason to celebrate.
- Okay, counselor Hawking then I'll go and I'm looking at the same. It covers into the end of the
- grant cycle on February 28 2026 well we're almost upon it.
- Right.
- Same question, go for it.
- So it's this amount, not equal to their annual salary it's equal to what they would earn between
- now and the end of February.
- So, the amount is estimated around April, because that's when we first started the discussions for
- additional funding.
- So, it just covers a portion not the, not the full.
- It covers. It's supposed to be retroactive then to April, it would have been if we would have
- received approval for the position.
- Would we be able to spend it.
- No.
- Okay.
- Be able to use a portion of it but again, just because of the timing when we made the request and
- then waiting for the additional funds.
- So, one of the reasons why we did that is because the best practice was, we were waiting for that
- contract to happen.
- And so we've had other departments that have come through that have had that another difference of
- opinions on all sides, but I think we were waiting for that contract to come in, because that was
- what we have done for everything.
- Yes, I mean I think part of our challenge with this also is, we had two different grant funds going
- on that was supporting our disease intervention programming plus we had some funding set aside, and
- the health first Indiana.
- So, it's, it can be when we're talking about expanding and getting new positions we do have a third
- position that started in August, so it started being able to use some of these dollars, but we're
- going to run into the same situation with just not being
- able to use all of this money because we're waiting for the actual executed contract to be able to
- get the position and higher.
- Last night, um, because I had so much time last night to read all this. I was my understanding and
- kind of reading some of it is that it could potentially like you could potentially be awarded for
- more next year is that.
- Yeah, we expect, we fully expect to continue receiving this funding. Okay, services. Okay, so it's
- not like we're, this is a one time kind of thing where you get it and February of next year.
- Thank you, ma'am. It's all done. No, so, historically, from my understanding the health department
- here has received grant funding for their STD programming for an extremely long time during coven
- so prior to my time here, then they started receiving
- supplemental funding, which they could then increase some of the personnel, some of that
- supplemental code funding has been going away which we've been trying to use that down but we've
- still been receiving that standard STD funding, and just because
- of the work we do for all of the counties, we fully anticipate to continue receiving the funding.
- Okay, I'm gonna go to counselor Decker and then I'll go back to Iverson.
- We tell me if I have this wrong I recall this being before us, and I think I got fired up on this
- one a little bit on that fourth.
- Now this person, theoretically, will serve outside of Monroe County is that right.
- Yes, so including Monroe County but also outside and remind me funding sources at federal or state
- I should know but I'm blanking right now.
- This is a federal.
- So, in the other question I have is
- anymore in government you almost have to be one part psychic one part do your homework and the rest
- figured out, or pay for a tutor but how stable.
- Does this look and the reason I ask is if services go out there people are getting things, or you've
- got somebody doing it. And then that changes because public health no longer the flavor of the
- month or whoever did this got cut.
- How, how stable is this looking are they talking about it or are you getting any signals on that.
- I think that it seems very stable I did have a conversation today with an individual from the
- Indiana Department of Health because he was actually checking on the progress of this and if we
- were going to be receiving the fourth position kind of where
- we were with expanding, and I shared with him some of the concerns and, you know, he said that he
- fully believes that this is stable funding that will continue for providing a lot of work for a lot
- of counties.
- And I think it would be extremely challenging to try to find other sources to cover that work that
- we have been doing for so long.
- Councilman Decker syphilis gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted diseases are not going away,
- they are on the rise.
- And that and our, and our government cannot allow for people to infect other humans, no matter who
- they are. So, this, this funding is stable and it will remain stable because we have to have it.
- I doctor I've got that I'm down with that. Unfortunately people that serve in jobs, not on this
- bench. Sometimes they aren't stable, and they probably need to hear that message from you and a lot
- of other good people, because I've seen some wild
- and crazy things this year, this entire night should be called wild and crazy night, because of
- that. So I gotcha.
- First of all, Dr. Thank you for making that point, the grant clearly stipulates that these ST eyes
- need to be looked after and we know that, thanks to the reporting that is Kelly you've been doing
- with the county commissioners that that we are
- seeing increased cases and so we're, we're. I, that's why I'm in favor of this, this fourth
- position because I think we do need it and, and a lot of these cases don't go reported, these are,
- these are very silent cases, there's a lot of
- stigma still attached to, to a lot of this. My question to you is, I would hate to go back through
- what we did earlier this year with a contract.
- Do our partners ID OH the Indian Department of Health under, like, can we get a contract earlier or
- what's the status of, of kind of that that that whole mess I guess.
- I would assume some part of that was based on what was going on in the state legislature.
- That because the state legislature did not really close until mid March. Yeah. So their funding
- wasn't established. So, all of the other departments, including what had to be updated because of
- changes in the legislation.
- Everything got way off track. And so, I believe that is as much an excuse for why this was so
- severely delayed in coming to us, and why you are so delayed in receiving our contract.
- I think it's been really clear that, assuming that the funding is stable. So Councilman Decker was
- just talking about assuming we can get this contract early. It sounds like there will be funding
- for this and I'll conclude to your point.
- I don't know that there's other funding for a position like this, and we need to be using these
- grant dollars as well as we can.
- I think Ms. Kelly was about to speak, so I think Council Iverson had addressed it, so I want to
- give you an opportunity as well, since you were getting ready to speak. So I just wanted to see if
- you had anything else to add to that.
- Yeah, in relation to the delay. I know that the state was having a fiscal closeout period so we did
- have the discussion.
- Again around in April and so I think just because of that there was a little bit of a delay when we
- with them getting that processed into us but it was actually this was ready.
- In August, but because of the council sessions it's gotten pushed back. So, we received it, it was
- sent out for signature actually around 60 days ago.
- So, but it, they're still waiting for the, the signed contract at this time.
- All right, and then,
- do you, Council did you have something
- about budgeting questions here.
- So, we're approving the 58835 but we know that that's not going to be spent on this position,
- because this is all in personnel.
- Right, February, so then we are we getting in that much money, and we aren't going to spend that
- much money and upset in the fund, or, or what will happen and I understand the reason why we want
- to put because the way salaries are figured.
- You put in a dollar amount for the salary and then you figure out how much that is per per hour to
- figure out how much that paycheck should be. But my question is, what happens with this additional
- dollars it's in this personal line that is not going to be
- spent will it remain in the fund, or does that go back to the state, or what happens with that.
- So the best we could do is try to submit a budget revision to see if we could receive approval to
- use some of the funding and other account lines on other things but it will.
- It will go unused otherwise.
- If it would go back to the state, it wouldn't just set there. Right. Hopefully it wouldn't just set
- there doing nothing. If, if we are not allowed to use it, then it would just go back to the state,
- I would think, back to the taxpayer
- to begin with, I or federal government or wherever it is.
- That was just a question.
- Okay. I mean I would assume it would be like the previous item that it was before that we didn't
- use.
- So, there, it looks like there's board member that has their hand raised up, and it went away so I
- don't know if they had enough or wanted to add quickly to the discussion here before we move on
- since we're out of time.
- Okay.
- Go to counsel will to and then we're going to ask for a roll call vote.
- Is, is there I haven't read the agreement thoroughly so I'm not sure if it stipulates that this has
- to be for one person, one individual or if you know that you're not able to use this amount for one
- position, could you offset the costs of any of your other disease
- intervention specialist if that's the name of it.
- Pardon me if I don't have it right.
- Who might be being paid out of other funds with this money between now and the end of February,
- like is there that an option that sure it would be but I still think we're going to have a lot more
- money for personnel, again just because of getting that the third one and then the timing that it
- took to get the third one and then now the fourth one so I think, unless we can get approval from
- the state to use it in other areas.
- We just don't have personnel within this period that it will be used for.
- It has to be used for a specific program so it's just covering anyone holding one of these four
- positions is that correct. Yes, this, they have to work under this grant and follow all of these
- terms that cannot be used for other people or anything outside of this program.
- No, we have anyone working on this program that is funded in the levy fund.
- Oh, okay.
- Good. All right. Good questions. All right. So, um, now we will go to public comment if you have
- public comment on this item raise your hand via teams you'll have up to three minutes, or you can
- come forward to the lectern here in the night you will run.
- All right, and seeing none.
- May we please have a roll call vote.
- Yes.
- Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
- Next up is item D. Could I just ask you, has this person already been hired, or is it within your
- staff to move somebody know we've been waiting on approval for this position.
- And we are actually next up on item D so we're going to move to approve the health department's
- request and fund at 112 dash 9626 STD strengthening prevention to amend the 2025 salary ordinance,
- and add account line 10142 disease intervention specialist,
- 35 hours, Pat, a non exempt with an effective date of September 21 2025.
- All right, we got a motion in a second what would you like to add on this item.
- I think this is just general housekeeping.
- Okay, and looking over here to my left to see if anybody has any questions on this.
- Right. Right. My question once again, because it was about this. This person's are you have not
- already hired this person but you've interviewed or where are we on because you want the salary to
- go back or to start the 21st.
- We've been trying on almost all year to for this position, we that we haven't had approval for the
- position we've been waiting for approval for the position we've been waiting for this contract to
- then be able to post to try to recruit for the position
- we had someone that we could have offered the position to back in May, but we did not have the
- contract.
- I just thought maybe it was someone that you might be moving within the system.
- Okay, thank you. And just like all the other ones can't do anything until you have the contract and
- which is what you're doing right now and then hopefully if this passes, you can go forth into the
- community and the ether and figure out how you can get this person.
- Right. Okay, getting out of good counselor Iverson, if there's someone watching that's interested
- in this type of work where can they apply.
- So they can send an email to the health department to email address they could send it to me but
- again the position hasn't been posted but it will be posted within, if it's approved, it will be
- posted.
- Right. They can always go to the county website job postings area.
- All right, any other questions on this item.
- All right. Public comment is your turn now so if you have public comment on this item you can come
- forward to the lectern here the night you hill room, or raise your hand via teams.
- And maybe please have a roll call vote.
- Yes, Councilor Fido. Yes, Councilor Decker. Yes, Councilor Iverson. Yes, Councilor Wills. Yes,
- Councilor cross Lee. Yes, Councilor Hawk. Yes, motion passes six zero.
- All right, next up is item E council I move to approve the health department's request and fund 8153
- dash 9625 harm reduction for an additional appropriation of $71,391 in the personnel category.
- Okay, and what would you like to add to this.
- So this is additional funding from the Indiana Department of Health that supports our harm
- reduction specialists so previously, they did extend the timeline for the grant cycle to May 31 of
- 2029.
- And as they receive additional funding then the thought is they will provide that to us. So without
- this we only had enough funding to support this position until around November of this year, so
- this will extend us into next year.
- Okay.
- All right, Council do you have any questions or comments on this item.
- Congratulations.
- Seeing none.
- If there's public comment you can come forward to the lectern here in the night you hill room or
- you can raise your hand via teams.
- Roll call vote.
- You're talking about the same thing.
- Councillor, Councillor Hawk.
- Right.
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilz.
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson.
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley.
- Yes.
- Councilor Decker.
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl.
- Yes.
- Motion passes six zero.
- All right, item S.
- Council, I move to approve the health department's request and fund 8180-9625 DIS Intervention
- STD, the deappropriation of $42,014.20 in the personnel category, $100.81 in the supplies
- category, and $1,374.90 in the services category for total deappropriation of $43,489.91.
- Second.
- Okay, I'd like to add to this.
- So again, this is just more just trying to do housekeeping, so just funds because we had
- those multiple grant funds supporting our disease intervention program, some of those
- just because of the reduced personnel that we've been waiting on, we didn't fully utilize.
- All right, and counsel, do you have questions on this item?
- Okay.
- Now we will move on to public comment.
- Please come forward to the lectern here, and then at you, Hilberman, raise your hand via
- the teams if you have public comment on this item.
- Seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Counselor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Counselor Decker?
- Yes.
- Counselor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Counselor Wilts?
- Yes.
- Counselor Hawke?
- Yes.
- Counselor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Motion passes six zero.
- Okay, next up is item G.
- I move to approve the health department's request and fund 8180-9625 DIS intervention
- STD to amend the 2025 salary ordinance and remove account line 10107 disease intervention
- program coordinator and 17801 part time with an effective date of September 21st, 2025.
- Second.
- Go ahead.
- Just housekeeping again because we've been alternating positions within these two different
- DIS grants.
- Okay, thank you.
- All right, council, do you have questions on this item?
- All right, okay, seeing none, if you have public comment on this item, you can come
- forward to the lectern here in the NatU Hill room, or you can raise your hand via Teams.
- And seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor Deckard?
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilts?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hawk?
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Motion passes six zero.
- All right, thank you.
- We will see you in a little while.
- Thank you.
- All right, next up is item I from the highway department.
- Council, I move to approve the highway department's request and fund 1169-0000 local road and
- street for the creation of count line 3800, repair building and structure and simultaneously
- approve an additional appropriation of $100,000 in the services category.
- Second.
- That line item is 38000.
- Yes, that is true.
- Okay.
- I apologize.
- I just wanted to stay there for a second.
- Okay.
- I wasn't sure.
- Okay.
- Next up is Ms. Ridge.
- Hello.
- Welcome.
- Good evening.
- So our system was put in when the building was built, 1995.
- So it is the tanks need rewired.
- So again, we received a estimate for $92,173.
- And we're requesting the additional to be able to repair the fuel system that's used
- by all the fleet in the whole county.
- Thank you.
- And looking to council here, if you have any questions, it looks like councilor Hawk does.
- Go ahead.
- Yes.
- As a comment, why are we paying for this out of local road and streets since this is something
- that is a county wide fuel station, just because it's located at the highway garage.
- We need to be trying to protect those dollars in local road and street because that helps
- the entire county having to do with what we need those dollars highway to be used for.
- So was there any discussion with the commissioners to at least pay for a major part of this out
- of their Kim cap line or building repairs or something?
- I mean, this is not just for the highway, this is wrong.
- I mean, I want to make sure it's covered, but I just think it's wrong to cover it under
- local road and street.
- But that's because I love the highway and I think we're fighting for every penny.
- I think we've always paid those costs.
- But if you recall in the 2026 budget, we did ask for the gasoline line to be moved from
- the highway because it does, you know, this is right here is $100,000 that takes away
- from our paving program.
- But we did move it into your county general for the gas reimbursement.
- And I think it was 400,000 for that 25,000 for permits and inspections that we've always
- paid for.
- So this is above and beyond what we usually incur for this system.
- And I know everybody's budgets are tight.
- So did we reach out for anybody else to pay for this?
- No, it's been our responsibility, but we're hoping that changes possibly in the future.
- But again, this is it needs fixed and we want to be able to provide the gas for the whole
- county fleet at this point.
- Council Iverson and to your point, your 2026 budget request in this line is $200,000.
- Because I mean, based on my memory said, I mean, we're anticipating not only those lines
- to be moved and merged, but also those expenses are going to increase.
- I think what we had moved to the county general fund was the gasoline reimbursement line,
- which it doesn't have anything to do with really the repairs.
- It's just what's built out to the other departments for gasoline usage.
- Looking over here to my left to see if anybody has any questions.
- Councilor Decker.
- He said the last one went in in 1995 ish, roughly.
- Correct.
- Wow.
- So this is about a 30 year well hope we hope it lasts 30.
- We've had some other fixes along the way, but this is just one of those other fixes
- that included some wiring and everything.
- So no more signs of says let it unleaded or anything like that.
- All right.
- Anybody else over here?
- Have any questions?
- Councilor Woods in this line for the 26 budget, do you recall what projects are anticipated
- in a I'm jumping a little bit in the 2026 budget.
- Yeah, for this particular line.
- So what we so we didn't do a repair building and structure in your county general.
- We did a gas on the gasoline line, which is just reimbursements.
- But yeah, yeah, you I mean, we thought I just heard that it was budgeted at 200,000 for
- next year.
- So that we have put in for that we had to put off this year is for reconstructing the
- parking lot and the drainage out there.
- We did also put that project into the geo bond to hopefully that to cover that.
- And if that happens, then that 200,000 in the local run street will go to buy two minutes
- for paving.
- Okay, that's that's exactly what I was asking.
- Thank you.
- Okay. Does anybody else have any other questions or comments? All right. Seeing none, if you
- have public comment on this item, you can come forward to the lectern here in the night
- and heal room, or you can raise your hand via teams. And seeing none, maybe please have
- a roll call vote. Councillor Fiddle? Yes. Councillor Wills? Yes. Councillor Hawke? Yes.
- Councillor Prossley? Yes. Councillor Iverson? Yes. Councillor Deckard? Yes. Motion passes
- 6-0. Okay. Next up is item J. Council, I move to approve the Highway Department's request
- and fund 1176-0000 Motor Vehicle Highway for an additional appropriation of $300,000 in
- the supplies category. Second. And this is just basically to help us finish up our 2025
- saving season. Okay. All right. Self-explanatory there. Anybody else has any questions or comments
- from Ms. Ridge on this item? Councillor Hawke? Love that word. It just means somebody's going
- to get something fixed. You know, I don't, you'd think $300,000 would go a long way,
- but when it comes to bituminous, it doesn't go as far as we'd like. But after all these
- years I finally learned how to say bituminous. Three times. All right. Does anybody else
- have any other questions or comments? All right. Seeing none. If you have public comment on
- this item, you can come forward to the lectern here in the Na'i Hill room, or you can raise
- your hand via Teams and seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote? Councilor Wills?
- Yes. Councilor Hawke? Yes. Councilor Crosley? Yes. Councilor Iverson? Yes. Councilor Decker?
- Yes. Councilor Feidl? Motion passes six zero. All right. Thank you. Have a good night. All
- right. Next up is item K for the board of commissioners. Council, I move to approve
- the commissioners request and fund 1000-0161 County General County Buildings for an additional
- appropriation of $12,900 in the supplies category and $319,636 in the services category for
- a total appropriation of $332,536. Second. All right. We have Ms. Angie Bertie here. Welcome.
- Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. This is relatively self-explanatory. These
- are all kind of lines that go to the management of our buildings within the county. Just to
- kind of give you an idea of where we're at financially at the moment on our materials
- and parts line. We're at 4% of our approved budget, so we have $402 left. Cleaning supplies,
- we're at 8% of our originally appropriated budget. We have $4,166 remaining in that particular
- line. And utilities, we've done some transferring, but we are down to actually, so we have 0.57
- percent of our original budget remaining, so we have $3,011.17 in utilities. And our service
- contracts, we have 10% of our original appropriated budget, and we have a balance of $26,224.
- Could you repeat the last one, please? The balance?
- The last one. Sure. That's our service contracts, balance
- of $26,224.06. Welcome. Put in the agenda request kind of an explanation of what these
- lines generally cover to help. Okay. All right. And thank you for that. And
- for the record, we do have Councilor Henry that has joined us. So now all seven council
- members are here present in the Knight-U-Hill room. Do we have any questions or comments
- for Ms. Purdy on this particular item? Oh, Councilor Decker.
- So sorry, take me back. We're looking at this now additionally beyond what is already appropriated
- for the year. Help me to understand kind of where that is now. Is it because expenses
- are running or higher? What are you speaking of? Which one? All of
- them? All of them? Yeah. Yes. I think that the expenses have gone up and that's why we're
- at this point in time. I do believe that the service contracts, I know that we moved the
- lawn care into that particular line and removed the grounds, which was a different one.
- All right. I'm just looking at all this. Councilor Iverson, and then I'll come back
- to Councilor Woods. In the utilities line, you noted that these
- are utilities including the internet for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven of our buildings.
- Can you expand on that a little bit more? Do they not have internet right now and they're
- getting internet or are they getting better internet coverage or what exactly is the expense
- here? In specific to the internet costs, that might
- be ... We do have to pay for some internet costs with some of our other buildings. I'm
- trying to think of which buildings that is right now.
- CH, JB, Health, Showers, CCE and EOC. Actually, the internet is also part of our
- utility expenses. The utilities that you normally see and that are really costing us are your
- basic electricity, gas, and things of that nature. Then we do have to pay for our internet
- service and it's now coming out of the utility line.
- I see. Okay. All right. All right. Then you use the term utilities including internet.
- This is just ... That's a catch all for what you just described in terms of we need electricity
- for these buildings, we need gas for these buildings, we need internet for these buildings,
- et cetera, et cetera.
- Yeah. I'm not sure that that was my language, but just to indicate that this particular
- line covers those buildings and all of those types of expenses.
- The additional is because those expenses increased?
- I cannot answer that question. I don't know for a fact if they have increased or not.
- What I do know is that we've added the showers building, which was something that we got
- at the end of last year. We have not had one full year of budgeting and paying the expenses
- associated with the showers building. When we submitted our budget, we didn't have the
- showers building at that point in time. We owned the building, but we weren't responsible
- for the utilities.
- That's a lot of utilities.
- They're expensive.
- Yes. Okay. All right. Thanks.
- We'll go to Councillor Wilks next.
- If we were to say no, which I'm not, but I'm trying to get a sense of how, you know, how
- these funds are working and how you're working with the funds. But if we were to say no and
- you've got tiny little bits left in each one of these, what would you do?
- We wouldn't be able to pay our bill. Yeah. I would probably, yeah, it would not be pleasant
- for anybody.
- I can't remember the 2026 budgeting around this, but have you increased these lines for
- the 2026? Did we? I hope so. Me too. Yeah, I hope so because I don't like coming here.
- We like it when you come here. I know, you're all great. Okay, thank you. But yeah, I hope
- I did. Okay, I'll do that.
- Are there any other questions on this item? Yes, Councilor Henry.
- Thank you, Madam President and Ms. Purdy. So just drilling into the facilities line again.
- So how long are our contracts on these utilities? Do we know that? Have we signed? For the Internet
- expenses, for example, is that contract that's locked in for the next year or two? Can we
- anticipate the cost on that a little better? What do we know about the utility?
- I really can't answer that question. I don't know. I'm sure Greg could tell you if he was
- present, but we don't have contracts on our electricity or on our gas.
- But there are multiple Internet service providers, right? I think maybe following some of what
- I've just heard is just concern about cost, obviously, and if we're getting the best value
- for money on something like an Internet service agreement or provider agreement. And yeah,
- that's all I would just add that looking ahead, we need to scrutinize the dollars like that
- in the future, I think. Thank you, Madam President. You're welcome. All right. I'm present. This
- is Greg Crowe. Oh, thanks, Ray. Oh, hello. Sorry. Yeah, I'm here on the stage. So yes,
- we are currently at a contract with Smithville for the largest of our holdings. We do have
- Comcast for some of them. Every time a contract comes up for renewal, we negotiate for that
- for price. And it also depends on proximity of which building we're talking about, which
- internet service provider can provide service to that location. So all those are taken into
- consideration as we go into the agreements. So I guess to say we should know or have a
- ballpark of what the anticipated cost is on an internet service providing contract next
- year. So I would not expect additional appropriations if we've got something in place, right?
- Correct. It depends on maybe for the internet. That's what I'm asking for on the internet.
- If it's specific to the internet, then that. But it's all the same line. So I could still
- be back for additional next year. Michelle, you had your hand raised. Yes, you were asking
- about the 2026 budgets and if she had increased the lines. And yes, she did. So she has increased
- them across all four of those lines that you're representing for 2026. It's because you met
- with your liaisons. It is. There you go. All right. I'm trying to find the line I was looking
- at a while ago. It's like 10 minutes ago. Having to do with the lawn care and so forth.
- I think I saw something from spoke with Vicki from the shelter and I think you indicated
- they would should remove that from their budget and you were going to the county was going
- to have somebody else go in to do some of that lawn care or something of the sort. Do
- you know what I'm speaking of? I think so. I do know that we have a contract with a lawn
- care provider for the Youth Services Bureau specifically and that will be budgeted into
- that was budgeted in the 2026 budget in the special it. It was. I thought we took it out.
- I don't know you you may have I mean I thought I thought it was removed because you were going
- to go and you know what that was probably a month or so ago. So generally how we or
- how I have been advised by councils in the past is that if an entity has its own funding
- source its own levy its own rates something then you have wanted that prior councils have
- wanted their expenses to be associated with with that fund. So that's why we put that
- in there. Right and and I expect it to be and that's the reason why I was questioning
- this I wondered if this was in any way including the dollars that should be paid for out of
- the services for the juvenile for for the Binkley house. Let us remind ourselves it
- is the Binkley house we're speaking at and I'm going to go to Michelle because she had
- her hand raised. Okay so within the lit special purpose there's different departments that's
- utilizing that the commissioners have have their own department and it's within the contractual
- amount that they budgeted for. So no it's not within the YSB department budget it's
- within the commissioners portion of the budget within lit special purpose. Which in all special
- purpose all of it every penny of it is tied to services for youth not for maintaining
- other departments and let's be clear about that and I've asked our county attorney to
- make sure that she's reviewed that and to make sure that we're holding clear to what
- that funding is for and why that is in place because I don't want anybody to think this
- and I'm not thinking the commissioners do because I don't think you do but this is not
- a slush fund for you know oh there's some money there let's move everything over there
- you cannot do that and I'll be the first one to go to the state and complain if we try
- to you because that money is for the youth of Monroe County I feel very strong about
- that okay all right do we note it and we got a thumbs up from Ms. Turner King then she
- is in agreement with that and she looked into it so without any further ado since we're
- out of time on this item if you have public comment on this item please come forward to
- the lectern here in the NatU Hill room or you can raise your hand via Teams and seeing
- none may we please have a roll call vote counselor Henry yes counselor Hawk yes counselor Crosley
- yes counselor Iverson yes counselor Deckard yes counselor Fiddle yes counselor Wilts yes
- motion passes seven zero all right next up is item L council I move to approve the commissioners
- request and fund 1138-0000 cumulative capital development for an additional appropriation
- of $305,000 in the services category and $142,078 in the capital category for a total appropriation
- of $447,078 second all right what would you like to add to this I would like to request
- a reduction in both of those lines for software I would request an additional appropriation
- of $143,318 and in this sheriff's vehicles $112,884 for a total of $256,202 council
- amend my agenda to those numbers okay do we need to say that numbers for the record Mr.
- Iverson meant motion or he meant his motion and not the agenda oh shoot thank you okay
- we had a second on that item second okay we got a motion in a second any further discussion
- on this anything y'all want to add I let Richard speak if he wants to sure about the sheriff's
- vehicles good evening council so the sheriff's vehicles unfortunately my 2024 order didn't
- come in until January of 2025 so to pay for those seven vehicles the 2024 dollars reverted
- back and then it came out of my 2025 budget so now that my 2025 vehicles are are near
- ready I'm short some money and need an additional appropriation we did find some money in some
- old bonds yeah we were able to make up the difference of a lot of that by using money
- and older bonds yep and I had that conversation with this party today so I'm gonna go down
- the line here I'm gonna go to counselor votes and then Decker I just wondered about the
- reduction for the software if you could tell us why we overpaid actually somehow we paid
- an invoice twice and so one of them is coming back so solve that problem all right my question
- is is the same thing that is the what was delaying sheriff's vehicles is that still
- out there in the world kind of slowing things down I don't think so we're supposed to have
- delivery of these vehicles by December 1st this year I don't anticipate this being an
- issue and they have up 24 and 25 sure we have all the 24s we'll have all the 25s this year
- and this is the when we look at kind of the purchase price that's them coming with the
- equipment they need for the deputies is that right right okay one thing I just not to belabor
- it because we got a long night but again I've talked a few times about costs that counties
- have now that our predecessors did not have similarly when you look at both software and
- things that go in sheriff's vehicles and you want both of those things but those are things
- that would not have been the same way years ago even this room I mean 10 years ago this
- room wasn't like this software wise for better or for worse and so counties in local governments
- continue to have things added on they did not have before cyber threats you name it
- and it's always something to kind of bear in mind is dollars don't always keep up with
- those things so thank you I'm gonna just go ahead down the line I'll go to Iverson and
- then Henry and it reminds me I want to piggyback off of what Councilman Decker was saying our
- conversation around your 2026 budget where your contractual line or I'm sorry the software
- line was one of the few that went up and it's just because of those licensing and the fees
- that are they're coming out at us and there's and so would you really appreciate you keeping
- on top of that and keeping all of us able to do our jobs that's great well thank you
- um yeah thanks for all that comment um I think my comments more about um this as we move
- forward with the budget on the go bonds and how we're using that resource I want to be
- cautious about how we say we found money somewhere moving forward I think I think part of the
- frustration we're having about moving things into capital that we really need to cover
- in this year's um budget um I appreciate that funds were found but I think we need um something
- a gadget I mean I don't know what we're going to do to make sure that we're not surprised
- by things like this in the future I mean there shouldn't be um found money within 11 years
- of general obligation bonds to pay for things we either have money that we've identified
- or obligated or not obligated and so it's just the housekeeping I think we're going
- to need to do as we enter lean times in the county that um we are account for this right
- but I'm glad we have it now but I think just as a forewarning for later this evening what's
- to come um I found money comment I think we just got to be cautious about moving forward
- but that's it thank you madam president thank you and as a reminder we are needing a vote
- on the amendment um council hawk did you have something to add yes um make this break uh
- when I hear you say it covers all of the expense of that vehicle but I would think there would
- still be an expense for whatever we do to uh with the paint everybody knows it's a law
- enforcement vehicle also the the lights that go across there's a lot of additional add
- ons to that and so remind us where that's covered in what budget so all of that is covered
- in the ccd budget the cumulative capital development budget which provides for not only the
- purchase
- of the vehicle but the outfit of said vehicle and that's going to include your lights and
- your decals and um everything everything except for cameras doesn't cover the cameras doesn't
- cover cameras uh communication equipment it doesn't cover the um computers correct it
- does not cover the computers the mounting systems with computers and the cars sorry
- this is greg all right so again as a reminder because we made the council iverson made them
- motion to amend the numbers that's what we are needing a vote on right now so um can
- we please have a roll call vote on that councillor iverson yes councillor wilts yes councillor
- hawke yes councillor cross crossley big part yes i'm so sorry councillor henry yes councillor
- dickard yes councillor fido yes motion passes seven zero okay now technically we're bringing
- it back to the overall um and it seems like we all depleted questions on that looking
- again see if anybody has any other questions yes councillor vital so one other expense
- i didn't hear talked about with vehicles was insurance so is that somewhere else in the
- budget i don't know where that is county general okay thank you okay um all right so if you
- have question or if you have a public comment rather on this item you can come forward to
- the lectern here in the night you hill room or raise your hand via teams and seeing none
- may we please have a roll call vote councillor hawke councillor crossley yes councillor iverson
- yes councillor dekert yes councillor vital yes councillor wilts yes councillor henry
- yes motion passes seven zero all right and that's it thank you thank you thank you voice
- of that you know um all right next up is item m from the legal department council i move
- to approve the legal department's request and fund 1000 dash zero two seven seven county
- general legal for an additional appropriation of eighty five thousand dollars in the services
- category second all right and we have mr schilling here welcome thank you just to be here um
- today we're seeking uh eighty thousand dollars in additional appropriation fifty for litigation
- deduction and 30 for settlement um with respect to the settlement amounts uh 25,000 of that
- is to pay a settlement agreement that we entered into in 2020 the county issued checks on that
- settlement agreement the checks were not cashed a couple years later we get a request for
- a reissue uh we reissued the checks and said uh you know we propose that we uh exchange
- these checks when the releases are signed the releases haven't been signed the checks
- sat there and lapsed again and in the meantime the the funds were removed from our budget
- so we're here tonight to get 25,000 dollars to reissue those checks hopefully for the
- final time uh the other amounts that we're seeking for uh settlement we have probably
- about 15,000 dollars in claims from for damages caused by uh snow plows and mowers and things
- like that uh we are working with highway to come up with sort of a program on how to analyze
- those claims to see which ones that were required to pay and uh we don't i don't think that
- all certainly all 15,000 will not be paid by the county but we did want to have some
- money there just in case uh with respect to to the litigation deduction uh we have now
- about uh 23,000 dollars of claims that we haven't paid yet and um 20 of that is for
- the last two months from uh from the insurance company so the bills from the insurance company
- for the last two months have been about 10,000 dollars a month and uh we have uh about eight
- cases outstanding with a deductible of 25,000 dollars per case uh so that's 200,000 dollars
- we've paid 50,000 towards those deductibles at this point so the maximum liability that
- we could be billed this year would be about 150,000 dollars don't think we'll even come
- close to that but we do want to have some money so we can stay on top of those bills
- one bit of good news uh since i filed this we had an appeal in the seventh circuit
- uh in the huff case uh and the oral argument was scheduled for the 18th
- and the estimate on that from our attorneys was about 20,000 dollars
- and uh we found out last week uh that the house voluntarily dismissed that appeal
- so that's going to save us some money and get rid of one of our lawsuits that has been out
- there for a while and that's that's about it um i was just going to ask as a point of clarification
- i think like um what has been advertised is the settlement you mentioned 30,000 but in our
- documentation and in our packets it says 35 was is it supposed to be 35 yeah on the request it does
- say 35 right so do you my mistake okay i just wanted to make sure like saving a little money
- or what okay all right so it's we do have about five thousand dollars existing in that line right
- now so um probably be fine okay all right council i move to reduce line three one two one four
- claims
- settlement to thirty thousand dollars all right we're going to motion in a second to reduce that
- line item from thirty five to thirty thousand uh any discussion on this item no but yes council
- henry just just a question for my own edification so on in the matter of the the settlement checks
- that are never cashed and reissued is there any statute of limitations on that or i presume if
- someone were deceased the estate could continue to pursue the settlement at what point does the
- check not get cashed and we i mean how does that work well the checks are valid for two years
- from the last month of the year that they're issued so that's that's why we have to issue new
- checks we actually just had a mediation in that case today and the opposing council is requesting
- the payment so he said fine we will get on that thank you we've always we've agreed to do it five
- years ago and we stand ready to do it today so all right any other further question on this councilor
- hawk i'm just glad the price didn't go up you know everything costs more every year that goes by so
- you saved us some money i guess yeah all right councilor decker i know just a quick one on our
- forest service efforts is that any of this or any discussion there now we uh we've paid our bills
- on
- the forest service case up to date and we made a payment this month on that it was a few hundred
- dollars we're kind of in limbo on that waiting for the court to rule uh so when the court rules the
- county will need to decide depending on what the ruling how it wishes to proceed but there's no
- timeline for that all right thank you it seems that we've been waiting quite some time on that
- one um was it since the spring am i right i don't remember
- march date is in my mind but i'm not i'm not quite sure and i recently heard
- that the forest service is moving forward with the things that we were trying to keep them from
- doing
- with the suit is that your understanding uh i i believe they're moving forward with some of the
- things and um i think that's a question that uh um we've been struggling with is to whether to
- file a preliminary injunction to stop that uh but the hope is that the court will come up with a
- decision soon and then save us that money because it it's pretty expensive we had did we file an
- injunction prior yes other yes and we and we prevailed on that yeah and uh the uh forest
- services response to that we think was inadequate and that's that's what this next stage of the
- lawsuit is about we're waiting on a decision on that wow okay well thank you for your work
- okay um and so again we are on the reduction and since there is a an amendment or yes um to reduce
- that line item so um we can do a voice vote for this got it all right since we are all here in
- person all those in favor of reducing um this line item to 30,000 signify by saying aye aye all
- those opposed same sign all right motion carries now coming back to the larger discussion of the
- actual topic again counselor hawk you have your hand raised yes as you might all remember um
- i was not the only council member but not everyone agreed on the disagreement with the forest
- service
- and so can you break that down under the litigation how much that would be so that
- i could support you and everything else other than that or should i just say no on this question
- yeah at this time all all our bills on that lawsuit have been settled
- and i don't know what the future billing will be if any um okay so i can safely vote for this
- without thinking i'm arguing with the united states government okay correct great thanks
- okay um anybody else have anything relevant to this okay all right um if you have public comment
- on this item please come forward to the lectern here in the night you hill room or you can raise
- your hand via teams and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote
- counselor crossley yes counselor iverson yes counselor dekert yes counselor vital yes counselor
- wilts yes counselor henry yes counselor hawk yes motion passes seven zero all right thank you very
- much thank you next up is item in which is from the courts
- council i move to approve the court's request and fund 22 zeros nope scratch that let me start over
- again i'm sorry council i move to approve the court's request and fund one two one three dash
- zero zero zero zero gal slash casa for an additional appropriation of fifteen hundred dollars in
- the
- services category all right and we have miss lisa abraham welcome thank you as luck would have it
- our casa program received another so third time i've been here for grants for casa for fifteen
- hundred dollars they have advised me there might be a fourth one coming so i'm waiting on that
- so i'm here tonight just asking for the appropriation of 1500 so that i can get that
- pass on to casa okay yay all right looking to the council here to see if anybody has any questions
- on this item congratulations okay seeing none um if you have public comment on this item we'll take
- it please come forward to the lectern here in the natu hill room or you can raise your hand via
- teams
- and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote councillor fiddle yes councillor dekert
- yes councillor henry yes councillor crossley yes councillor hawke yes councillor iverson yes
- councillor wilts yes motion passes seven zero okay next up is item o council i move to approve
- the court's request and fund 2200 dash 0000 alternative dispute resolution for an additional
- appropriation of five thousand dollars in the services category thank you all right we got a
- motion in a second and i feel like this was discussed last week yes this is what i warned
- you about last week so like i said we're basically down to nothing in this line so we're just
- asking
- to move the appropriate five thousand dollars because i do have 118 000 plus in that fund okay
- all right and does anybody have any additional questions on this item
- thing none we will take public comment on this item if you have public comment
- please come forward to the lectern here in the nightly hill room or raise your hand via teams
- and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote councillor dekert yes councillor feitel
- yes councillor hawke yes councillor henry yes councillor wilts yes councillor iverson yes
- councillor crossley yes motion passes seven zero okay all right thank you very much have a good
- night and next up is item p for parks that's cute council i move to approve the parks department
- request and fund four one one three dash zero zero zero zero donations parks for an additional
- appropriation of fifteen thousand and six dollars in the supplies category eighty two thousand
- four hundred four dollars in the services category and three thousand three dollars in the capital
- category second all right we have miss kelly whitmer here welcome oh thank you this should
- be very simple i'd like to amend my request zero out all of the lines except three zero zero zero
- six contractual for eighty two thousand four hundred that is the exact cash balance in the fund
- okay so you said zero everything except contractual right okay all right councillor iverson council
- i
- moved to zero out every line in this request except for line three zero zero zero six contractual
- which should be set at eighty two thousand four hundred dollars for a total appropriation of
- eighty two thousand four hundred dollars second all right we got a motion and a second any
- discussion
- on this okay and seeing none all those in favor of um councillor iverson's motion signify by saying
- aye aye all those opposed same sign all right motion carries now for the larger discussion
- wait are you to vote on it no that was for the yeah that was not that easy not that easy all
- right all right anything that you have to add that's exact cash balance in there okay all right
- council do you have any questions for miss whitmer yes councillor iverson i am really excited about
- this land i'm really excited what it's about to be do you have any updates for us or the public
- currently we are on hold um we have an interior park road that we've been taking care of we have
- to wait a few more months in order to start more the design in engineering on it so there's nothing
- i can share at this moment great thanks thought i'd ask anybody else all right so you have public
- comment on this item you can come forward to the lectern here in the nightingale room or you can
- raise your hand via teams and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote
- councillor fiddle yes councillor wilts
- yes councillor henry yes councillor hawke yes councillor crossley yes councillor iverson
- yes councillor dekert yes motion passes seven zero thank you yes indeed
- thanks have a good night next up is item q wastewater reduction council i move to approve
- the waste reduction district's request and fund 82 10 special solid waste management operating
- for an additional appropriation of fifty five thousand two hundred seventy six dollars in the
- capital category all right hello welcome good evening uh yeah unfortunately as you can see
- in the agenda request uh we have one of our vehicles involved in a motor vehicle accident
- declared a total loss by the insurance company uh this was one of the box trucks we use for
- our green business network recycling collection routes so it is something that we need to get
- replaced um you can see in the packet included the quote received from curry auto for that
- replacement vehicle which does match the amount of additional appropriation request
- we have received the insurance settlement funds of fifty three thousand nine hundred twenty four
- dollars and twenty five cents and as indicated in the agenda request the remaining would come
- out of our unappropriated funds or cash reserves for the insurance deductible and the difference
- in the purchase price i would just note for the record too that uh there were no no injuries
- in the accident and it appears to have been just that neither driver was cited for any moving
- violations it just was something that happened good thank you and glad to hear that everybody
- is okay all right look into council to see if anybody has any questions or comments from mr
- mclasper all right seeing none um okay so if we have public comment on this item you can come
- forward to the lectern here in the night you hill room or you can raise your hand via teams
- and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote councilor wilts yes councilor henry
- yes councilor hawk yes councilor crossley yes councilor iverson yes councilor deckard yes
- councilor fiddle yes motion passes seven zero thank you have a good night all right
- next all right next up is item r from the aviation department council i move to approve the
- aviation
- department's request in fund 4801-0000 aviation construction for an additional appropriation of
- thirty nine thousand five hundred dollars in the services category second all right and it looks
- like we have miss amy gurst online and if you are able to unmute you can go ahead and present
- it
- great miss gurst are you able to unmute tst is she able to unmute
- yes oh okay all right all right there i am okay yes we can hear you now go ahead
- sorry about that i got a new computer and it's a totally different process um go ahead
- so carlos sent his apologies he had another thing he had to go to and so he asked me to take care
- of
- this um we have two items that we've already signed contracts and ratified in the board meeting
- during the arpa project out here for stormwater and it was found that there were some depressions
- that came up and so carlos jumped on it and hired a couple companies to come out and
- evaluate those depressions the conditions and then another company to review that so um we're
- asking
- for an additional appropriation for thirty nine thousand five hundred dollars in contractual
- so we can pay for those
- okay all right and looking at council to see if anybody has any questions on this item
- looking over to my right first seeing none looking over to my left all right uh if anybody
- has public comment on this item you can uh raise your hand via teams or come into the
- podium here in the night u hill room and speak
- and seeing none maybe please have a roll call vote councilor henry yes councilor hawke yes
- councilor crossley yes councilor fido councilor wilts yes councilor dekker yes councilor iverson
- yes motion passes seven zero all right thank you very much have a good night thank you you too
- thanks next up is item s from employee services council i move to approve the employee services
- department's request and fund one thousand dash zero three zero nine county general employee
- services an additional appropriation of three million dollars in the personnel category
- all right hello all right um i just want to give you a little bit i sent you some information
- i'll give you a little quick rundown and then we can get into whatever questions that you have
- but to start i just wanted to say that over the past several years we've made a strategic effort
- to help keep the health insurance contributions low especially as we've seen a lot of challenging
- times in the last few years and we've the the county as a whole has seen an increase in the
- number of positions which has increased the number of employees eligible to enroll in the plan
- there's been a higher plan participation which means that more employees and dependents are
- enrolling in the plan which is increases our overall exposure and then over the last 12 months
- we've seen an increase in both volume and severity of our health insurance claims and so that's to
- manage those the pressures of of all of that that's why we're recommending or asking for
- an additional three million dollar appropriation now and we think that that combined with the
- current cash balance in the fund will cover the projected expenses for the rest of this year and
- give us a starting balance of our target goal of one and a half million for the start of 2026
- and we're requesting that that be appropriated in the employee services county general line
- in the self-insurance line to reduce the administrative burden that that would make
- on council and the auditor's office if we appropriated those in all of the department budgets
- and that that would require a lot of administrative work to do that so a little bit different than
- how
- we did it this year but would be the same for how we're doing it next year and moving forward
- and then starting the year with that reserve is important because it will allow us to meet
- that target rather than trying to build it through next year through that budgeting process of
- trying
- to build that up throughout the year if we start with the balance to begin with.
- The thing I'll say is that the plan and the fund have performed well for a long time
- and we've been able to maintain stability for the county and employees but now because of those
- increases that we are seeing that's the risk that we take on with being self-insured is that some
- years we have we are we have a good year in some years the last 12 months where we are not doing
- the way we would like to be doing so that's kind of a rundown of why we're asking for this in the
- way that we are asking for it and we're happy to answer any questions. Thank you and you all have
- been warning us for a while that this was coming and and now it's here so looking at the council
- and I see a first-hand council I ever said first of all I want to thank you for sharing the
- resources
- that you did a couple days ago that powerpoint pdf whatever it was the the charts that you
- put together to show the historical trends that just spiked in the past year uh really helped to
- show how variable this can be uh the second point that I found really helpful was starting on page
- 16 I think yeah page 16 where you you kind of laid out eight or nine points about why exactly
- this is happening why it's happening now and I found that really helpful to not to kind of
- contextualize uh why this very large uh ask is being made now so thank you for putting the time
- and the effort into that and and I hope that other people are able to to read that as well sure and
- then if I could also just throw one other thing out there um so uh the apex is on the meeting um
- we've got a couple folks from there so if you have specific detailed questions that you would like
- to
- have answered they can um answer those questions for you okay thank you for letting us know they're
- there counselor hawke yes uh this should come as no surprise I've already mentioned it um
- that this is it's in my opinion quite wrong to put all of this in county general uh because that
- just reduces the amount of money that we have available uh people are still hoping to get
- something for cost of living rates and that three million is just coming out of the bucket
- oh because it would be an administrative nightmare to fix it well we pay a lot of people a lot of
- people to fix this administrative nightmare uh and and it's going to be going on
- next year as well because what we're doing is we're we're bringing in as you said there's more
- people in the plan and that's because we have so many different departments is so well we can't
- cover we're not going to have enough money to cover it we'll throw that over in county general
- somehow or the other a decision was sort of made outside of you know a major discussion about what
- this would do to county general not just this but just in general i'm not faulting you for that
- because this wasn't your choice this was just what it's come about but i think that if x dollars of
- this should go to the highway if x dollars of this should go uh to the health department or
- whatever
- it's three million dollars uh that's needed to make it whole and it is not all county general
- so i'm i'm putting that out there and i don't expect anyone to agree with me
- no one has to i still get to have that opinion because it's three million right out of that pot
- of money that we were hoping to try to make a move after bed when we're sitting there trying
- to figure out where we're going to get 20 000 here 10 000 there whatever this is three million
- got to say it counselor henry thank you uh madam president and maybe picking up on a little of what
- counselor hawk was talking about there are funds that we can't use that we're that pay employees
- in the county to cover insurance costs i think we're going to be talking about it later in the
- budget tonight with the surveyor's corner fund is something that came up in the past 48 hours that
- we are we are prohibited from billing or insurance to those funds and have to draw it for somewhere
- from those county employees so i guess maybe my question is how much of that's there's got to be
- more stories like that in the county so why we can't distribute the cost to other funds i mean
- maybe the auditor might have an opinion on that and maybe it does require that long-term detail
- analysis but they're just some places we couldn't some employees would not be able to get covered
- if
- we didn't do it this way i think is what i'm getting at is that right there is some grant funding
- for
- example that can't support the additional amount it wasn't budgeted for additionally as you know
- we're running things quite tight right now budget wise so there are some funds that simply can't
- support this additional funding particularly those larger departments um so it's just where do we
- pull
- it from so obviously the easiest place is always the general fund this is already in the 4b it's
- accounted for so we have been planning around the idea that this would come from the general fund
- however um i i guess i'm mistaken i thought there was kind of a consensus that that was sort of
- agreed to not not fully obviously but just that might be the best place to pull this from at this
- time because it was kind of unexpected and as things you know progress and as employee services
- shared while these we're getting some really expensive invoices you know and we need we need
- to move forward with um you know planning toward the end of the year um that's just where it could
- most easily come from i think my maybe wrap up comment would be this does seem like a conversation
- ripe for long-term government finance in the future that the cost of ensuring a graying workforce
- as
- well as the increasing illnesses that are affecting the younger population you know cancer hitting
- it
- under 40 uh for example um i think it's probably on a merit of longer conversation about how we're
- going to fund this long term but that's my observation for this evening on that thanks
- i appreciate that and i i mean there's lots of meetings that have happened since then but if i do
- mistaken the long-term finance committee meeting we did have this conversation with apex being here
- on a hot friday about it was i believe august eighth if i'm mistaken so we we did have that
- conversation and it was something that we were told that this was coming to council um ahead of
- time so if i again my memory is going sometimes but then i put on my readers and then i remind
- myself
- that we did have those conversations and we did so looking over here to see if anybody has any
- questions counselor dekker i i know people always get annoyed particularly on long nights when i
- have any recollection about when i was a little boy and being a child of a county employee
- but i will say this it is important it's very important and i want this message to get to our
- folks that we always as a council as a county government do our best to take care of our people
- as well as we can with things like this and i can recall days when vision care was not part of the
- solution for county employees and i can still see my mother one of our loyal county employees of
- many many years uh shoving cash out of a purse across the counter to a local optometrist for
- the very things that you see literally on my face when i was much smaller and i kind of gave her a
- hard time about it and said mom what's what you know why are you shoving all that cash out and she
- goes well the county doesn't cover that we've made progress in a lot of areas and if you want
- to keep good people you have to keep making progress uh the hard part of it is figuring
- all this out and how this all kind of works as we move into the future with all of our challenges
- all right anybody else on this side have any questions
- councilor wilson do you have something um no it's not we're out of time it's good i'm good i'm good
- okay all right um so if there since we are out of time on that i'm gonna look to see if there's
- any public comment on this item you can come forward to the lectern here the natu hill room
- or you can raise your hand via teams and seeing none maybe please have a roll call vote
- councillor hawke have councillor crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor dekert
- yes councillor fiddle councillor wilts
- councillor henry yes motion passes six one okay next up is item t council i move to approve the
- employee service department request and fund seven four seven zero zero dash zero zero zero self-insurance
- for an additional appropriation of two million five hundred thousand dollars in the services
- category
- okay okay what would you like to add to this this is just to help us pay our what we're projecting
- our outstanding bills to be for the rest of the year okay pretty self-explanatory um seeing
- any questions here from council seeing chatter but no questions all right looking over here
- it's my left seeing none all right um public comment it is your terms so if you have any
- questions or public comment on this item you can come forward to the lectern here in the natu hill
- room or you can raise your hand via teams and seeing none may we please have a roll call vote
- we council hawk if you have a question that is related to this we have an opportunity we speak
- on this we have the question we are almost in the process of doing the excuse me yeah right
- excuse me i didn't hear you so i was just asking excuse me so i beg your pardon okay well i know
- you're all in a rush i'll just say no while you all say yes nobody's in a rush and so i really wish
- that we would not do that but okay while we are in the while i have the floor and i am chair and
- i am saying this what i'm saying is if we have a question during council question and comment to
- which i ask those questions we can ask them but if i see that nobody has any questions or comments
- then we go to public comment then we ask for a roll call vote so if you have it during that time
- i'm not ignoring you for any reason so there it is so again usually what we do we have question
- we have comment we have public comment and then we have a roll call vote so in that case we're
- moving to a roll call vote can we please have it councilor crossley yeah councilor iverson yes
- councilor deckard yes councilor fiddle yes councilor wills yes councilor henry yes councilor hawk
- no
- motion passes six one all right now we move on to item u council i move to approve the employee
- service department's request and fund one one eight six dash zero zero zero zero rainy day
- for an additional appropriation of one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars in the services
- category
- second all right what would you like to add to this so this is this is this is love it or leave
- it this is an idea for you to consider um we're just we want to this to be a collaborative effort
- with you to figure out how we move forward and um how we pay our bills if if necessary so we're um
- um we are open to whatever ideas and funding strategies you want that to look like moving
- forward this is an idea we threw out there it's not it's up to you i guess what i'm saying is
- that if if things continue to trend we're we're gonna look at 26 and plan for 26 as best we can
- if 26 goes in a direction that we're not happy with what is the mechanism for us to make sure
- we can pay something if if we get a million dollar bill that comes in that we need to pay
- and and we don't have that money in the fund all right and so i'm gonna look to my left and open
- this up for discussion here so i see first up we have counselor wilts yeah so i mean i maybe this
- is a really simplistic but i feel like we just deposited that three million to kind of be that
- and almost like that operating balance which we've had a lot of discussion about to kind of absorb
- those and and the other point is i recognize and i haven't i haven't had time to go through all of
- your presentation i'm pointing at my computer because it's pulled up and i've looked at a couple
- of things but from what i understand from what you've told us this isn't really so much of a
- we've looked over the past year and things have just been steadily climbing it's a we were like
- this and then it went up in like yeah one month and i it's not a trend i guess is where i'm headed
- that one month is not a trend i think it is a trend um okay tell me tell me more then um i do
- think it's a trend i do think that um the action that you guys are all taking today with the three
- million is fabulous and extremely helpful and um with our looking at history with projections
- we believe that that's going to be helpful for us but we cannot predict
- some of these really bad things that happen um so but to come back a little bit so i want to say is
- the um health that um health costs are going up just straight up going up and so um we do know
- that's a factor that's in play and i believe and apex can actually probably speak to this better
- than i can but um i think that there's a 15 increase um over the last year um just in general
- health care expenses um but going back to this particular item i don't think that we need this
- right now so that's what we're that's what i believe agreed yes
- i'll have another question but okay all right i'm gonna go down the line here so i'll go um start
- and
- looks like everybody got their hands ready so i'll go with council iverson first now i might be
- presaging what counselor uh henry is going to be talking about but this sounds a lot like what uh
- his comment was earlier uh in the the evening where we are going to continue to have these
- these costs uh the number the chart that i found really interesting was not the number the growth
- in employees but the growth of employees that are enrolling in the program has just gone up and up
- and up that is a fantastic thing we need to be providing health care for our people this is
- something that i'm very proud to be supporting we need to be paying those claims i'm i'm wondering
- if ideas like this might have merits uh before the ltf committee long-term finance committee
- uh that where we can flush out some of the the good from the the chaff and and kind of figure
- our way out there and clearly as as you pointed out and and in your your presentation pointing
- my computer to what councillor willis was uh there's a lot of data here so i there's a lot of
- ways we can get out of this there's a lot of ways we can plan for the future and i'm excited to
- listen to those conversations yes councillor thank you um i appreciate that the comment was made
- that
- maybe this isn't necessary uh at this point um because i'm not feeling great about the past two
- votes it's like i ate a whole cheesecake here that's it's a big sugar rush of five million
- plus here and i'm sure we'll be costing health insurance for that comment um and i'm not switching
- into a red tie at the end of the table here either with the my councillor to the right but i will
- say
- that um i will but i will say this i mean the cost here is is concerning right and and and the the
- the health insurance challenge is a constant garden like once we've got it you know we have
- to revisit it immediately because things get weedy obviously um and that's where my heartburn is
- with
- all this tonight is is this it's an understanding of that that we offer this as a benefit you know
- and i yeah i i think this is the the the thing we have to take back to long-term government finance
- to figure out because this is taking a larger and larger bite out of her overall and unless we see
- some dramatic shifts in the workforce or you know a miracle for curing certain things that are plaguing
- our community or iu health bringing its costs down where the majority of our employees are going to
- get services in the community in that monopoly and how it's tapping our community here this is
- a significant challenge um significant challenge so i i got i know i'm pontificating on this line
- item um you know at this point i'm a no for another you know a hit here in the uh the sugar rush
- here
- if you will but um we do need to revisit this holistically this was a lot to make up for a
- huge cost thrown at us at the end of the year here that i know is not you know your fault but
- but we won't be able to sustain those kind of shocks as the the tax um revenue continues to
- decline over the next two fiscals and so it should have all of our attention tonight
- thank you honor president thank you can i speak just want to make sure all right you can speak
- yes absolutely at this point if we included this we've been asked to spend what six million
- seven hundred fifty thousand dollars today out of our limited funds that we're trying to figure out
- whether or not there's going to be other dollars to get through our budgeting system now i
- understand
- you're saying well maybe you won't need this out of the rainy day because really moving it out of
- rainy day you may as well just take it right out of the bottom because we can move something out of
- randy anytime but this has got to be addressed and yes we talked about it and long-term financing
- what he said was we could expect that insurance costs would go go up he didn't say take a look
- you're going to be looking at six million dollars so i mean i know this is going to be making you
- sick too i mean if it's not then it should be everybody who looks at this and tries to figure
- out how we're going to provide services how we're going to take care of our employees
- and and where are we going to see the reductions this is huge
- now you can speak okay thank you um and and i i agree with you all um uh this is something that
- we are actively monitoring with apex and we have a lot of strategies that we can implement
- to try and save us some costs in some areas before we have to impact employees so we're
- going to exhaust all of those efforts um to to find where we can get some savings
- before we change anything planned wise
- okay yes councillor vitale let me just ask a fundamental question so it's self-insurance has
- it always been self-insurance as long as i've been doing this it has been yes and do you remember
- further back than that has it been since you remember always been self-insurance yeah it
- used to be by a percentage um it was based on that percentage was determined by council like say 13
- percent and then the salaries of your employees were multiplied by that 13 percent and that's how
- that number came to be um that's what i first started and then that became um difficult for
- departments who maybe had higher paid employees and they were burdened with more of that coming
- from their budget um often or non-self so non-self insurance um my understanding is it might be you
- don't have much control over costs um if you have a good year you don't get anything out of it
- if you have a bad year you might still have more problems whereas with the self-insurance although
- it's more of a roller coaster ride if you will we do actually get to save money through the plan
- overall because some years are better than others i see Kate giving me a look like yeah yeah that's
- that's the gist of being self-insured versus fully insured yeah so it's a long history so um any
- ideas
- from you or others here who may know what other counties may do with insurance for their employees
- yes they represent yeah other counties i'm just curious if anyone might have no
- yeah they were online so somebody from apex wanted to chime in here maybe gone oh i don't see oh
- somebody hand is raised um looks like brandy pardo so you can unmute and you can go ahead
- and have the floor
- thank you thank you guys can you hear me okay yes wonderful so i do have some other county clients
- um we do have some self-funded clients we have some fully insured clients
- unfortunately most of the clients on our state are running into the same struggles that Monroe
- county government is running into and that is that the medical insurance and costs are rising
- there has been um a very steady rise in that but it's getting to the point where counties
- as you guys are budgeting and you're in the state is um limiting those funds that are coming in
- the struggles to be able to budget your medical expenses um are a little tougher this year
- and we have seen that across a lot of our clients within the state so you are not the only county
- that um is having some of these same struggles
- so can i follow up yes so um what about numbers of counties that actually do provide one
- or the other which is self-insurance or some other plan that would be based on
- a stable cost at least for one year right it may change the next year
- well we do have some counties some of the larger counties you'll see like yourself are self-funded
- and run really good self-funded plans with the ability to control what the plan design is to
- have those rebates and the reimbursements on the back end or keep some of that money on those good
- years but there are also small counties who do the fully insured and unfortunately with the
- fully insured plans you run into where you have pooling those fully insured rates where there's
- no control over what increases you're getting because fully insured rates that are coming back
- from the carriers are a little more non-negotiable than that of a self-funded plan
- but am i correct in thinking that that rate would be stable for that insurance plan year is that
- correct well the stability rate yes i mean you have set um premiums that you're going to pay
- every single month what you don't have access to is your claims data to see what your
- claims looks like from month in there's a huge lag in being able to get that information to be
- able to budget according to you know where your your fund or where your plan is going
- and and how it's how it's performing could i just ask a clarifying question i think are you asking
- if it would make sense for us to toggle between being self-funded and fully insured to help us
- control costs like could we just decide next year to be fully insured to control some of our costs
- i don't know i'm looking for the best deal for the service we get right and i think that i i would
- let brandy i don't think that that's uh i wouldn't say that's a good option but i would let brandy
- speak to that if she what she thinks when we look at your premiums and what you base your
- projections on we look at basing those off your expected costs so your projections and pe's are
- based off the expected costs if you went to a fully insured plan we would be basing those off of
- your
- max cost what is that max liability going to be and the cost could be exponentially higher
- especially since we're not things are are higher right now so they wouldn't see that's a lot of
- risk right so that's some good clarification thank you yeah and i see it looks like maybe
- somebody else from apex um john goss i hope i'm saying your last name right as their hand raised
- as well able to unmute can you hear me yes we can hear you uh good evening uh yeah this is john goss
- and i'm the president and a founder of apex benefits and we we do a lot of work with counties
- we've been endorsed by the association of indiana counties for for almost 20 years and we work with
- cities towns counties the reality on the fully insured versus self-funded in indiana it's very
- rare for an employer with over 100 employees to be fully insured and that's basically because
- the insurance companies are not really going to pay your claims
- if they're just going to add their their cost of doing business their retention on top of your
- claims cost so it's a lot more cost effective to be self-funded and and as as indicated
- unfortunately
- this is the 2025 i was just reading is the highest health care increase in cost in the last 15
- years
- so um um you know if uh if you know misery loves company there's there's lots of company out there
- okay thank you thanks
- anybody else have any other questions
- oh counselor welts i'm looking at the um document that you provided as you can tell
- um and you listed or whoever wrote this listed um possible strategies to contain rising insurance
- costs without reducing employee benefits um a lot of those look like they reduce employee benefits
- but i might be defining things differently but like um you know pharmacy benefit management
- changes yeah so that's that that is just an administrative thing that we would take on so
- there have been some changes in and things that we can sort of bid out who manages our our pharmacy
- we aren't we're aren't sort of stuck with working with anthem on that we were yes and now we can
- we can explore other options and pharmacy is one of the highest costly things that we're
- experiencing
- so that is a strategy that we're going hopefully planning to explore with apex to see if that can
- reduce some of our costs but that impact what prescriptions were okay that's you know where i'm
- yeah our plan and what we cover on our plan would stay the same it's just kind of how who manages
- the
- the pharmacy not offer an hdhp plan now because one of those said steerage toward hdhp we do
- but that plan in theory costs us less because of the way that that's structured that higher
- deductible employees are paying more for that and so we can incentivize that we have incentivized
- that in the past that's how we've gotten to where we are at i think it grows every year with the
- number of employees that are on that but we can look at ways to explore that and is that are these
- things that you can change i mean maybe not for 2026 but the you can do you can change yeah 2027
- would be the the plan for implementing some of these things i will tell you that Seth and i
- are really working on employee education will help reduce a lot of costs there are a lot of people
- using iu health and and i would say that that is an increase to the employee and to us much more
- significantly than if employees were willing to explore other options in indianapolis i mean i
- think here angie and i both had surgeries this year and the cost we both did not have it in
- bloomington and and that cost is was reduced significantly because we sought other locations
- so i mean i we are also exploring some direct provider options with our clinic the clinic is
- really managing a lot of things where there i mean just the clinic was seeing some high incidences
- of
- sleep apnea and so people needed to go and get studies for that and that was really costly to the
- employee and the plan and so we've explored a direct a way for us to further do a direct cost
- to a specific provider that reduced how much the employee and the plan is paying for a sleep apnea
- test that's appreciated yes yes exactly and so that's that's a small number of people but
- there are other things like that that we can explore that would impact much larger numbers
- of our population on the plan thank you does that help okay yeah okay does anybody else have any
- question or comments counselor decker i was just going to offer on this line it sounds like we've
- been told that no action tonight keep this on your radar um i'm going to offer that we table this
- indefinitely uh accordingly and i think we've certainly taken strong action tonight but uh
- madam president i'll move to table this indefinitely second okay we got a motion and a second to
- table
- this item indefinitely is there any further questions on comments on this particular motion
- looking around and make sure all right i'm gonna play my county council card and reverse it back
- to me all right um next so if we don't have any questions um we can do a voice vote um all those
- in favor of tabling this item indefinitely signify by saying aye aye all those opposed same sign
- all right motion carries all right thank you very much um next up would be item number 10 which is
- the 2026 budget reviews however um i think we definitely uh need a break here so i would like
- to um recess and come back at uh let's see what time is it um 7 40 so we are going to recess until
- 7 40 okay all right all right next up is item 10 which is the county council business which is
- the 2026 budget reviews and over the past several weeks council began the 2026 budget reviews with
- all of the departments and um last thursday september 11th was the last of the um department
- hearings and so tonight is the opportunity for everybody to um as we discussed last thursday
- anybody that wanted to open up budgets to kind of go back and review that is the will of the
- council
- and council would be able to do that i do want to point out that there is going to be a um the
- public hearing where public can make public comment on september 30th um and that is september 30th
- right here in the net you hill room starting at five o'clock anybody that wants to make public
- comment on the 2026 items um you would be able to do so at that time you can do so here in a net
- you
- hill room or you would be able to attend via teams and make those or um you know if you can't do
- either one you can definitely always email all of the council members to let us know your concerns
- as well so with that being said um i know that uh miss shell had some amendments that she had um or
- some things that we needed to change here and so we just need to go back and go through those first
- since those seem to be pretty easy and then we'll get into the meat and potatoes because we also
- need to come back from the item that we tabled earlier with um the health department so what
- i'd like to do is we'll get through those um small amendments with michelle first then i'd
- like to open it back up and have the health department come in and then we'll proceed with
- the opening of 2026 budgets so everybody all on the same page man president just point information
- for the public so so we're working through michelle's amendments now we're moving back
- to your tape your item that you amended to the end of the health department and then we're coming
- back together to go into opening up additional budgets okay got it okay thank you you're very
- welcome does anybody else have any questions or comments of what was discussed yes
- we're gonna do the health tabled item before we talk about overall what we're doing with health
- yes did you have another suggestion to that when i when i suggested tabling it i was thinking that
- it would it would come after item 10 at the end of item 10 it's because what we decide to do
- during our discussions might impact what we want to do on that one item i'm sorry that's what i
- meant i don't know how it happened but that's what i meant so from my understanding then you want
- to
- have we open up the budget conversations first and then we'll get into the health department
- okay well we'll open up the health department and everything and i don't know i assume that'll be
- part of the discussion because we're going to probably make changes on across lots of
- departments correct and council henry so just for the you know just for those individuals waiting
- to come back to the table are we saying that it might be a few hours before we get to the health
- department again or are we because it could be a bit um i just want to be clear on that i mean yep
- yeah okay okay so um okay so then i would suggest i'm not moving any faster um or anything like
- that
- this is a big deal that we are all tasked and we knew that we were needed to do this but i do
- understand that we have folks awaiting and i want to be respectful of their time as well since we
- tabled their item to come towards the end of this and they're sitting here waiting so that being
- said
- does anybody else have any other questions or concerns about the order of what we are about
- to do council iverson may i uh recommend that instead of opening up all of the budgets maybe
- in order to help folks get home that we open just the health budgets and to have that conversation
- so that other folks don't have to sit here and listen to everything else that we're doing tonight
- so would you recommend from my understanding are you saying that after we're done with our
- amendments
- then we go into the opening of the 2026 budgets you would open up 2026 first with the health
- department and then you would get into um the table that you understand me correctly okay
- does everybody else understand that okay yes counselor vital so i have a person here who would
- like to speak about something i'm going to open up in the regular budget part as well so it's
- not just the health department that's here okay but we don't have public comment on well i'm
- going to do my best okay okay all right okay so does everybody understand and are okay with this
- yes okay i heard some chatter down there i wasn't sure if anybody had any questions okay so moving
- forward i'm going to look to counselor iverson and then we're going to go ahead and get started
- uh council uh this is item 10a i moved to open budget 1000-0380 county general jail
- and make the following amendment increase account line 34100 medical services to one thousand six
- thousand six hundred one million six hundred seventy five thousand two hundred seventy seven
- dollars
- second okay are there any questions on this item yes is it too much to ask to have these budgets
- portrayed on the screen or is that too fast no just give me one moment yeah okay i if it's an undue
- burden it helps me um make sure i'm reading things right if i can look at it too
- do
- i just got to get it set up so
- thank you michelle
- Okay, so we are talking about this line right here, which is the medical services.
- During the budget sessions, the sheriff and them lowered that amount.
- But they also forgot to include something in that amount.
- So it's still going to be a little lower than what they were talking about.
- So this is just to, it's that amount that you see, which is 1,525,277 plus another $150,000,
- which is the cost of the pool.
- So you received an email from them with regards to why we need to make this amendment with
- regards to the medical services in the jail.
- What's the new amount? 1,675,277.
- Okay, is there any other further questions or comments from council?
- Looking to my right.
- Seeing none.
- Looking to my left.
- Also seeing none.
- All right, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Councillor Decker?
- Oh, yes.
- Councillor Fiddle?
- Yes.
- Councillor Wilz?
- Yes.
- Councillor Henry?
- Yes.
- Councillor Hock?
- Yes.
- Councillor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Councillor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Motion passes 7-0.
- Okay, next up is...
- My understanding is that 10B no longer needs to be read.
- Yes, yes it does because you've got to reduce it to zero.
- Understood.
- Thank you.
- Just for a, may I ask a point of clarification before I read this?
- Every council member should have the 2026 budget session amendments.
- Council member Hock, you should have this as well.
- This is what I'm reading from.
- Okay.
- Great.
- All right.
- Item 10B.
- Council, I move to open budget 1000-0005 County General Sheriff and make the following amendment.
- Reduce account line 30025 maintenance to zero.
- Second.
- Okay.
- Any other discussions on this item, Michelle?
- We got a clarifying email.
- We've been working on consolidating some account lines together.
- This account line was among that list, and with that, per the Commissioner's administrator,
- anything maintenance with regards to the building is actually done through their budget.
- So this does not need to be in their general fund budget.
- Okay.
- All right.
- You're looking to my left.
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilks.
- Is the sheriff and jail commander [audio cuts out]
- I don't know.
- No.
- Can you hear me now?
- Yes.
- That information was received this afternoon from Angie Purdy.
- I'm unaware if they have that information.
- Okay.
- But what was relayed is that it's already budgeted in the commissioner's budget.
- Right.
- As I recall from two to three years ago when current administration in the sheriff's office
- took over, they had a lot of back and forth about maintenance and who pays for it.
- And I believe that their result was that the sheriff really wanted to have some of their
- own maintenance funds so they could get things done that day if they needed to and didn't
- have to go all the way through everybody to change a light bulb.
- And honestly, I remember that was the example.
- I'm not kidding.
- And, I mean, I don't -- what's it -- what's the budget -- what's the line right now?
- $500,000?
- This was just a recommendation that I received, so it's totally up to you guys.
- Yes, Councilor.
- If we -- let's say we vote yes on this and then we get some other further comment from
- any multitudes of people about it, we have time to come into this again?
- Yes, you do.
- We'll have up to September the 30th at the public hearing, so you've still got time.
- One thing is, I believe -- if I may -- I believe in the spirit of this evening, there's going
- to be a lot flying and elbows kind of going all over the place, and so I -- given that
- and noting what Councilor Wilt said, my belief is that we move forward, but just be nimble,
- and I suspect that's going to be the season for us for next few years anyway.
- Okay.
- Yes.
- Councilor Hawke.
- Okay.
- What we're talking about here is a duly elected official who's overseeing his budget, he presented
- the budget to us, and I am not at all comfortable to take something away that's not even been
- discussed with him when he made his point, the reason why he needed this line, and that
- was like three years ago when it all had to do with putting lipstick on a pig.
- And for those of you who aren't here, those of us who are, and it's just important to
- leave that there.
- And we can always take it off.
- You know, it's just as easy to take it off later as it is, you know, if we all agree
- to do that.
- >> Councillor Henry.
- >> Thank you.
- Do we have Ms. Purdy's actual, like, does she write us in writing what the details are
- for this?
- I mean, other than saying at her request or per Angie Purdy?
- What does she say?
- Because I tend to -- I'm inclined to agree with Councillor Hawke on that one.
- For Angie Purdy, Sheriff and Weights and Measures do not need 33050 lines.
- She says that these can be zeroed out if they intend to use them for fleet maintenance.
- This was read verbatim to Angie, and she agreed with the verbiage.
- >> Read verbatim to Angie.
- From who?
- >> It was a phone conversation between myself and Angie earlier today, and that was what
- I wrote down from the email.
- >> Okay.
- >> I typed it out.
- I read it back to her.
- I just copied it on the email.
- >> I'm happy to hear more.
- >> Yeah.
- The auditor has her hand up.
- >> I very clearly remember the conversation that Councilor Wilts is referring to as well,
- and this is a minimal amount, so we're just simply relaying the information.
- It's not necessarily a recommendation.
- >> Okay.
- Thank you, Madam President.
- >> Okay.
- Thank you.
- And just to be clear, like, if we could technically, like, hypothetically speaking, we could
- withdraw
- the motion, and then at the public hearing on the 30th, this is something that we can
- bring back to.
- So we'll probably -- I would -- I would feel comfortable in doing that because he has made
- it explicitly clear, you know, his role and whatnot, and I don't want to step on the toes
- of anybody for that matter, and definitely not the sheriff.
- So I guess I would recommend -- well, yeah.
- So I move to table this discussion item and reopen it back on September 30th, 2025.
- Second.
- All right.
- We got a motion and a second to table this item.
- So again, this is to table this item so that we can check with the sheriff to make sure
- that he would be okay with this.
- And then we can reopen this back at the 30th for the public hearing.
- Does anybody have any other questions or comments related to this motion?
- Who's seconded?
- Thank you.
- All right.
- So any other further discussion?
- Okay.
- Yes.
- All those in favor of table in this item until September 30th, signify by saying aye.
- Aye.
- All those opposed, same sign.
- All right.
- The motion carries.
- This is item 10C.
- Council, I move to open budget 1175-0000, jail misdemeanant and make the following amendment.
- Reduce account line 30025 maintenance to zero.
- Create account line 38,000 services, maintenance, repair, buildings/grounds and set it to $30,000.
- Reduce account line 34300 com repair/services to zero.
- Create account line 38010 services, maintenance, repair/equipment and set it to $10,000.
- All right.
- We got a motion and a second.
- Any other discussion on this item?
- Yes.
- Council, I represent.
- On the third line, we're reducing 34300.
- What does COOMM stand for?
- Is that communication?
- I believe computer.
- No.
- It's commissioners, I'll bet.
- Yes, we believe it's commissioners, but there's no solid understanding that it's 100% factual
- on that.
- That's why we are removing the line.
- Understood.
- Okay.
- We reached out to the jail with regards to this in amending these, and they did agree
- that for these adjustments, so they were fine with amending to the new account lines.
- Okay.
- And I thought I saw another hand.
- Council, did you have your hand?
- I was just going to say that is what was just sent to us today, the back and forth of that.
- I think you have a copy of that, Kate.
- No, just me.
- Yeah.
- Right?
- Right.
- I inquired about this.
- I only copied my co liaison and the council office, and Kim said that we had talked about
- these reductions in the original budget session, and that we were set, and they said, okay,
- that's our understanding too.
- So this part's good, and no, nobody else was copied on it for, you know, reasons that are
- up.
- Also, Madam President, the reason for the back and forth was as well.
- Something to do with the what was entered in the four B and aware where the revenue went
- for jail for the money that we expect to get for jail occupancy, the reimbursement from
- the state that they just allowed and, and I responded saying, I think that's already
- in the four B for the general fund.
- Well, then somehow the other they started talking about the four B for this fun, but
- I do believe that that that that money coming in for reimbursement is to go into the general
- fund and has already been accounted for in the miscellaneous revenue in the general fund.
- Would it have been already accounted for when we didn't know we were getting it?
- We always get it.
- We had to make an adjustment and I believe that Jordan sent in with the and I sent a
- message to him saying, what did he turn in for what he believed was going to be the revenue
- for next year.
- But this is going to be an adjustment for revenue for this year because he said they
- already got it.
- They got it on Monday.
- How much Monday?
- So we need to find out how much they got on Monday.
- If we need to adjust that miscellaneous revenue on the four B.
- All standard reimbursements have been accounted for.
- So I will double check with the department, but I believe it's in there.
- Okay.
- All right.
- Is there any other further discussion on this item?
- All right.
- Seeing none.
- All those in favor.
- Well, no voice or can I do a roll call vote, please?
- You're not changing any of the amounts, you're just shifting them from one account line to
- another.
- Okay.
- So I legal do you, is it okay to do a voice vote?
- You're reducing.
- Do a roll call just in case.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- So we'll do, we'll do a roll call vote.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you.
- Councilor Wilts?
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hock?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Decker?
- Yeah.
- Councilor Feidl?
- 7-0 passes.
- Okay.
- Next up 10-D.
- Council I move to open budget 1000-0308 County General Weights and Measures and make the
- following amendments.
- Reduce account line 26400 uniforms to zero.
- Create account line 22218 Clothing and Uniforms and set it to $600.
- Reduce account line 30025 maintenance to zero.
- Second.
- All right.
- Is there any questions from the council on this item?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hock?
- Well, since Weights and Measures is directly under the commissioners and if the commissioners
- are saying to make the change, they don't have as much a problem with changing something
- if you see what I'm saying, there is a difference.
- Understood.
- All right.
- Anybody else that has any questions or comments on this item?
- All right.
- Seeing none.
- May we have a roll call vote.
- Councilor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Councilor Decker?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilz?
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hock?
- Yes.
- Motion passes 7-0.
- Next item.
- I move to open budget 4005-0000 Convention Center operating and make the following amendments.
- Reduce account line 30056 contracts to zero, create account line 3006 contractual and set
- it to $531,300.
- Second.
- All right.
- Council, do we have any questions on this item?
- Looking to my left.
- Councilor Wilz?
- What is this item?
- What are we doing?
- We are changing the contractual line.
- I know what it says.
- Did we talk about this during budgets?
- What was talked about during budgets was that the auditor's office along with the council
- and certain departments were combining and eliminating lines so that we have cleaner
- budgets so that if we want to print a report with regards to contractual, we're not all
- over the place trying to figure out where all the contractual lines are.
- That's great.
- That's what this is.
- Yes.
- That's what I need.
- Where does this come from?
- Got it.
- That's what this is.
- This portion that we're working on is cleaning up those lines so that when you guys ask for
- a report, we're only doing one number instead of 10.
- Any other questions?
- We have spoken with the convention center and they know that this is happening.
- Okay.
- Thank you for that.
- Looking to my right and seeing if anybody has any questions.
- No?
- All right.
- Seeing none, can we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor Decker?
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hawke?
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilts?
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry?
- Yes.
- All right.
- Next item.
- This is 10f.
- Council, I move to open budget 1000-0068, county general commissioners, and make the
- following amendments.
- Reduce account line 20016, commissioner supplies to zero, and create account line 20001, office
- supplies, and set it to $3,600.
- Second.
- All right.
- Anything to add to this, Michelle?
- No, we're the only ones that are using this line, and it's all for office supplies.
- So we're just making it all uniform.
- Okay.
- All right.
- Any, I'm going to look over here to my right if anybody has any questions.
- And we talked about this when we met with them to go over their budgets and noted that
- we wanted to clean some of this up.
- Any other further discussion on this item?
- Go on once, go on twice.
- Okay.
- May we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor Henry?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hawk?
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilkes?
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Pickard?
- Yes.
- Motion passes 7-0.
- Okay.
- Next item.
- This is 10G.
- Council, I move to open budget 1000-0161 County General County Buildings and make the following
- amendments.
- Reduce account line 3004 repairs, equipment/vehicle to zero, and create account line 38010 service
- maintenance repairs equipment and set it to $1,500 second all right any questions on this item
- looking to my left seeing none looking to my right seeing none um can we have a please a roll call
- vote
- counselor wilts counselor dekert yes counselor fidel yes counselor hawk
- counselor crossley yes counseling henry counselor iverson yes motion passes seven zero all right
- next item this is item 10h council i moved to open budget 1138-0000 cumulative capital development
- and make the following amendments reduce account line 30067 building repair and maintenance to zero
- and create a count line 38 000 service maintenance repairs building slash grounds
- and set it to 500 000 dollars second all right any questions counsel on this item
- looking to my left looking to my right counseling henry what was um what was the last fiscal year
- appropriate for this one or is it brand new what can you scooch over yeah i mean was this uh
- what was the previous year's on this or is it sorry is it new
- i got it and i can see it okay so what was the rationale for the 200 000 increase even
- if we're moving it does anyone recall it's a lot of trees
- does anyone have any notes on the 200 000 increase on this item from last year
- oh
- it looks like michelle is trying to look up something here so i'll give her a minute
- I'm happy to take I mean do you need a moment to look because I
- may have an amendment here
- apparently there wasn't a discussion regarding any of the count lines
- and the president i have an amendment for this i'd like to go ahead and reduce down to
- this line item to three hundred thousand dollars at zero basing it until we can get
- a future discussion on this appropriation second all right we got a motion and a second
- to reduce this item to three hundred thousand is there any other further discussion
- I would just like to say that in general what we're seeing what we're looking at does not
- tell us what we need to know because we're reducing one line but doesn't say how much
- it is it's just saying we're reducing it to zero it could have been 500 could have been 100
- so this is something that hopefully will not do it this way if I may yes that was what was
- confusing
- me at first but it seems that these are still just really changing the names of the the lines
- again that's that was the intent so it's just changing the names the original motion didn't
- change the amount but counselor Henry is saying yes but last year that amount was two hundred
- thousand dollars less which is a sharp eye I do think this is the same perhaps line that we just
- talked about earlier in this meeting and it's not okay okay is it gone yeah okay cool um so we did
- just do an additional appropriation for this year and that's when I kind of went back and was like
- okay she did ask for more this year because she needed more this year all right thanks for coming
- to my TED talk I don't know what the point is either either we reduce it and say come back next
- year again that's fine yes I'm good with that as as I should yeah my amendment stands I'm not going
- to speak anymore all right okay so is there any other further discussion on this amendment
- seeing none all those in favor of um counselor Henry's amendment signify by saying aye
- aye all those opposed same sign all right motion carries next item oh we need to vote in the
- underlying please oh yeah that's right okay can we have a roll call vote on that item counselor dekert
- yes counselor wilts yes counselor hawke yes counselor iverson yes counselor crossley yes
- counselor henry yes counselor final yes motion passes seven zero next item this is item 10 i
- council i move to open budget 1000-0106 county general t s d and make the following amendments
- reduce account line to 1005 repair and maintenance supplies to zero create account lines 20700
- supplies maintenance repairs equipment and set it to seven thousand dollars second all right we got
- a motion and a second any questions from council on this item looking to my left and looking to my
- right none may we please have a roll call vote counselor final yes counselor hawke yes counselor
- henry yes counselor dekert yes counselor crossley yes counselor iverson yes counselor wilts yes
- motion passes seven zero okay next item this is item j council i move to open budget 1000-0009
- county general prosecutor and make the following amendments reduce account line 30025 maintenance
- and set it to zero create account line 33050 service maintenance repair fleet and set it to
- three thousand dollars second all right we got a motion and a second is there any questions
- on council from this item looking to my left seeing none and looking to my right
- yes counselor is the prosecutor aware of this yes thank you any other questions over here to my
- right
- other questions
- okay are y'all ready because we're about to okay just want to make sure all right we're
- going to go into a roll call vote please counselor wilts yes counselor henry yes counselor crossley
- yes counselor fiddle yes counselor dekert yes counselor hawk yes counselor iverson yes
- motion passes seven zero next item this is item k council i move to open budget 1000-0307 county
- general fleet and make the following amendments reduce account line 38020 replacement repair to
- zero and create account line 33050 services maintenance repairs fleet and set it to fifteen
- thousand dollars all right we got a motion in a second is there any questions on this item
- looking to my right madam president yes yeah so can we get a look at last year's on this one as
- well yeah thanks for scooting over okay so plus 16 yeah we reduced slightly anyway okay thank you
- you're welcome any other clarifying questions and comments over here to the right
- and to the left councillor wilts i don't know if this is where this should come up but i'm
- just seeing this repetition of the same kind of repair and maintenance for vehicles
- in these different departments would it make sense to have like a general rule of x amount per
- vehicle based on age i mean some little formula and this is what you get and we don't have to
- think about it i'm tired yes i'm gonna go to council hawk and then i'll go to councillor
- henry next yes i'd just like to say that in the past i know nobody wants to hear the past
- but such a question we used to have used to have a fleet committee and the repairs we had a repair
- shop out the highway department and there was a a very qualified person who could do the repairs
- on a whole lot of things then they determined that maybe it was not as cost effective and so
- they pulled it back out of there but all of fleet was under a fleet budget so just thought i'd
- throw
- that out there thank you for that councillor henry yeah i would just say it reminds me of
- the whole travel discussion right it's sort of like the actuals on maintenance on depreciation
- on vehicles and that could get pretty granular i yeah i hear what you're saying for future like
- let's make a note for exactly the letter next year but okay yeah
- let's see if there's any other additional questions or comments on this item
- all right cnn can we please have a roll call vote councillor henry yes councillor hawke yes
- councillor crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor dekker yes councillor phytol
- councillor wilts yes motion passes seven zero right next item this is item k council i move
- to open budget 1000 dash zero three zero seven county general fleet to make the following
- amendments reduce the count line three eight zero two zero replacement repair to zero and create a
- count line three three zero five zero service maintenance repairs fleet and set it to fifteen
- thousand dollars second okay any other further discussion on this item looking to my left
- seeing none and looking to my right seeing none maybe please have a roll call vote
- councillor hawke yes councillor crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor dekker
- yes councillor fiddle yes councillor wilkes yes councillor henry yes motion passes seven zero
- all right next item this item l council i move to open budget 1000 dash zero two seven one county
- general public defender and make the following amendments reduce the count line three zero zero
- zero four repairs equipment vehicle to zero and create a count line three three zero five zero
- services maintenance repairs dash fleet and set it to one thousand five hundred dollars
- second all right any questions from the uh on the right over here from council anybody over here to
- my left all right seeing none may we please have a roll call vote councillor fiddle yes councillor
- iverson yes councillor dekker yes councillor hawke yes councillor wilkes yes councillor
- henry yes councillor crossley yes motion passes seven zero all right next item this is item m
- council i move to open budget 1159 dash 0000 health fund make the following amendments reduce
- account line three zero zero zero four repairs equipment slash vehicle to zero then create
- account line three three zero five zero services maintenance repairs dash fleet and set it to one
- thousand dollars reduce the account line two two two one zero education and public info to zero
- then create account line two zero zero one two education supplies and set it to two thousand
- dollars
- again all right looking over here to my left to see if anybody has any questions
- no uh looking over here to my right seeing anybody have any questions and seeing none
- maybe please have a roll call vote councillor iverson yes councillor dekker yes councillor
- fiddle yes councillor wilts yes councillor henry yes councillor hawke yes councillor crossley yes
- motion passes seven zero okay thank you next item is item n council i move to open budget eleven
- sixty eight dash zero zero zero zero local health maintenance and make the following amendments
- reduce account line two two two one zero education and public info to zero create account line two
- zero zero one two education supplies and set it to two thousand dollars second okay any questions
- from council on this item we're here and looking over here and seeing none as well can we have a
- roll call vote on this item please councillor crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor
- dekker yes councillor fiddle yes councillor wilkes yes councillor henry yes councillor hawke yes
- motion passes seven zero all right next item this item oh council i move to open budget one one one
- four dash zero one six six lit special purpose ysb and make the following amendment increase
- account
- line one eight one zero one fica to one hundred thirty two thousand five hundred sixty two dollars
- second all right any questions from council on this item yes councillor hawke yes can you
- whoever i should address this too what is the reason for that do we have additional employees or
- i can answer that um when the ysb was here they um you guys approved to increase the part-time
- hourly line to one thousand one hundred and forty nine thousand so that would increase the fica
- amount so i didn't do that i didn't have time to do it during that process so i'm cleaning that up
- any other questions on this item
- looking to my left all right can we please have a roll call vote
- councillor flytle yes councillor wilts yes councillor henry councillor hawke yes councillor
- crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor decker yes motion passes seven zero all right next
- item uh this is item p council i move to open budget 1000 dash 0002 county general auditor
- and make the following amendments increase account line three zero zero zero six contractual
- from zero to ten thousand dollars i get okay yes councillor hawke i believe this is we took it to
- zero because we were moving it over to the platform or is that right uh but then when i spoke with
- uh
- the auditor she suggested she would like to have some dollars left in that line item so i want to
- give the auditor a chance to respond yes um this just allows us a little bit more wiggle room um so
- we have a couple lines um in in the threes in the services category in the general fund and takes
- a tiny bit of pressure off auditors and eligible as you know moving all of almost all of the
- contractual um 240 000 now over to auditors and eligible is going to put a strain on that fund
- so it's just going to have to be back in the general fund for 2027 all right any other questions
- on this side related to this item anybody over here to the left seeing nine may we please have
- a roll call vote councilor wilts yes councilor henry yes councilor hawke yes councilor crossley
- councilor iverson yes councilor dekert yes councilor fiddle yes motion passes seven zero
- okay next item this is item q council i move to open budget 12 16 dash zero zero zero zero
- auditor ineligible deductions and make the following amendments reduce a lap count line
- three zero zero zero six contractual to 240 000 reduce the count line three zero zero two eight
- training travel to four thousand dollars reduce account line two zero zero zero one office supplies
- to four thousand dollars and reduce account line two zero zero three printing copy supplies to ten
- thousand dollars okay we got a motion in a second is there any further discussion from council on
- this item looking to my left seeing none looking to my right oh and then i look up and i see the
- auditor has her hand up yes just a quick note and apology i was ill the night that um i was
- supposed
- to present this and this is what i plan to do live so thank you for entertaining um my
- recommendations
- welcome feeling better all right seeing no other further questions um may we please have a roll
- call vote councillor hawke yes councillor crossley yes councillor iverson yes councillor henry yes
- councillor dekert yes councillor final yes councillor wilts yes motion passes seven zero
- okay and that looks like that concludes the amendments from the council office staff um
- so appreciate that now we get into the business here and i'm gonna look to councillor iverson
- council i move to open uh budget 11159-0000 health and make the following amendments
- i move to set the following lines to zero 10104 10105 10109 10110 101 i'm sorry can you go back and
- go slow down sorry thank you good job you didn't change the screen yeah all right so
- let me slow down my motion i'm so sorry yes okay so i'm going to restart my motion
- council i move to open fund 1159-0000 health and to make the following amendments
- set line 10104
- to zero line 10105 to zero 10109 to zero 10110 to zero
- these are all going to zero 10111 10116 10117 10118 10122
- just so you know 10118 is already at zero that's that's true excuse me yep yep 10122
- one zero one two three one zero one four one one zero one seven seven one zero one seven nine
- one zero one eight zero and finally one zero one eight one
- second okay we got a motion and a second and a hand raised councilor everything
- my rationale for this motion is that as we have discussed when we moved these from 1161
- i talked with the health board as well as our health administrator and sought advice
- on what we should do here we are in a tricky spot we can either leave these here
- and not be asking for legal status or we can move them back and be forcing our staff to be
- asking for legal status but at the same time saving a lot of money this is a very difficult
- decision this is probably one of the most difficult ones we'll be facing this fiscal year
- my intention as i'm concluding madam president is if this is adopted is to immediately open up
- 1161 and to put those positions back in there i want to be very clear with this
- in everything that we are doing with these budgets we are trying very hard to not make
- any changes in personnel i think one of the underlying factors of our difficult decisions
- is not making a balanced budget on the backs of our employees and so i want to be able to
- to make it clear that as soon as this action is done we will then put the positions back
- instead of eliminating them okay councillor henry thank you madam president i concur with my
- colleague uh councillor iverson um and i just maybe as a point of clarification so 10109
- as i see it in the budget spreadsheet i have does not have a line item in hfi is that we'd have to
- create that account line in hfi to catch that position i have an older copy in front of me i
- just want to make sure i got it no it is not in hfi so we will have to create that account line
- item when we move it that particular one but i concur with the commentary this is not to say
- that the community that we are moving away from supporting everyone in our community regardless
- of status as they catch a disease or need assistance we're just going to have to come up
- with some real conversations between county legal and the auditor's office the board of health and
- this body to to get the minerov county answer to this problem that's been created by the state so
- thank you councillor iverson for the initial amendments yes councillor hawke yes i know this
- was difficult for you to present but it would be more difficult if it didn't happen so but i also
- wondered are you if council staff is keeping track of what the you know all of the benefit would be
- all the different changes there and what about where where is the insurance
- now the self-insurance is in this fund okay so you would want to move out whatever the portion
- is into the other fund as well as the bike on the perv okay all i need to do is if you give me a
- few
- minutes i can make those adjustments we have to take a break or i can come back however you want
- to do it yes i we had a meeting with the state and i don't believe that fund can support
- self-insurance and that's why the entirety of the self-insurance is in this fund now
- what and tell me why the state says they can't have it i don't understand what you're saying
- they won't cover any insurance at all or is it because we're self-insured
- this seems like miss lori kelly is going to be able to speak to this
- okay i'm going to try to remember but we ran into some issues when we first transitioned into
- health
- first indiana with new positions and vacancies and how it was still pulling the the insurance
- and so that's why we ended up moving everything over into 1159 yes i can clarify even just a touch
- further um so the county's procedure is we budget per position so regardless of if the position is
- filled or not we pull all of that funding over into our self-insurance fund so health first indiana
- found that problematic as we had positions budgeted that weren't filled but we were still
- counting on that funding to and we were pulling that funding so we had to switch gears and budget
- it elsewhere does that make sense okay but but let's think about this a little further why don't
- we just move whatever positions that are filled over there and as we make changes we can make
- changes there let us not take money from county general what we're trying to save because we've
- got some kind of hiccup let's just make it work you can make that work right we're open to ideas
- it was a fix at the time because we were meeting with the state and they told us no right but you're
- just saying because they don't want to cover vacant slots so that's fine with me let's just
- cover the ones that are filled so to further consider this we can't predict if a spot is
- going to become vacant throughout the year and we're pulling the money regardless so it's going
- to be a lot of flexibility and a lot of back and forth if we choose to do it that way and that is
- your choice obviously however it was problematic well it's council Henry so so I can maybe get my
- head around it so is it are we hearing that if we remove the salaries from uh whatever we're at
- we're 1161 and a return sorry 1159 and we returned to 1161 there's a possibility that the self-insurance
- would remain in this fund only well I just don't understand it yeah only the self-insurance and
- that's what we had done just to um as a workaround for state requirements um they wanted to
- actually
- they wanted the county to demonstrate and I think employee services was in the meeting as well now
- that I'm recalling more and more of this but they wanted us to demonstrate that the um the
- portion of insurance went toward the specific employees that were budgeted in that fund which
- immediately we were thinking HIPAA violations and all kinds of other things so we just didn't know
- how to provide that documentation they didn't have um they weren't able to really explain to
- us how we could provide that or how others are doing that either they just said that we must
- somehow yeah so perfect being the enemy of the good here I mean counselor Iverson's admirable
- amendment just uh is an 801 thousand dollar movement of money out of general fund and hfi
- if it left behind 378 to get 801 I'm okay right now and so we figured this out um but that's it
- madam president thank you all right help us out here any other questions or comments hearing from
- the peanut gallery gallery over here all right anybody is late yes counselor waltz I do think
- that we should put a little bit of effort into making this less messy because I mean I understand
- their concerns but we just heard from apex that lots of counties do it your way so clearly
- there are other counties doing this do they all just get their money in a different fund for the
- insurance maybe if I may um this conversation was gosh I think well over a year ago um and so I'm
- not remembering you know complete verbatim however I think it's worth revisiting um I mean the
- funding
- was very new at that point and um and the guidance was new so just following up and seeing if
- anything
- has changed or if they have better recommendations is worthwhile
- any other further discussion on this
- yes what's what's the merit of just moving the self-fund the self-insurance now and just taking
- the I guess the gamble that we have to pull it back later can we just move that now
- what would happen walk me through it like if we move to 378 right now what would
- the the actual impact be
- in the state did specifically express their discomforts and um they they didn't want us
- to budget the self-insurance they are given we couldn't provide documentation that the funding
- we were pulling from that fund for insurance was going toward the core services
- yes and i think again it was a long time ago so just trying to kind of remember some of this and
- i think one of the themes was i mean every single dollar of health first indiana is supposed to be
- directly aligned to providing one of the core services so that's kind of comes in our reporting
- with what core services where has that money gone and is it actually being spent on them i go to
- counselor decker because he had his hand up next i i did agree with counselor henry on it in that
- we're heading that way towards the door trying to figure it out roughly we cannot be the only
- county that's discovered we've got a horse that has no saddle um and we all the time we end up
- in here cleaning up messes all night i mean literally the meeting before this we figured
- out things about self-insurance we figured out things about repair supplies all sorts of things
- and and we can always come in here and start that adjustment process if necessary so i would tend
- to
- to agree with that i don't know the motion to make to do that but i'd love to see that done
- him was coming up with a number yeah and i think she was need in a minute a horse with no saddle
- sounds like a america song but i know it's not it's called a horse with no name they played in
- brown county i know yeah just a little here in the late night hour all right and so
- miss we were giving michelle an opportunity to take a moment to figure out this number here
- okay so if i counted this several times moving all of those positions to zero that leaves three
- positions in this fund which is environmental health so it's 113 and 114 and then there is an
- administrative assistant which is 11 002 so that leaves three employees in this fund so three
- employees for the health insurance then is 54 000 hold on i'm gonna put that in here
- and then getting rid of those positions then would change the FICA amount to
- two so that would be the new totals with regards to
- 54 000 for the self-insurance for the three lowering the FICA to 12 572
- it would but i haven't made it that far yet yes counselor iverson madam president i seek the
- council's consent to amend my agenda to include the adjusted FICA amounts second okay no i just
- ask for perf and insurance too just give me one moment i mean i'm not sure i'd like to
- hear the sound of my own voice so i'm carry on
- i i will also seek council's consent for uh the um uh let's see for the perf as well as the
- self-insurance but it's that's still being calculated so yes
- yes
- 20 865
- is there any other further discussion on this motion was there a second
- yeah
- well if you didn't have one i'll give you one pardon did you get it yeah yeah okay
- so do last call for any other final question comment on this item
- i think she's working on that okay i'm waiting until you guys approve the amendment
- Then I'll pick everything.
- So we are approving the amendment
- and then I will look to Michelle
- and then we will look for the final grand total here
- and she'll give it to us in a second.
- So I'm just, can we please have a roll call
- going on the amendment, please?
- Councilor Wilz? - Yes.
- Councilor Hawk? - Yes.
- Councilor Iverson? - Yes.
- Councilor Crosley? - Yes.
- Councilor Feitel? - Yes.
- Councilor Deckard? - Yes.
- Councilor Henry? - Yes.
- Motion passes seven zero.
- Okay, and then this is the part
- where we wait for Michelle to come up
- with the new grand total.
- New grand total for the personnel is 507,553.
- Which puts the budget bottom line amount at 1,640,271.
- Yes, Councilor Hawk?
- Yes, and wanted to check with the auditor
- to make sure that we keep it within the dollar amount
- that we have to have to meet the match.
- I can find that amount in my email,
- but it's significantly lower than the past couple of years
- and we're well within it.
- I think it's around $200,000.
- I thought we were having to make up the difference
- this year, but it looks like we might be doing that.
- Could you clarify what you mean, make up the difference?
- I thought we were somewhere like a half million dollars
- short on our tax levy.
- When we were looking at all those tax levies,
- we were gonna have to bump the health fund,
- the 1159 in order to meet.
- But nevermind, if that's not what you're remembering,
- then surely you remember.
- Yeah, that's not anything I'm recalling, but--
- Where's Jeff McKim when I need him?
- There was something, because we ran short.
- We were using like past numbers that we had entered
- in order, because we had to pay so much to--
- Okay, now you know what I'm talking about.
- I think I know what you're saying.
- We had previously, if you will, overfunded the health fund.
- So the levy was already included.
- So we're not making up for past funding.
- We're just staying current with what is needed.
- I just wanted you to look at the numbers
- and say we're okay.
- We are okay.
- Okay, now that we got all the okays out,
- we need to have a roll call vote.
- Councilor Hock. - Yes.
- Councilor Crosley. - Yes.
- Councilor Iverson. - Yes.
- Councilor Decker. - Yes.
- Councilor Feidl. - Yes.
- Councilor Wilts. - Yes.
- Councilor Henry. - Yes.
- Motion passes seven zero.
- Councilor Iverson.
- Council, I move to open budget 1161-0000,
- local public health services,
- and make the following amendments
- to increase in the corresponding decreases
- in this budget that we just did with 1159,
- including FICA, PERF, and self-insurance.
- Second.
- We got a motion and a second on that.
- And Councilor Henry.
- Thank you, Madam President.
- So I think this is where we need a amendment
- to create a line in a 10109
- to catch the environmental health specialist.
- Would the sponsor entertain an amendment
- to add the account line 10109
- and the appropriate dollar amount
- from 1159 to that line item?
- Yes, as well as entertaining the FICA, PERF,
- and the self-insurance.
- Thank you, yes.
- Okay, so we have that.
- And so, yeah, we need a second for the amendment.
- Okay, we got a motion and a second on the amendment.
- Is there any other further discussion on this?
- No, Councilor Welts.
- Okay, I just want to,
- maybe it's telling me something,
- but I just, I don't know.
- I just wanna reiterate, you know, I've said in the past
- that I was 100% on board for moving these positions
- the opposite direction.
- And this sort of thing, I mean,
- we've been given no choice, really.
- We, and it's, I'm sure not the first or last time tonight
- that we are in a position because of things
- that the state legislature has put in place.
- And we are reacting in order to salvage local county services
- in a way that preserves, I think, the maximum good
- that we can offer.
- And so I just want, you know, to go on record
- with as soon as we, as soon as the session starts next time,
- I would encourage anyone and everyone
- to lobby legislators to make some changes
- about this restriction on the Health First Indiana.
- That's all.
- Thank you.
- I'm sorry to interrupt, but account line 101-1-1
- does not exist in this fund.
- And we need to add that number as well.
- Council, I move that we add account line 1-0-1-1-1.
- What is the title of that?
- Environmental Health Specialist General.
- Okay, we got a motion and a second
- to add that account line.
- Is there any other further discussion on that?
- All right.
- Right.
- So all those in favor of amending
- to add the new account line, signify by saying aye.
- Aye. - Aye.
- All those opposed, same sign.
- Okay, motion carries.
- Now we come back to the overall amendment here.
- David's. - Yes.
- Yep.
- Okay, all right.
- All those in favor of Council Henry's amendment,
- signify by saying aye.
- Aye. - Aye.
- All those opposed, same sign.
- All right, motion carries.
- Now we come back to the overall underline motion here.
- I just wanna say, since Councilor Wilts had said it,
- it's really, it kind of ticks me off
- that we're sitting here having to go back and forth
- and playing this kind of game.
- We obviously know that disease knows no boundaries,
- no citizenship status, no birthright status,
- none of the above, and so it really kind of ticks me off
- that we're sitting here, and I have other words to say,
- but I'm gonna use PG-13 because I'm sure my kids
- somewhere are sitting here watching it, probably not.
- But that being said, I just, I'm frustrated,
- and this is nothing bad to the health department,
- and they tried, they tried really hard
- to move things back, and this is the unfortunate,
- craptastic way of SB1, and this is where elections
- has consequences, this is the part where we knew
- at the beginning of the year, all this crap
- that was flying through the state house,
- this is where we are, this is the mass casualty
- of ineffectiveness of government, period.
- And so what I would like to say is to the health department,
- I wish that there was some way, shape, or form,
- that we can try to work together, and we can try to see
- where we can have, I know Ms. Kelly had said earlier
- when I asked the question of how we can see
- if we can work with other partners and community members,
- and I really truly hope that we truly can,
- because it just really pisses me off
- that we're sitting here in this moment,
- trying to figure out how to rob here and pay Paul,
- and this is the mass casualty, and as a public commenter
- mentioned earlier, that this is a tough job,
- it makes me sick to my stomach
- that we're sitting here having this conversation,
- so what I would like to say is heck yeah,
- we should be lobbying those folks.
- We even got a doggone lobby for SB1
- where it relates to our justice center,
- and we should definitely damn well lobby folks
- in the state house for this stuff too.
- I'm sorry, I mean, we worried about language here,
- but we should be seeing what is happening to people
- and what we are doing here.
- So excuse me, sorry, not sorry.
- So that being said, without further discussion,
- now we can have a roll call vote on this overall motion.
- Council Henry.
- Councilor Hawke.
- Yes.
- Councilor Wills.
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson.
- Yes.
- Councilor Decker.
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl.
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley.
- Yes.
- Motion passes seven zero.
- (faintly speaking)
- All right, I got one more.
- Go ahead.
- Council, I move to open budget 1000-0061 County Council
- and amend line 33032BEDC to...
- I don't have the number in front of me.
- Crap, sorry.
- (faintly speaking)
- Going back to the original amount.
- Yes.
- 35,750.
- $35,750.
- Second.
- All right, we got a motion and a second
- to put that line item back.
- Is there any other further discussion?
- Looking to my left and looking to my right.
- Okay, are you going to, you're just doing 35,000
- and not include the dues?
- My motion was to go--
- That's what I missed, yeah.
- Yeah, yeah, no, no, it was to include the dues as well.
- Yeah.
- I thought that was the original amount.
- Original amount is 35,750.
- That was--
- Which includes the dues.
- Right.
- That was the intent of the motion.
- Okay.
- I thought I saw Councilor Henry's hand up.
- Yeah, I just, thank you.
- And I want to be clear for public record.
- We took, this was proposed, we took it down,
- now it's back up, but would the sponsor
- or others like to speak to,
- just so we get it on the record,
- why we're boomeranging back--
- I have some things to say, if now is the time.
- Yeah, well, I just wanted to make sure
- Madam President had caught that maybe.
- Yes, oh yeah.
- Yes, yes, Councilor.
- So I have a list, do you want the list?
- The floor is yours.
- Okay, it's not color coded, but it's a list.
- Okay, go ahead.
- So since 2020, BEDC has been a part
- of $1 billion in capital and 900 new jobs around here.
- And 11 of those were BEDC supported.
- The industries have been life sciences,
- advanced manufacturing, defense, technology,
- and higher education.
- As you know, the working age population has been down.
- 21, it's expected to go down between 2020 and 2050.
- Another 4.4% to 2144 less.
- The specific projects that they worked on in 2024,
- Nova Nordisk was 16 and a half billion.
- Catalint, SEMTRA was purchased,
- they purchased the former GE site in July of 2025.
- And then there was a, between '21 and '23,
- there was a $290 million investment.
- And '24 and '25, there was a $539 million investment.
- And 130 new jobs in 2024 with an average salary of $73,000.
- Phoenix was a $55 million since 2021.
- Envoy, Bloomington was selected as their US headquarters
- in May of 2025.
- The Forge Trade District, there have been 350,000 square feet
- under roof for sites, as well as 1,000 acres of Greenfield
- and 200 acres in the city.
- Oliver Winery had 12.6 million by the end of 2026.
- Catalan had 10 million plus another 340 million.
- Phoenix had 20.25 million in 2021.
- Baxter, 35 million plus 5 million in '21.
- Ernest Health, 18.4 million, which included,
- which became the Bloomington Rehab in 2020,
- as well as 1.3 million in 2020.
- Formerly Hall Signs, and I'm not sure how to pronounce it,
- it's either Provelie, or Pro-ve-lee,
- or some pronunciation of P-r-o-v-e-l-i,
- two million in 2020, excuse me,
- as well as 1.8 million in 2020.
- Keehee was 35 million in 2020 and 388,000 square feet,
- and 7.6 million in 2020.
- And Tasses was 904 million in 2020.
- Now these are all things that create income,
- as you can see from the jobs listed here for our community.
- They pay taxes, they buy homes,
- and I'm a very big supporter of having jobs
- in this community, so that's why I wanna bring it back.
- And I think BEDC does a wonderful job of that here.
- I've been involved with them for a very long time
- in various capacities, and I fully support that.
- I just wanna update the council, and I'm sorry.
- The dues did raise for the BEDC,
- so the amount really needs to be 35,925.
- Council, I seek unanimous consent to make that change.
- No objection.
- All right, yes, Councilor Hauk.
- Yes, first of all, what will we do
- if we weren't growing our job base here?
- Because now that we have, the states made it clear,
- we have to rely on that income tax for us to survive.
- And without that income tax, without these good jobs,
- we would not have it.
- Now, let's be very clear, that means that the people,
- they hire, hopefully, that the zoning and planning
- and other issues will allow the folks
- to build a house here, to live here.
- But I just wanted to follow up on that.
- I know there'll be a lot to be said about that,
- but I wanted to be very clear about something else.
- For years, we had an economic development staff person
- that worked in the commissioner's office.
- And we, yeah, right, we did.
- And we no longer have that.
- And we rely on others to do this job
- that Monroe County government used to do
- when it was Jane Marie and Joyce Poole and the others.
- So I just wanted to make it clear,
- this is not something different.
- This is a lot less money than what it would be
- to provide a whole separate department.
- Okay, any other further discussion on this item?
- Okay, I'll just, I'll say it,
- because I think I might be the lone ranger on this one.
- And that's okay, 'cause we all don't have to agree.
- Again, we just went through a hard conversation
- with our health department, and it sucked.
- It sucked really bad to sit there and have that conversation.
- And we've been talking time and time and time again
- of trying to figure out how we are going
- to do all the things.
- And I know this might be just one little drop
- in the bucket, but again, I understand,
- like we have our dues, and I understand
- that we had talked about this last week
- during budget session that the intent was
- to have the abatement come through
- and have that go towards the BEDC.
- I understand that that also is not coming into effect,
- but for maybe about another year or so.
- But it just makes me feel like, this is not,
- again, this is one of the casualties
- in all of this budget conversation.
- And I personally am in favor of what we did last week
- where we were just paying the dues.
- So if I'm the lone ranger on this one,
- again, this is no shade, no disrespect to BEDC,
- and I understand all the work and things that they've done,
- but I just, I feel some kind of way right now with that.
- And yeah, I don't know if I could support that.
- So that's all I have to say on that.
- All right, yes, Councilor Decker.
- Yeah, I carried the compromise last week
- on this and another item.
- I'm happy to hear people come in
- and make the case for this,
- but I am gonna remain a no vote on this,
- although I seconded it.
- And the reason I'm gonna be until I see the final
- kind of outcome on where the budget is,
- and then I might switch if this would not prevail,
- but for now, this and the other line that I moved,
- I'm just monitoring that,
- trying to get us to the hard answers here.
- And so until I see that kind of come out,
- I'm gonna kind of hold off and be a no on this for once.
- Councilor Williams.
- So if we don't pass this,
- the amount that is budgeted right now
- is the 15, the compromise number.
- And yeah, I just have to say I agree with Councilor Crossley
- and I have championed support for BEDC
- and I will continue to do that.
- I like the idea of taking a look at some of these items
- that we're making cuts to.
- Like maybe let's target May.
- Take a look at 'em and see if we can bring some stuff back.
- I think we'll know a lot more in May, hopefully.
- Good stuff, thanks.
- All right, any other questions
- or discussions on this item?
- I have a point of inquiry.
- Yes.
- So if this would, if it passes, it goes to 35,
- if it fails, it sits at the compromise 15
- and then we could always come back, right?
- Okay, all right, thank you.
- Okay.
- But wait a minute, doesn't that number increase a little
- since the dues you mentioned are different?
- Yeah, I mean, you amended without no objection,
- so that new amount is 35,925, it's right there.
- Okay, all right, got it.
- Okay, so without any other further discussion,
- can we please--
- Remind us what we're voting on.
- The overall, we didn't have an amendment,
- did we have an amendment?
- We didn't vote on the 35,925, so that's--
- There was a no objections.
- Right, so this is the overall conversation.
- Yes, so this is the overall conversation
- of the no objection for the new amount.
- 35,925, so can we please have a roll?
- Councilor Decker.
- Councilor Feidl.
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry.
- No.
- Councilor Iverson.
- Yes.
- Councilor Wilts.
- No.
- Councilor Crosley.
- No.
- Councilor Hauk.
- Yes.
- Motion carries, four three.
- Councilor May, motion fails, four three.
- Big part, beg your pardon, motion fails, four three.
- Okay, all right, thank you for that.
- Any other motion?
- Does any other council member have any other motions?
- I do, so I'm gonna go to the commissioners,
- I'm gonna go to the commissioners' budget.
- So council, I move to reopen the commissioners' budget,
- the county general.
- So for line item 1000-0068, county commissioner general,
- I would like to move that line item 1000-0068,
- item 33029, historical record preservation,
- reduced from 10,000 to zero.
- And I would also like to reduce line item 30028,
- train and travel, from 5,000 to 1,000.
- Second.
- Point of order, I think line 33029
- is indeed historical record preservation,
- but 33028 is not training and travel,
- 30028 is training and travel.
- Correct.
- Hold on a second.
- It's okay.
- Oh, okay.
- I just wanna make sure for the--
- Okay, okay, sorry, I thought I said that.
- Okay.
- Both are zeros now?
- I mean, in--
- So train and travel is reduced to 1,000.
- Madam President, point of information too.
- So now we're moving into opening up different accounts.
- If I had one to add to this particular,
- like the Commissioner's budget,
- would you prefer that to be a separate amendment
- or to be added on in discussion?
- Added on.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- So Madam President, I have an addition.
- So for the Commissioner's,
- Commissioner's line 1000-0068 supplies category, 23569.
- Say that again?
- Yeah, for the supplies category, 23569, America 250.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, I have two items here.
- First is to amend the name of the account to Civic Events,
- and then secondly, to reduce the amount from 30,000 to 1,500.
- Can you repeat the title?
- America 250.
- To Civic Events?
- To Civic Events.
- Okay.
- And reducing the total from 30,000 to 1,500.
- Second.
- Happy to explain my motion.
- Okay, and so I'll take a stab at it first
- and then I'll pass it over to you.
- So I had a conversation with Ms. Purdy earlier today
- to see because it looks like
- for the historical record preservation,
- that line item was not used at all last year.
- And so that was at a zero.
- And so she was okay with doing that.
- And then the training and travel,
- if we look at that line item,
- there's nothing that has been spent in that item for 2025.
- Am I right?
- Okay, okay.
- So because training and travel again
- has been a topic of conversation,
- that is something that I've wanted to reduce.
- And again, if folks are going somewhere,
- then we can always come back.
- But again, I had that conversation with her earlier today
- and she seemed to be fine with doing so.
- So that is my reasoning for my motions.
- Councilor Henry.
- Madam President, to the rationale
- for my recommendation here is that,
- this is a golden opportunity for the commissioners
- to seek out a blue-ribbon committee
- to round up our partners like BEDC and the Chamber
- and others to really engage in a way
- to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country
- as a public-private whole community activity.
- Secondly, the reason why I set it at 1,500
- is that $500 is the amount that it costs
- to rent the courthouse after hours.
- And so when we think about the lighting of the square,
- the swearing in of officers in January
- and presumably opening the building for the bathrooms
- for this event, it seems that 500 a pop seems about right
- to me based on what we had rent to the public.
- So it's setting a number and encouraging the commissioners
- to come back with additional appropriations
- and hopefully some sort of blue-ribbon activity
- to really plan for that event.
- That's it.
- Great, thank you.
- Any other questions?
- Yes, Councilor Hopp.
- Are we just in general still going up and down asking
- are we just, are we?
- Yeah, so this is on my two items
- and then Councilor Henry's item
- for the commissioners budget.
- I just wondered if anybody looked at the dues.
- I was, I didn't know whether it was appropriate time.
- Yeah, go ahead, this is.
- Well, I just wondered when I'm looking at the dues,
- 15,500 and I don't know what that entails.
- Maybe, I mean, I don't think they even go
- to the AIC meetings, do they?
- I've not noticed.
- So I'm wondering what the 15,500 is.
- Well, if according to this, this is a January,
- or January, June 30th total right here,
- they spent $12,190 and that was as of June 30th
- in that particular line for dues.
- Ms. Purdy is online, so I don't know
- if she wanted to speak to that.
- So if she was able to maybe unmute and talk about the dues,
- which is line item 30005.
- Yes, oh, sorry.
- We have the ledger pulled up if you want us
- to read some of the vendor names.
- That's what I was trying to do.
- It looks like it's National Association of Counties,
- Association of Counties, Indiana County Commissioners,
- Exchange Club of Northside, Ellitsville Chamber of Commerce,
- Greater Bloomington, I assume that's Chamber of Commerce,
- but it's cut off.
- Okay, all right.
- Yeah.
- So does that answer your question, Councilor Hauk?
- As I don't know what the criteria is
- for the different clubs, I mean--
- Yeah.
- Exchange Club, I don't know, whatever.
- Yeah.
- All right, does anybody else have any questions
- or comments on the motions?
- Okay.
- Seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor Feidl?
- I apologize, could somebody tell me
- what we're really voting on here?
- You're voting on the amendments for account line 23569,
- changing the title to Civic Events,
- lower it to $1,500. The next one then is training travel, reducing it down to $1,000. The then
- historical record preservation, reducing it down to zero. I'll vote yes.
- Yes. Councilor Wilz. Yes. Councilor Henry. Yes. Councilor Hawk. Yes. Councilor Crossley. Yes.
- Councilor Iverson. Yes. Councilor Decker. Yes. Motion passes seven zero. Okay. And look into other
- council members to see if anybody else has any other amendments. Yes. Councilor Henry.
- Thank you. I'd like to return to our health budget. I caught me off guard when we moved away from
- it. In fund 1159 in the supplies category, line 26997 COVID supplies.
- One moment please.
- That's right. And we may Kelly being here to get some further clarity on this one. Are you there.
- Yes. All right. In the code of supply line of 746574 to reduce to $1.
- Are you now.
- Second.
- All right, we got a motion and a second. Any discussion on this, Madam President, Miss Kelly, Lori,
- are you, are you able to come up and answer a question about the coven supply line.
- We're into it right now. Do you mind.
- So I'm taking a look at the supply line item. Can you walk us through the 746574 for coven supplies
- we have the letter you provided from ID OH regarding the what this money was and what we're doing
- with it.
- So I've recommended setting it to $1 and so we can actually determine and this is my rationale. If
- this is something that needs to be reimbursed to the county for the activities we used county
- dollars for during the pandemic.
- So, if we used county rainy day fund if we used any county dollars if this is a truly reimbursement
- of our county activities that we now have.
- We're interpreting this is, we probably need to find those reimbursement lines first before we know
- how much is in residual to work on current health projects can you help me understand this line
- item I know it was the last minute over the past month.
- Discovery in addition. Sure.
- And again I think this kind of started pre predates me so I'm just trying to kind of go off of
- information as I came into the decision and kind of looked into it but
- one point I think is challenging, I think that the money that was grant funds were coming in to
- support the covert efforts and the covert vaccination clinics.
- So, could the county have used rainy day funds. I have no idea. My understanding is grant funding
- was coming in. That was being used to support those efforts.
- As this goes from my understanding and again the letter.
- The state was helping to provide a program to be able to bill for insurance to then come back to
- the local health departments.
- Because in the letter, I just so we have it I mean it says, please note that we have sent collected
- amount of less than a $3 billion feet offset the cost of our contract only claims are paid or
- dispersed.
- It later says that the first be used for expenses directly related to public health activities,
- including offsetting local expenses related to covert 19.
- So I think the reason why I want to pull this back is I think we need to do some forensics to
- figure out what those were in those two years and then if that is a funding stream we can move back
- to rainy day later or, or, or first, whatever's left is I think what you've, you may have
- identified things for this money but I don't think we can really have this in our budget yet so we've
- really audited out what what this reimbursements were it's a very specific number to it's not like,
- here's a million dollars use it at will, it seems like it is really.
- It seems like it is reimbursement for something is that a fair understanding.
- Yeah, my understanding is for vaccine administration and so I think there's been other buckets
- of money again that kind of fell under this and some of that was given through to IU health,
- like a large chunk of money and some of it through the university for these clinics.
- So I think differentiating some of these pockets of money to and one of my first questions
- coming into the position is, is there a contract somewhere that says where remember where funds
- are supposed to be dispersed into who, and there was, there was nothing for that I guess
- I offer to my fellow counselors my why I'm making them and I think it's been made clear.
- We need to figure out what this is before we start allocating it for the fiscal.
- Okay.
- Yes, counselor.
- Right.
- I think I've spoken with the auditor's office about this, saying that I thought that we
- need to see a clear understanding of when the dollars came in what went out and so forth
- of, you know, $750,000 is just sitting there in a line saying reimbursement didn't didn't
- give us any idea of what was really going on.
- And so if it was just something that was sitting out there and somebody suddenly saw here $750,000.
- But not only that, the letter that came with directions or suggestions, it really wasn't
- a direction.
- This kind of more like a suggestion about how to use it was sent out January of 2022.
- So you know, by somebody who's no longer there.
- And everything has changed since that time, everything.
- So we want to make sure that we're doing what we really need to do with $750,000.
- We may need it desperately for making sure we make payroll or whatever, but I just don't
- think it helps one thing to budget it, appropriate it because once you've got that appropriation
- in there, we can't, you know, it's already gone.
- So keep get the appropriation out and $1 if you want to leave something there until we've
- done some homework on it.
- Okay.
- Are there any other questions or comments related to this item?
- Seeing none, again, we just have one overall motion here.
- So can we have a roll call vote?
- This is to reduce the COVID supplies line to $1.
- Yes, I'll say yes.
- Councilor Wills.
- Yes.
- Councilor Crosley.
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry.
- Yes.
- Motion passes 7-0.
- Madam President, yes, what I wanted to make it clear, I see it now it's saying COVID supplies
- line budget sheets that we were looking at, it said reimbursement, didn't say anything
- about COVID or anything, maybe that got changed after we received a letter or something of
- the sort, but just for people to know what we were talking about when we were talking
- about reimbursement, it's sort of confusing.
- Yes.
- Okay, we'll look into other council members to see if anybody else has any other motions
- that they would like to make.
- Yes.
- Councilor Henry.
- Thank you, Madam President.
- I'd like to return to Commissioner's budget under the CUME CAP 1138.
- So under CUME CAP 1138, I have a motion on the service category 30041 software to reduce
- the line item to 1 million, so a $500,000 deduction.
- To encourage the commissioners to visit the general obligation bonds for software purchasing
- for half a million dollars in the 11 years of bonds that we have.
- Second.
- Okay.
- We have a motion and a second on this item to reduce that line item and software to 1
- million.
- Is there any discussion of council?
- Council, well, you just gave your ration for doing that.
- So nevermind.
- Okay.
- That was good.
- Any other questions or comments related to this?
- I think this is a great idea.
- Yeah.
- And again, my understanding from my conversation with Ms. Purdy earlier today is, again, and
- looking at this particular area, and I'm glad Council Henry made those motions.
- That was something that I wrote down in my handy dandy budget notebook here is to look
- at that and look and revisit how we can look at bonds.
- And it's my understanding, and I'm looking at the auditor as well, apparently there's
- a conversation that should be coming to Council soon related to bond projects.
- My understanding is it's the 23rd.
- Okay.
- If I may, as you know, we always budget high to give you flexibility to determine how you
- want to proceed.
- So because there were unknowns, Council Administrator and I were budgeting the bond, I think it's
- seven and a half million, which I know you don't want to go anywhere near, but that gives
- you the flexibility to do as FSG, I think at one point mentioned, like six for six years,
- or you could do three for six years, or however you choose to approve and do it, it just,
- that is an option for other funding.
- Okay.
- Yes.
- Okay.
- Anybody over here got questions to the left.
- Councilor Rhodes.
- That's a little bit different than the bonding that we're talking about for this particular
- motion, not unrelated, but, but I think what would be really nice is to have a public discussion
- around the funds, the bond funds that go back years and years, because we've had that, we've
- had a discussion a couple of years ago, and got the spreadsheet going, which love the spreadsheet,
- it's awesome, but I need context with that a little bit because, you know, I think there's
- just a goldmine of information about the various projects that exists in probably Angie Purdy's
- office and I would, you know, it would be great for us to make these kinds of decisions
- fully aware of what we can be maybe utilizing.
- So anyway, I'm all for doing this.
- I'm also for hopefully getting some more information.
- I would just add that my first inclination was to zero or to take it to a dollar and
- go look for a million five, but I feel like it's a baby step.
- Also based on the document we have, while it gives us some idea that there are line items,
- it really isn't that granular and this is why I'm coming full circle to our earlier
- part of the meeting when we say we found $300,000 at the beginning of the meeting and a bond
- to buy something, software, vehicles, whatever, and then when we make a suggestion that that's
- counted for, we need a little more granularity in the sheets, I think.
- So this is an opening conversation.
- It should be a reasonable thing to manage because we've seen them manage it before over
- the past year.
- That's it.
- Yes, Councilor Decker.
- I recall vividly in 2020, we had discussion on bonding, I believe, for dollars around
- the Memorial that the Chamber of Commerce donated to the community in the '50s out here.
- It's the soldier that's facing northeast to repave around that.
- By knowledge, that's not been done.
- We have to be, I'm not saying that project should be done or not done, but to speak to
- the spirit of this, looking at projects, triaging these, what applies, what does not, and making
- choices.
- There are some choices for bonding projects that this is not going to happen, and instead
- this fund will pay for something else that's eligible and more important, and these are
- the tough times we're in.
- Okay.
- All right, so any other further questions or comments on this?
- Okay, seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor Decker. Yes. Councilor Iverson. Yes. Councilor Henry. Yes. Councilor Feidl. Yes.
- Councilor Witt-Wilts. Yes. Councilor Crosley. I'm so sorry. Yes. Councilor Hawke. Motion
- passes 7-0. Okay. All right, thank you. Yes, Councilor Iverson. Council, I move to open
- fund 1000-0309 County General Employee Services. The general fund. Okay, that's what I was
- going to ask. Yeah. Because that's where the self-insurance is. And I move to amend line
- 18001 full-time self-insurance to move it from $18,000 per position to $16,500 per position.
- Second. Got a motion and a second. Council Iverson. I don't see employee services here
- anymore. So the rationale here is that this decreased amount per position is a compromise
- that this is still an investment in our employees. This is still an investment in the health
- of our employees, but the reduced amount in this general fund will help us reach our goal
- of a balanced budget. And Ms. Kim Schell. I don't think you want to do just general
- fund. I think you want to make the motion to do self-insurance across the board. Across
- all funds? Thank you. That is my intent. That was my intent. So council I ask for unanimous
- consent to amend my motion to be across all funds not just in this one fund.
- Correct. Thank you. So order. Thank you.
- Good. Okay. So we didn't have any objections to that. So that is to reduce that to 16
- across the board. 16,500. Yes. 16,500 across the board. Any other further discussion on that?
- All right. Yes. Yep. All right. Seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote.
- Councillor Hawke. Councillor Crosley. Yes. Councillor Henry. Yes. Councillor Feidl. Yes. Councillor
- Wiltz.
- Yes. Councillor Iverson. Yes. Councillor Decker. Yes. Motion passes 7-0.
- Yes. Councillor Henry. Thank you, Madam President. Maybe I'll ask the President's preference. Would
- you like me to start with a smaller one or should I move on to the clerk because this may take some
- time? May I just interrupt for one more time? So when we were on the health fund and we were
- reducing
- those and I was counting the number of employees, I need to add another employee into that mix even
- though there's only three people in that fund. We also have a fourth one and that's due to the
- local health trust. We have a person in that fund and that fund is the one that's going to be going
- away and so the self-insurance is coming out of that fund and so I need to add that person
- otherwise.
- And that person's being added into 1161 or 1159. Okay great. Council, I move to make the changes
- that Ms. Kim Schell elucidated in fund 1159-0000 health. Second. All right we got a motion and a
- second. Any further discussion on that item? All right seeing none, can we we should be able
- to do a voice vote on this one. So all those in favor of the motion signify by saying aye.
- Aye. All those opposed same sign. Okay motion carries. All right. So
- before that happened, Councilor Henry had mentioned that he has more amendments
- to come down the pike here and so I guess let's say you council.
- I would just repeat Madam President. Yeah I have a small amendment for stormwater or
- somewhere around 40 line items for the clerk's office so I just want to make sure we buckle in
- if we need to. Would you prefer stormwater? Yeah let's start small. Okay all right Madam
- President I take a look at fund 1197 with stormwater under the capital category.
- Kim are you ready? I'll get there. All right can you form a motion? Yeah so I'd like to make a
- motion
- and under under I don't have the under fund 1197 stormwater capital category
- item four zero zero zero one equipment street sweeper to set the line item to one dollar
- and again just for rationale because I was just asked by the counselor to again consult the
- commissioners on general obligation bonds under their vehicle line items to see if we can make
- that purchase under bonds this year. All right council we have a motion is there a second on
- this motion? Second oh oh we do have a second a motion and a second is there any discussion
- on the proposed motion? I would just say it's very important for us to have a street sweeper
- so I hope they're going to cover it in the bond. The reason why for those of us who live out in
- the county I you know they have all that sand up after a heavy snow event if you don't do that it
- all gets into that drainage way backs it up and then we have real real problems so we have to have
- a street sweeper. Thank you council member Hawke. I agree I do live out in the county as well you
- know for now until the city loses its lawsuit in any case. I did have an opportunity to see our
- current street sweeper work down my street the other day I know that this is a much want to have
- but it looks like the need is you know or maybe the need might not be there I don't want to judge
- the equipment I didn't inherit my dad's mechanic jeans but having said that I think again it's
- just another opportunity there are multiple vehicle lines inside the general obligation bonds if it's
- the opportunities there pursue it if not we can revisit it revisit it with an additional probe
- in the fiscal next year yeah all right thank you councilmember henry is there any further
- discussion on this item yes councilmember dickard I just want to say that again this budget is a
- work in progress they're always a work in progress and as folks look at those bond opportunities or
- other items this can factor into that discussion it has to around that and in consultation with
- the department and everyone else all right any further comments seeing none may we please have
- a roll call vote councilor fiddle councilor wilts yes councilor henry yes councilor hawk yes
- councilor crossley not present councilor iverson yes councilor dickard motion passes six one all
- right thank you before I look back at councilor henry does anybody else have any amendments to
- make to the 2026 budget this evening well that I don't I'm reserving the right yes no as well
- you should council member wilts no one's trying to take that away from you I just like three items
- versus 40 I mean to be quite honest after the 40 which I'm excited to hear about um I could we
- maybe get a little update on how much we've cut and where we are in the whole I would prefer it
- now if we could wait we could I mean ish yeah I need to go back and fix 1161 maybe now is time
- for uh if you want to take a brief break yeah sorry I mean I need I need to figure out the
- fika and the perf with regards to 1161 all right council so it's how much time do you need five
- minutes maybe all right council please come back here at 9 45 pm on the dot uh we are in recess
- all right council we are returned from recess and before we go to councillors for additional
- appropriations and I'm killing time because I see council member crossly walking her way in
- miss kim shell do you have an updated number for this council
- I forgot one one minute I gotta plug this one in eight four zero one two one five five nine four
- okay so um with the addition of moving personnel lines back into 1161
- we have 18 employees so that calculates at the eighteen thousand uh three hundred and
- twenty four thousand dollars for self-insurance I redid the FICA so that is now eighty four zero
- twelve and then perf is one fifty five nine forty two so there is a new personnel amount of one
- million six sixty two one thirty seven so for an overall budget of two million two oh two three
- forty
- three yes that's the local health fund hfi
- I we we did 1159 earlier I had already taken care of that and and you guys 1159 that we care about
- yeah 1159 has a bottom line new total of nine hundred and eleven thousand six ninety eight
- so is it possible for us to get an idea of how much we have taken out of the budgets
- tonight yeah I mean because well we're just going to keep going right at some point I'd like to go
- home right overall overall we have done two million seven seventy two nine thirty nine
- now granted you've moved things from one fund to another with regards to health so
- you know that kind of thing so you know you moved positions from here to here so there's no loss
- you know okay but yeah look yeah
- focus on general okay or just or levy I mean hang on hang on let me let me let me try something
- here
- so general fund if I go down here
- I need to go to taco bell at this point it's the only thing open
- but
- that's general ever I've been here till midnight yeah I have an entire
- that latest you've been before 11 but I think that's that's the uh 11 maybe
- maybe
- do seven seven two nine three nine
- so
- carly's plugging a number into her her stuff
- okay okay so order in the court all right so carly take it away let's get us wrangle back in so if
- we
- look at the simple calculation that was provided um want to put that on the screen I can yes
- okay
- don't pay any mind to the deep dive calculation we're looking specifically at the simple
- calculation
- we took the amount that we started the night with for the budget and we reduced we subtracted out
- those reductions that leaves us at a deficit of 5.279
- 5.7 can you I was gonna say can you enlarge that and I can see it better
- on there there you go a good idea yes
- all right so you were close three okay so
- I can't hear you marty use your mic I uh I'm looking at simple calculation and that bottom
- line says it does not account for the tax cap impact which is what another million something
- the tax cap impact is highlighted in yellow that's the sum across all levy funds so that's
- in addition to the deficit displayed in the simple calculation
- okay so it sounds like we got some chipping away and it sounds like that council Henry
- has some things to do here so let's get on the bandwagon thank you um I would I'm going to try
- to break these motions into um categories it might be easier to get through um uh Kim I'd like to
- go to the clerk's budget uh one zero zero zero dash zero zero zero one county general
- okay hopefully get a display up on screen so I can all take a looky-loo
- we'll start with the personnel category one seven one zero one
- it's overtime and setting this to a reduction to one dollar until we have a further analysis of
- need and as the for the appropriation second okay um so um what what that's it just uh reducing
- the overtime to a dollar in this category okay so that's the tweet and that's the post okay um
- all right any other additional questions or comments related to this item looking to my left
- um if you want to give me just a second if we're going to move forward with this
- i need to redo the faika okay amongst yourselves hold party one doritos
- go to rio one's over here so you can do it like that i mean for those that might watch back later
- we're just waiting for michelle to adjust the numbers um since the reduction of overtime
- is proposed at one dollar um we have to do faika and perf as well
- it might have been from a point of order maybe would you would you be okay would you like to go
- one by one on the categories or i could do a rolling on each um account and just cover
- services and supplies while we're waiting okay let's just go ahead and add a few while kim's
- working on that um so let me just make sure are we okay because he has more under the same
- under the same category yeah but another category the uh the account line so so there's supplies
- and services coming do you want do you need a minute we need to i need okay let's just wait
- sorry we'll just roll them as we can yeah please hold
- okay
- um
- okay i have the new amounts for you all right what are those numbers um
- fika reduction to 128 250 per reduction to 216 531
- okay
- so is there any other further discussion on this motion made by councillor henry
- all right seeing none may we please have a roll call vote
- councillor iverson
- yes councillor henry yes councillor hawke
- i have to come back
- thank you can that councillor vidal yes councillor wilts yes councillor crossley yes councillor
- dickard yes motion passes seven zero all right that is what happens for um county council after
- dark all right let's keep going and the president i'll keep the floor if there's an objection um
- moving in the same um in the same county general moving into supplies category two zero zero zero
- one a reduction to fifteen thousand in this in the office supply category now um i would just say
- go ahead second yeah i would just say my rationale for what's coming is to zero base
- many of these count lines to their last year um there seems to be um a a difference in how
- these line items are budgeted compared to other departments uh that they're a little larger by
- percentage and so one way to go at it is to look at what was done last year and add a roundup where
- appropriate so that's what i'm after here in terms of the method of my madness so for this one it's
- reduced to fifteen thousand okay council you all heard um counselor henry's ration for this item
- Or his motion. Is there anybody else that has any other questions or comments related to this?
- And seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote?
- Councilor fiddle
- Yes, councilor crossley
- Yes, councilor hawke. Yes, councilor wilts
- Yes, councilor henry. Yes, councilor iverson. Yes, councilor decker
- Yes motion passes seven zero
- Keep the train going. Thank you. Madam president in the same county general in the services
- category. Let's move on to line
- three zero zero
- zero three printing and subscriptions to
- reduce to six thousand
- Three zero zero zero four repairs equipment vehicle to four hundred
- Wait a minute
- Three zero zero four. It's already at zero. Is it zeroed? Yes, then skip. Um
- on three zero zero zero eight bank service fees to
- Back to twelve fifty or one two five zero
- In three zero zero two eight
- reduced to one thousand
- And three zero eight zero zero to two thousand and that's with that latter one just for folks
- Is to request an audit of the postage meter so we can determine
- What's sitting on that for additional appropriation?
- That's all
- Need a second second, all right, we got a motion and a second any other further discussion or
- questions
- All right seeing none, may we please have a roll call vote
- Councillor henry. Yes councillor crossley. Yes councillor decker. Yes councillor hawke. Yes councillor
- wilts
- councillor plant
- vital
- Yes councillor iverson. Yes motion passes seven zero
- Let's uh, we'll now move to um, we'll have to catch you later the election fund uh, 1215 dash zero
- zero one zero voter registration
- Um
- Now kim did you get it?
- All right, i'll now wait
- Are you going to voter registration and the voter registration thanks and the uh in the supply
- category two zero zero zero one
- I think that's it
- Yes office supplies reduced to two
- thousand
- And can we just do services now?
- All right, so and then in the services category three zero zero zero three printing and
- subscription
- to
- 4,000 three zero zero zero six contractual to five thousand
- Three zero zero two eight training to twenty five hundred
- Three zero zero four one software to one dollar until we get a clarification about that appropriation
- And three zero eight zero zero postage to forty six hundred until clarification second
- We got a motion in a second any other further discussion on that item
- Seeing none, maybe please have a roll call vote
- Counselor dickard, yes counselor fiddle. Yes counselor wilts. Yes counselor henry. Yes counselor
- hop
- Counselor crossley. Yes counselor iverson. Yes motion passes seven zero
- All right, i'm moving on to uh, the next fund election fund election board one two one five dash
- zero zero six two
- Um michelle, i'll ask a question here. Many of these account lines are going to be salary or
- personnel
- So this may take a little work with perf and fica. Would you prefer I go through each, uh,
- Election worker line collectively and we can catch it at the end
- Yes, yeah
- So, um in account line one seven one zero one overtime
- Set this account line to one dollar
- Um
- And account line one seven two zero eight
- Uniforms reduced to one hundred dollars
- Now here comes the the election workers, right? So, um, here's the proposal so, um 17 501
- Gosh my eyes
- And I think the auditor's office head there. Yeah hands question. Yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself
- Thanks carly. Sorry that uniform line. I if
- If agreeable should be zeroed out because it's in a personnel line
- Rather than a supply so it's an error altogether. I amend my comments to zero
- Thank you. Thank you
- Um
- Where do we leave off 17 501?
- Which is inspector's election to fourteen thousand
- Seventeen five zero two to twenty nine thousand
- Seventeen five zero three to sixty five hundred
- Seventeen five zero four to sixty nine thousand
- Nine, yeah, it's down from ninety. Thank you
- Five something, right? Okay
- Seventeen five zero five to one dollar
- It's already there 17 506 to 214 000
- 17 507 to 17 000
- 17 508 to 9600 17 509 to 4300
- 17 510 to 114 000
- 17 511 to 45 000
- 17
- 17 8 0 1 to 27 500 and then we'll need to adjust her perf and FICA
- That concludes my motion madam president on the second. All right, we got a motion and a second. Is
- there any other further?
- Yes counselor
- Parts and rationale for the public is what we're doing here
- so I want to be first clear about our conversation earlier about the sheriff's line that this is
- not the same as a
- Civil servant in a different office reducing the line item of elected official
- It's County Council's obligation to provide the fiscal oversight over this particular account,
- right?
- So it's not quite the same as what we did earlier this evening
- secondly
- What I've done here is to take a look at the 2024
- totals for these elected election worker positions, which as we know had to be
- approved by the commissioners as a as a as a
- The the the rate that folks are getting paid and so what we have is the last sanctified number from
- the commissioners is
- basically 2024 and in cases where the numbers are slightly
- Specific I've rounded up to a whole hundred or whole thousand in some of those lines
- So there's some padding there in terms of rounding it up
- But generally since we did not have an election last year and each one of these account lines show
- a considerable increase
- We're talking about dozens of percentages. It's not three percent
- It's worth setting this to what the commissioners last approved and I think maybe miss Turner came
- if you could remind me
- If we were to adjust this would have to go before the commissioners anyway, wouldn't it?
- So the
- Commissioners set most of the election day workers and council sets most of the absentee board
- workers
- I think this sets a standard regardless of what we're just trying to get to a balance here
- And again, you know
- There's a little time between now and next year if opportunities and resources open up
- We can always revisit this for the general election if there is in fact a surge, but that's my
- rationale for these madam president
- Okay, thank you very much for that
- Anybody else have any other questions or comments related to councillor Henry's motions? Yes councillor
- Decker
- I appreciate the effort on the the budget. I'm not quite there yet, but
- Since these are all movable
- Targets, I'll keep an open mind as we continue to work on this
- Okay, anybody else have any questions
- Seeing none we'll wait is Michelle I'll have to give us a new grand total. So please hold
- And
- Again for people that are gonna watch this playback either cats or however you watch it
- If you see a long pause right now
- We have to address the numbers in real time. And so Michelle
- From council office is doing that in real time
- Sorry
- If I come out was it even was incorrect
- I'm sorry there there if I come out on their report was incorrect on the clerk's report. Yeah
- Molly
- Which which positions go through the claim because then they don't get FICA
- , right?
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- [LAUGH]
- >> I'm sorry, man.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- I drive by it a lot.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> All right.
- [LAUGH]
- >> Sorry, this is my last personnel line, so.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> All right, that makes a difference, okay.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> I wonder.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> Yeah, how did you think I got?
- >> I don't know.
- [INAUDIBLE]
- >> And so again, for people that are watching, if you are noticing a very long pause,
- it is because we are trying to, after the long motions made by Councillor Henry,
- we are trying to get the numbers correct in real time for a new grand total.
- So we appreciate your patience.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> Please hold.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> I thought you were gonna take it out.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> Molly, Molly, I need you one more time.
- I need to sit down.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> [LAUGH]
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> [LAUGH]
- >> I'm gonna talk about Michael Jackson.
- >> [LAUGH]
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> That's hilarious.
- [LAUGH]
- >> He's so mean though.
- >> My God.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> Well, that's the number I wanted to hear.
- [BLANK_AUDIO]
- >> Reducing office supplies to 13,500 in 22022 machine precinct, etc.
- Reducing to 10,000 and 22005, is that, no, is that a three or five?
- >> Three. >> Three, thank you.
- Precinct setup supplies to 5,000.
- >> Second.
- >> All right, we got a motion in a second.
- Mr. Henry, would you like to explain?
- >> Sure, I appreciate it, and maybe I'm trying to look down the table.
- I might be the only former election board president here, I think.
- And so having run a share of elections recently, again,
- this is zero basing list to the previous election's cost as best as possible.
- I think additional appropriations, if the clerk's office wishes to seek them,
- should be brought before us rather than waiting for a reversion at the end of the year
- on items that might be over budgeted.
- >> Sure, okay.
- Okay, any other questions or comments on these items?
- Yes, Councilor Wilts.
- >> It was taking it back to--
- >> These might be averaged, actually.
- I also took averages in the past few elections, too, on some of these.
- But ultimately, it's the year over increase from '24 to this year that we're--
- sorry, if we go back, Kim, if we scoot over and look at previous adopted years,
- you'll see some of these items are significantly bumped up, right?
- And so that's what we're taking a look at.
- But again, these should be items that, if the clerk requires more funding,
- should come back in for it.
- >> Okay.
- Okay.
- So if there's no further questions or comments on this, maybe please have a roll call vote.
- >> Councillor Wilz?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Henry?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Hawke?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Crossley?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Iverson?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Decker?
- >> Yes.
- >> Councillor Feidl?
- >> Yes.
- >> Motion passes 7-0.
- >> Madam President, I have one more in the service category, if I may?
- >> Okay.
- So in the services category, Michelle, let's work through some of these.
- On 3-0006 contractual, that item, did we change that?
- >> No.
- >> We did not.
- >> Uh-uh.
- >> Ms. Turner-King, can you remind me which contract that is under contractual?
- >> I'm not sure what's in that contractual line.
- I think the contract you're probably alluding to, as if I can read your mind, is in the
- voting machine custo and in set.
- >> Okay.
- I have that in a minute.
- I just couldn't remember which one we were talking about.
- It's late.
- Leave that alone, Kim.
- We're good.
- 3-0028 to the training and travel to 3,000.
- 3-0800 postage to 5,000.
- And again, with the understanding, we'd like to get a look at the postage meter.
- 3-1650.
- This one, I believe, and this is the question, Ms. Turner-King, so is this appropriation
- the two -- like all -- both years of the contract in one line item?
- Or is it -- because this looks large, but it's not $350 a year in that contract, right?
- Is there any way -- Auditor Breanne, do you know what's going on with that?
- I've got the contract.
- Okay.
- So I do believe that's Mr. White's contractor, the B&L IT Services, and it is a contract
- that lasts for two years, so it expires December 31st of 2026.
- That year of the agreement is not to exceed $200,000, or $250,000, so I think it's the
- full contract amount.
- For this item, Michelle, if we can reduce to $250,000.
- For item 32001 to 12500, $12,500, for item 32004, which is I believe freight to $1 -- there's
- no previous items on that in previous years, correct?
- Yeah.
- For 32005, $500, which I think there was an item -- yeah, this one needs addressing in
- code because there have been changes in legal notices on code recently, right, about where
- we post things and papers and such.
- 32006 to 85,000, 32008 to 7500, 32010, which is polling places to $1, and 38200 to $2500.
- That concludes my --
- Second.
- Okay.
- You got a motion and a second.
- Is there any other further questions or comments related to this?
- Yes.
- A simple one?
- Yes.
- So in the 31650 line where it says voting machine -- ED and SAT, what's ED and SAT?
- I would think, I would think.
- All the hands went up over there, so yes.
- Councillor Henry, if you wanted information about that general contractual line, 306, I
- have the ledger in front of me.
- Is that Hart?
- Pardon?
- Is that a general contract for them to do same-day election work?
- There's several things in there, all safe storage, no link, LLC, imaging office systems,
- Pitney Bowes, shredding and storage, B and L IT services, mailing solutions.
- I also want to note that this year there have been several, a couple transfers out.
- So out of the $130,000 appropriation, 76 remained for use.
- I think I'm happy not to disturb that one based on election year activity that seems
- really close.
- I think the previous election year is 139 something, is that right?
- Yep.
- For 2024.
- Yeah, I'm not addressing that tonight.
- And Ms. Turner-King had her hand up too.
- I wanted to make a comment about that truck rental line.
- I believe when the clerk was here, she indicated that's the truck rental line for U-Hauls on
- election day.
- That is encompassed in that B and L contract.
- And the contractor is supposed to reimburt or supposed to submit invoices and we would
- reimburse it under the contractual line.
- So I'm not sure why there is the need for a separate truck rental line.
- I would entertain an amendment to a dollar on that until we figure it out.
- Second.
- Okay.
- All right.
- We got a motion and a second to reduce the truck rental line item down to zero?
- No, one dollar.
- Okay.
- I see it is purple in front of me.
- Okay.
- So the truck rental is now down to one dollar.
- Is there any, I feel like an auctioneer, any questions, any questions or comments related
- to this?
- All right.
- Seeing none.
- All those in favor of reducing this line item to one dollar signify by saying aye.
- Aye.
- All right.
- All those opposed, same sign.
- All right.
- Motion carries.
- So now we come back to the overall.
- Okay.
- And is there any real time number here?
- Or is there any other changes Michelle that you need to make?
- Our new bottom line for election board.
- All right.
- So may we please have a roll call vote on this item?
- Council Henry?
- Yes.
- Councilor Hawk?
- Yes.
- Councilor Crossley?
- Yes.
- Councilor Iverson?
- Yes.
- Councilor Decker?
- Yes.
- Councilor Feidl?
- Yes.
- Okay.
- I yield back.
- I'm done with that.
- Okay.
- We reclaim time.
- Okay.
- All right.
- Uh-huh.
- Do I dare ask if anybody else has anything for the greater good of the order related
- to motions?
- Not there yet, right?
- We're nowhere near there yet.
- Right.
- And I recognize that we've got some buffer with our operating balances.
- Oh.
- But I do think that -- sorry, that's not picking up.
- Okay.
- My notes indicate doing some more sweeping kinds of things, like looking at capital across
- the board and maybe going through -- why are you looking so sad?
- So we could also -- we could do that.
- We could also look at overtime lines.
- I know we've addressed that here, and my thought was, if we could get a better handle on the
- overtime for each of the departments, I know we have some reports that could be pulled
- up.
- I think that we could maybe craft something overall.
- Can we have that discussion?
- So I move that we do that, but it's not opening a specific budget because it's going to be
- in various budgets.
- Second.
- Okay.
- So the motion, if I understand, because there was a second, is to open up a discussion.
- And we don't have any more amendments as of now to make.
- My understanding is that we open a discussion all over time.
- That sounds like a great idea.
- All right.
- We'll see y'all.
- We definitely have to get a handle on that.
- And the auditor's office usually sends a report of what the overtime looks like.
- And so this is something that has been a long time coming and it is much necessary and needed.
- And so it's not picking on particular individuals, but it is an overall county-wide look at how
- we can reduce these lines related to overtime.
- So I will look at other people that have insightful conversations and I will look at Councilor
- Iverson.
- Thank you.
- Insightful is generous.
- My question is, I was under the understanding that a resolution on this topic was forthcoming.
- Is there a status update on that?
- I have a draft resolution that none of you have ever seen that I'm happy to share with
- you now.
- 1030 at night.
- Let's do some live editing.
- Yeah.
- Does it reduce our appropriations?
- I didn't really know what you wanted to -- hold on.
- I have to join the meeting so I can share this with you.
- I wasn't 100% sure what you wanted in this resolution, so I started off with the baseline
- of eliminating all the overtime lines.
- Except for four because I went back and looked at meetings, there was a discussion to that
- effect, I didn't just make that up.
- Except for four, which was facilities with 24-hour operations, so sheriff, jail, YSB,
- and then -- or department responsible for responding to natural disasters or cleanups, highways,
- the department.
- And then for those departments, there would be a reporting requirement so that they could
- not -- ideally you would set the line at what you think their overtime expense would be
- and then the resolution would restrict them from moving anything into that line without
- coming to ask for approval from counsel.
- I like the spirit of that.
- And then I know Ms. Turner-King was trying to -- or join the meeting so she could share
- her screen, so there -- and this discussion was, I think, from like week two of budget
- hearing, where we were seeing an enormous amount of overtime lines coming to us.
- And I think that was -- actually, I don't want to put words in her mouth, but Counselor
- Hawke had mentioned something about making sure that we can have people come back to
- the council instead of just being able to transfer into that particular lawn from other
- lawn items in their budget.
- So that was a conversation that was had, if I do recall.
- So any other -- as we have Ms. Turner-King pulling that information up, does anybody
- else have any other things that they wanted to add to that?
- >> I would just say that also comports with my memory and also some of my concerns that
- I would have over taking a one-size-fits-all approach to overtime, that there are those
- departments that we need to be, you know, mindful of, and we could potentially include the airport
- folks, but that's up for discussion and debate.
- >> Yes, Counselor Decker.
- >> I'm sorry, I was going to say I sent you guys a report or a link to the reports on
- all of those, and we have made some progress on some of that.
- So I might be able to filter if you want to see what the departments -- the departments
- that you haven't done, you know, like is the jail, the sheriff.
- There's animal control, there is the extradition, that one's $500, I can't remember whose extradition,
- is that prosecutor?
- I want to say it's prosecutor, but I'm not sure.
- You've already taken care of the election fund, and that's it.
- So I mean, all of the others that you really need to figure out what you want to do with
- are the sheriff jail highway.
- >> So I think Councillor Decker had his hand up.
- So are you sure?
- Okay.
- Okay, so I'm just going to skip the whereas clauses, can we work on those and get to the
- meat and bones here.
- So under now therefore be it resolved, clause one would remove department budget over timelines
- in all departments except for 24-hour operations, or departments responsible for responding
- to weather conditions and/or natural disasters.
- So the exempted departments are specifically sheriff, correctional, YSB and highway department.
- Then it says for the exempted departments with an overtime budget the council expects
- and encourages elected officials and/or department heads to judicially manage the overtime expense
- for those departments the council implements the following requirements if within these
- departments a need arises to conduct a transfer involving an overtime line.
- So transfer in or out.
- The elected official wishing to make the transfer will request to be on a council agenda to
- have their in-house transfer approved.
- It's the elected official or department head's responsibility to submit their additional
- appropriation request in accordance with council deadlines and before the overtime line is
- fully expended.
- And then when they, along with their agenda request, I put some things in that I think
- might be helpful for you guys, which includes the number of overtime hours used by the department
- as of the date of request.
- So what have they used?
- What is the cost of what they used?
- That's two.
- Three is why did they use it?
- So the reasons.
- Four, the amount of anticipated need in the overtime line.
- So how much are they asking for?
- Why are they asking for it is five.
- And then the number of comp time hours accrued by the department so you can maybe get an
- idea of comp time usage versus overtime.
- Okay.
- Yes.
- Councilor Wills.
- I have a couple of questions, actually.
- Do all of the departments with overtime lines have comp timelines as well?
- I think it depends on the position.
- So if you think about the, for example, there was a line in the sheriff's budget for administrative
- positions overtime, those would have comp time.
- I'm not sure about the deputies, they get comp time.
- The other question I have is about the airport, which Councilor Iverson mentioned, they do
- not have overtime, they have comp time, but they have an inordinate amount of banked comp
- time.
- And I've spoken with Carlos about this and kind of asking why, they respond to weather
- emergencies and they have required late night obligations and they have a staff of eight,
- so they're not able to spread that out over everything.
- I think as much as Carlos may hate me for suggesting that he manage overtime, it might
- be a better use of that department's resources to have overtime as an option.
- And I say that because if you look at the comp time report, aviation is very high and
- although we don't have to pay that right now, we do have to pay that at some point.
- And I don't know what that means, you know, in terms of setting their hours or limits,
- we would need to take a quick look, but, you know.
- >> Counselor Henry.
- >> Thank you.
- I guess that was for my -- that was where I was going to go next.
- So when an employee leaves, just to refresh my memory, what fund does the comp time come
- out of when it's cashed out?
- >> It comes out of the fund that they are in.
- So like for aviation, it comes out of the aviation fund.
- >> Okay.
- So that, and then is there a use it or lose it on this for --
- >> For comp time.
- >> Okay.
- Well, those are probably two things we probably need to address down the pike in terms of
- how much you can use it within a fiscal or within a month, which is kind of standard
- practice in the private sector.
- >> That's in the personnel policy said by the commissioners, the prosecutor, and presiding
- judge.
- I know that it currently caps employees at 40 hours of comp time and there was discussions
- on moving it to 60 hours, and that's to mimic one of our collective bargaining units.
- And so I need to revisit with those three entities if we're increasing the number of hours that
- employees can bank as far as comp time.
- >> Councilor Iverson.
- >> That raises another point that I wanted to make sure we touched on here.
- The two departments that use the most overtime, the budgets, is the jail and MVH, motor vehicle
- highway.
- Election.
- >> I'm not sure if it's the jail and I think it might be correctional and then the sheriff's
- office.
- >> That's fine because that continues to make my point.
- We have to contend with collective bargaining with some of this, don't we?
- >> Correct.
- And as a reminder, it is a highway collective bargaining year and we're in the process of
- working on that bargaining agreement.
- I know that Mr. Cockrell last spoke with the bargaining unit on what they would like to
- see.
- And there's some clauses in there I think we need to readdress and one of them specifically
- is the overtime.
- Because for highway, there's a clause that indicates that depending on whether they're
- in regular hours or summer hours, they get a minimum payout of four to five hours of
- overtime even if they're out for 15 minutes.
- That's a standard clause in most of our collective bargaining agreements that there's a minimum
- callout time payout.
- Now the minimum hours differ amongst the collective bargaining agreements.
- >> I think I remember this from talking with the sheriff's deputies.
- It's basically to make it worth their time to have come in on a completely -- on shift
- day or -- >> I think that -- I mean, for the sheriff's
- office, if it's canceled within an X amount of time, they don't get the minimum, but usually
- it takes them some time to get ready and like come across the county, and so it was to compensate
- once a certain period of time elapsed, that they were technically going to get paid a minimum
- amount of hours.
- >> Okay.
- I also want to look at the time, too, because it is now 1043, and so we've done a lot of
- work tonight, and again, this isn't necessarily -- I know we knew it was going to be a long
- conversation, but I just want to just remind us of the time, and staff time, as well as
- we are in this meeting, so yes, speaking of overtime, that's it.
- Ding.
- Yes, Ms. Sterneke.
- >> I'm happy to send this draft resolution to council for review, and then we can revisit
- it on the 23rd or whenever.
- I think that is something that would be helpful, so that we can come back next week and take
- a look into this as well, so yes, Councillor Henry.
- >> It's a point of information maybe being -- I'll just put on my new person hat, so
- do we have what's necessary for posting or publishing at this point, because I understand
- folks are tired, but we have a calendar to meet.
- So are we there?
- >> Yes, Ms. Gregory.
- >> If I may, yes, actually, we were just conferring about that.
- If there are any funds that need to be advertised that aren't currently budgeted, we need to
- be aware of that if you want them to go through this process and not have to do additional
- appropriations in January.
- So any funds that you are considering utilizing, we just need some direction on that.
- >> We're utilizing all of them.
- >> Talking funds that we haven't in the past, like for economic development or other things
- like that.
- >> So food and beverage is one that we have talked about, and at some point we need to
- talk about what could be moved into food and beverage, and we need to talk about that with
- the commissioners.
- >> Of course, the FABTAC would have to do that, but before the FABTAC, I think the commissioners
- and council would need to discuss.
- >> Ms. Gregory.
- >> I know currently existing in the plan is parks and recreation, however, there's also
- potential for aviation.
- I know that legal would have to bless that, obviously, all the groups would have to agree,
- but those are the two areas that we were pondering.
- >> Food and beverage tax, because this is also something that I feel like I have this
- in my notes, too, because we know that rural transit has to come back around again, that
- might be grasping for straws, because would that be something that we could also use food
- and beverage tax dollars for?
- >> I'm going to defer to legal.
- Sorry, I was briefly talking about food and beverage with Mr. Cockrell today, and I think
- we can write a memo and send it to council if we kind of have an idea of what expenses
- you were looking at putting in there.
- So if you wanted to email me what you were thinking, I will gladly write a memo, because
- I think it's going to be fact-dependent on what the expense is, if we can argue for it
- to go into food and beverage.
- >> Okay.
- Yes, Councillor Decker.
- >> Well, I was just going to say, between parks and the airport alone, I think you could
- make an extremely credible case about those being highly impactful destinations that complement
- regional destinations as well.
- I mean, good heavens the airport had more guest airplanes out there two weekends ago
- than you could shake a stick at.
- Andrew and I were taking selfies with every one of them.
- And that kind of artfulness will be what we have to do to get through some of this.
- >> Yes, Councillor.
- >> So the only question is, we have to advertise that.
- That's the timeline.
- So it's either -- it's not happening tonight because of the meetings we have to do with
- commissioners and the food and beverage tax board, right?
- So that's not going to be on the table for advertising.
- Is that correct?
- We have a timeline here.
- So I'm just trying to understand how we can get there if we're going to use that resource.
- >> I -- this is not a situation I've been -- that's come before us in the past.
- So I think it would be presumptuous to advertise and we could just appropriate in 2026 if that
- were to happen.
- I don't know exactly.
- I'm sorry.
- >> I just wanted to remind you that Highway is proposing putting some things into stormwater,
- but they're not going to have a stormwater meeting until later this month.
- But it will be prior to the public hearing.
- So there will be hopefully some movement with regards to MVH, you know, positions as well.
- So -- and I've already talked to the auditor, we're going to have to just assume that we're
- going to be moving things and so we're going to have to advertise high enough for stormwater
- as well.
- So --
- >> Yeah.
- Ms. Gregory?
- >> One more thought.
- I'm not sure if there's an appetite to advertise the local health maintenance fund and local
- health department trust account.
- I know we have some things budgeted in there.
- So should we advertise at the cash balance then, probably, so you can consider more if
- it's appropriate?
- >> I would think so.
- >> Okay.
- >> Again, I think the goal is to advertise --
- >> As high as possible?
- >> Yes.
- >> Okay.
- >> Not necessarily saying that's where we're going.
- But again, just to be on the safe side, yeah, that would be helpful.
- >> Hearing that, then do you want us to advertise food and beverage or not at this time?
- >> That's a different way to get people upset with you, yeah, I don't think that's different.
- >> Because you have to get the board to agree to it and remember it has to be the commissioners
- that go to ask for it.
- >> Correct.
- So the idea is maybe Ms. Turner-King had mentioned that she can work on a memo with Mr. Cockrell.
- So the idea is if we have any ideas related to food and beverage tax in the meantime.
- So we won't do any, because we don't want to make people upset.
- The idea is to send Ms. Turner-King information related to what you think what could possibly
- be used for food and beverage.
- When would you like to have that information by?
- >> The sooner the better.
- I've already been looking at the statute.
- So I can start applying it to potential -- >> Okay.
- So let's just get it to her as soon as possible.
- Yes.
- Counselor Hoppe.
- >> Right.
- At what point are we going to or are we going to consider a pause on hiring, you know, just
- to get the information out there?
- >> Well, I do want to kind of bring us back to the circle here.
- We did have a discussion to open -- we had a motion on the floor to open up conversation
- related to -- no, no, no, no, no, but that's a good point.
- So I just -- Counselor Iverson reminded me of that.
- So we do have a motion on the floor.
- And then that is something that we can go to next.
- So the motion was to have the discussion and open up related to overtime.
- So we did that.
- Yeah, so -- >> And we took a left turn somewhere.
- >> Yeah, I think we kind of wrapped that up with Ms. King's doing a resolution that she's
- going to send to us and we're going to maybe look at it next week, or yeah, next week.
- And then you are trying to move us along.
- >> I'm so trying to do so.
- So yeah.
- >> So that was just to open up for a discussion.
- You guys have had your discussion.
- You guys know what to do so we can move on.
- >> Okay.
- So moving along.
- So to Councilor Honk's point, would you like to restate your point?
- >> I just think, and we've been thinking about this since we had that long-term finance meeting,
- that we should put a major pause on doing anything until we could see where we were going to be.
- Last May we are in a worse shape than what we thought we were going to be in, or at least
- I think we are.
- This is tough.
- And to add more to the pain by filling slots and so forth, I think we might want to just
- put a temporary hiring freeze on so we'll know where we are and hopefully the departments
- will understand that if we fill these slots, it might be at some point in the not too distant
- future that we won't be able to keep everybody.
- I mean, that sounds difficult.
- I don't want us to get to that point.
- >> Councillor Iverson.
- >> Well, I completely agree that that is -- I don't want us to get to that point either,
- but I think it's probably prudent that we ask the legal -- our legal counsel to -- we've
- done this before, and something drafted might be what's on call here.
- >> Well, in anticipation of this very conversation, I have a draft that I will be emailing you.
- >> Well, there you go.
- >> And we'll go ahead and do that immediately, nothing further, and then we'll make the final
- decision when we receive the draft, because by the time we meet again, there could be
- five more people hired, or six, or whatever.
- >> So before anybody hires, they send us a letter, an email.
- So let's watch our emails.
- And yeah, I think once we pass it, it would be -- if we're passing a resolution that is
- a hiring freeze, it is prudent to make it effective immediately.
- >> Yes.
- >> But then also time-sensitive, right, you want it to sunset or have the option for counsel
- to reconsider at some point, which I'm sure is in what's going to be emailed to us.
- >> Yes.
- So the idea is Ms. Turner-King will take a look into -- or she will send that to counsel,
- and then we will discuss that also in the same breath that we will have for next Tuesday.
- But I guess in the meantime, anybody that has any objections, kind of like what we were
- doing earlier this year, where since we were doing, you know, with the pack pause and whatnot,
- is to, like, object, and then that has to come to the counsel.
- So that is something that we can definitely do, and I get Counselor Hawks's point.
- So yes.
- Counsel Henry.
- >> Are we ready to move on from this because I had maybe some other housekeeping for the
- advertising to bring up?
- >> I had one.
- >> I want to make sure that we have everybody that has -- so, yes, Counsel Henry.
- >> I had one related item to that, and that is I think we very seriously need to consider
- suspending or minimizing or taking a much smaller rate, pausing our with services.
- We are on a pack freeze.
- We're talking about a hiring freeze.
- The council has to demonstrate alongside everyone else, sacrifice, and we can't -- if things
- are as they say, we can't be the only county having that sort of issue, and I don't know
- frankly how we could be engaging them much in good conscience, and I don't ever hear
- them come up right now.
- I'm not saying that they don't come back into the factor, but I just cannot see expending
- dollars towards something that's just not doing it.
- PAC's not really had anything in a while.
- So we need to figure that out if that's a possibility, and if it's not, maybe needs
- to be some form of it.
- >> And that's on Ms. Turner-Keene.
- >> Just for clarity, we're currently not getting a WISP invoice with the pack freeze, so as
- long as the pack freeze is in place, it in essence has frozen our WISP spending.
- >> So the current budget before us, that's not a factor?
- >> It's in the budget, I think.
- >> Yes, it's in the budget because I budgeted because I didn't know if we were going to
- continue the PAC pause or not.
- >> So I think one conversation council needs to consider is that PAC freeze resolution
- sunsets and whether you're extending it and to what degree it would be extended.
- >> I just think if we've got that in that line, that can come down considerably, because
- these days we talk more FSG than WIS.
- >> Yeah, and I would agree, and I think that's another thing that needs to be brought up
- if we're underneath the same tone of talking about a higher end freeze is that we also
- need to continue on with the KSA and the PAC pause just the same.
- >> And to this point, we are budgeting $30,000 for WIS in the 2026 budget, and that is put
- in place such that if we do all of a sudden need it, we can use it, but we're not using
- it.
- So to Ms. Turner-King's point, if we don't sunset the PAC pause and we extend it for another
- year, that might be a decision that this body makes before adoption so that we can change
- that WIS number.
- And maybe not taking it down to zero, that makes me a little nervous, but reducing it
- by a little bit.
- Well, I have our contractual, it's set at 60,000, I've got it on the screen.
- So 30,000 is for FSG, 30,000 is for WIS because that's about what we would run through a year.
- So I mean, if you want to just take it down to 30,000 and then if for some reason I need
- to come back, then I'll just have to come back or move things around the best I can.
- So moved.
- Second.
- All right.
- So we got a motion and a second on reducing line 3006 contractual down to 30.
- Is there any additional comments, questions or concerns on this?
- Thank you, Kim Schell.
- All right.
- Seeing none, all those in favor of reducing this line item to 30,000 signify by saying
- aye.
- Aye.
- All those opposed, same sign.
- All right, so I know before I go to Councilor Henry, since he had something else that he
- wanted to move on to related to housekeeping and the advertising rates, is there anything
- else related to this item that anybody wanted to make comment on?
- Nope.
- Okay.
- So Councilor Henry.
- So again, in the spirit of cleaning up for advertising, so there are some other lit to
- talk about.
- There's Corrections Lit, there's Special Purpose Lit, and there's the Edit.
- If we're going to utilize those funds, I suppose we'd have to advertise that this week too.
- So I would just raise it to my fellow Councilors if we're looking to tap into any of that to
- balance either the Service Bureau or, yeah, Corrections Lit, Edit.
- I think the goal is, because of the cash balance that was in the Special Purpose Lit, that
- is something that we should keep an eye on.
- I don't, and I'll look to the Auditor's Office for guidance on this too.
- I think definitely next year that's something that we need to revisit, but do you think
- that is something that we need to do as of right now?
- I don't, I don't think we should, as we know it's put aside for a specific purpose.
- I just need direction if you'd like me to proceed.
- So it sounds like no, collectively, but I'm just looking for a direction so we have everything
- necessary ready to go.
- So we say no to the Special Purpose, then that's definitely a pin that we need to put
- into next year for 2027 conversation, because I remember that coming up next or last week
- about us being mindful of that balance.
- So in terms of edit, is there any appetite, since we did hear it mentioned, I believe
- in night one or two a budget to kind of dip into edit for some of the items here.
- So let's say you counsel, I mean, I guess the worst case scenario is we advertise it
- and we don't use it.
- And so I think that is the goal there is to say, we just put we're putting all the cards
- on the table, and to say that we're trying to look at any and everything to kind of do
- all the moving pieces, however, if we don't use it, it's okay.
- So yes, counselor, everything.
- And I just I want to reiterate that we have in the past earmarked that for bonding purposes
- for the justice center, and I will remind counsel that at a unanimous vote, the commissioners
- approved the architectural designs, and so that we are making those decisions in in that
- environment.
- And, and so I just want to remind Council President Crossley, you're absolutely right.
- We can advertise and end up not using it or we can use it.
- You know, I think that needs to be said that that we are in that environment.
- Yes.
- Yes, counselor.
- Thank you.
- I think the good news is tonight.
- You know, we have packed away at a deficit, but we still have a deficit budget.
- So at some point, we have sequester or recovered funds in the county that previous councils
- have you have voted on, but there's a new iteration of council, there's two new members
- here and everything has changed since that election.
- And so, so we have a lot of circumstances, not least of which the proposed cost of the
- facility since November of last year.
- So I'm not going to live in the past on this.
- I wasn't here.
- I was a different human than as chair of a political party vehemently against building
- the size of the facility, citing our own Democratic National Committee standards on what
- alternative
- justice and restorative justice looks like.
- So that's not settled.
- But what is what we have before us is a budget sitting here with a hole in it.
- And we have some instruments available to us.
- It may just be advertising it, we may fill that gap as departments realize that we're
- considering using some of those instruments and close that gap.
- But I think I think I appreciate counsel Iverson's comment, but at the same time, I wasn't here
- to vote for that.
- And it's just it's a it's a it's a things have changed.
- So that's it.
- Yes.
- Councillor Hawke.
- Yes, I, I don't have an objection to proceeding with advertising for that, but I would like
- very much just to make certain that we don't try to put personnel in there.
- We cannot grow our personnel expenses out of pulling at something that's going to save
- us for the day, because there's that personal expense will be still in place the year thereafter.
- And this fund is going to be used for something else entirely.
- I mean, I, you know, even if you pulled out rainy day for a major, you know, some kind
- of problem, but it cannot go for trying to keep the race in place or trying to keep the
- number of employees.
- It really cannot, because we're just digging the hole deeper.
- It was, yeah, that's a, that's a good point.
- So yes, so is there any objection to counsel to advertise it again?
- This is not saying that we're all in agreement of using it for whatever reason we possibly
- could use it for.
- But to advertise it is something that we can do.
- But I know that there is the appetite of counsel to kind of look at other funds and other ways
- and means and maybe not use that.
- Yes, Ms. Turner King.
- And for clarity, I think it would help if the auditor had some direction when we advertise.
- Do you want to edit and maybe even correctional lit advertised in all categories?
- Because I know Councilor Hawk was just saying maybe not personnel.
- So is it advertised in all categories?
- As a just in case?
- I mean, I think that would be a better way of doing that, again, not setting it as stone.
- But that is yes, yes, my thought is just it's I think this would be enough wiggle room.
- Like if I do $2 million in each category, for example, that should be plenty.
- I'm sure you won't go anywhere near that.
- But does that sound reasonable?
- Okay.
- Does anybody else have any objections?
- I will not object to us putting options on the table.
- But I appreciate very much what Council Iverson said to remind us of the larger picture.
- And I was on that council and I was the president of that council that went after this plan
- because for many years council struggled to get our correction facility moving and we
- got it moving.
- I want us to have every option on the table, but I also want us to be very careful with
- what happens so much with taxing bodies and that is the bait and switch.
- I get this here as I told tell you I get I take public comments and then we get down
- the road and we go actually you know why I like to get little Debbie's when I go on my
- lunch break.
- So I'm going to spend it on that.
- And I just want us to be very cautious about that because that's not what was said.
- That's not what was promised.
- Now the legislature has done some things clearly we're here tonight.
- We have heard they may do some more things and I know that hope is not a strategy.
- But one thing that is a strategy that we've done very well tonight is we've worked through
- one of the biggest problems I've ever seen this have in reducing this number counselor
- Henry counselor Iverson and others have really come through with numbers I think that there's
- probably more numbers in here yet to be found.
- I also counsel I'll have to tell you, I hear a lot of people that want to eat everything
- off of the menu and every different kind, but we can't run a restaurant with that big
- a menu.
- We have continuously said things that are priorities and that we've made new priorities
- and new priorities and new priorities.
- We have a minimum cash balance resolution that was made and crafted in in times that
- said I'll hold a little bit for this and a little bit for that and then you have the
- rainy day funds, and I have to tell you folks I'm not saying to plead that, and I appreciate
- the chambers comment on on all this earlier to start the night, but you can't continue
- to say that the preferences and the way that you order things are going to dictate things
- so that you completely then begin to lose sight of things that have needed to be done
- for decades here, right, and so I just, I don't want us to get that false assumption
- I also don't want that bait and switch on taxation, because you know why out there that's
- what they expect us to do, because that happens all the time, right, and not to belabor it
- but it's late might as well stay a couple minutes more.
- We've got a Congress that literally cannot ever pass a budget, and they're operating
- in deficit and they've done things that will mess with us.
- We've got a state that they just changed the rules as they go.
- We have to get this done.
- And we also have to face the people that need the services.
- So we've just got to be very careful with all of that.
- I'm always open for the option to if I had to crawl from here to the Ohio line over glass
- I do for this county.
- But that said, we got to be very careful about the convenient option that may not be as convenient
- as what we promised.
- Five, six million that we have to cut, I mean, where are we?
- Carly.
- Carly has it ready if you'd like to see it.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Three million one seven one four four three.
- Is that what you're looking for?
- Okay.
- Is that how much more we still have to cut?
- No, that's the number that we've overall done.
- She's plugging it in.
- But I mean, just in that as we were like at six million.
- You got to remember also that we're going to make that self insurance adjustment as well.
- So that's going to bring.
- So that's not in there yet.
- No, I can't do that.
- I know.
- I understand.
- But that's about a million, two million, three million ish.
- Yeah.
- Because we went we were originally thinking 16,000 and now it's 16.5.
- Oh, yeah.
- So that's it.
- So that will knock another million off.
- So I mean, again, when we started this evening, it was a lot.
- So I know we we cannot get dismay.
- I know like we did a heck of a lot of work tonight with a lot of things.
- And I appreciate council really stepping up and doing that.
- So yes, it is.
- We still I see you.
- So we got we still got some ways to go.
- But again, we did accomplish a nice chunk of that.
- So yes, Councillor Henry.
- OK, so to keep you know, as we're watching the clock, so it sounds like what we need
- to do is figure out the advertised rate for some funds we may tap.
- We understand we have aviation and parks to look at still.
- I think I don't know if we've actually resolved the double budgeting of motor highway vehicle
- yet.
- Yes.
- That's included.
- All right.
- So there's some funds.
- There's some things we start to look at to try to move some things around.
- We've talked about tapping some we need to put an advertised rate out if we're going
- to use these these funds.
- Is that right?
- So it sounds like that's where I think we have to go.
- That's what I was saying.
- So I don't.
- Yeah, I don't think it's worth opining much more about the priorities.
- I think we've said COLA is the priority in the letter, but I don't know.
- I mean, so at this point, it sounds like we're just drilling toward what the advertised rates
- are going to be for the lits that we are proposing.
- And then hopefully we can whittle this number down between now and then before we touch
- them.
- Is that right?
- So is there so because we talked about using like the person or the person or the categories
- for the 80 lit and whatnot at the two million.
- So the idea is right now without if there's no other objection, and it didn't seem like
- it is to go ahead and advertise high.
- And when they go high, hopefully we go low.
- That's a smart woman once said that.
- So that being the case, that is what we are going to aim to do.
- So without with that being said, is there anything else that you all need from counsel
- to make the decision in terms of advertising?
- Is there anything else that we need?
- Okay.
- So without that being further ado, does anybody else have anything else related to the 2026
- budget?
- Yes, counselor.
- Does this require a motion to post?
- I mean, do we need the number stated and what we're advertising for those two lids?
- No.
- Okay.
- We just, yeah, you just advertise it.
- No motion.
- Yes.
- You got it from us.
- No objections.
- So we're all good.
- Okay.
- Counsel, we are not going to be doing any council liaison updates this evening.
- So sorry.
- Thank you.
- That really, heck no.
- I mean, you know, counsel Hawke, I know you like your fair, so I wanted to see if you
- wanted to talk of a good story, but that being said, I do appreciate everybody staying almost
- close to the midnight hour to get this stuff done.
- And hey, guess what, sometimes, or this meeting still went a little earlier than city council
- goes sometimes.
- So with that being said, without nothing else that needs to be said, we got our marching
- orders and we will continue to come back and chip at this, but we are adjourned.
- Thank you.
- (upbeat orchestral music)
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