Commissioners agree to deal

Jay County Commissioners and incoming Sheriff Dwane Ford formalized a contract Monday morning setting Ford’s salary at $98,000.
The agreement also calls for a 2 percent annual raise, but Ford has the option of declining a pay increase. He has expressed concerns about the idea of receiving a raise if it’s not possible to give sheriff’s office employees a raise.
“Thanks. I appreciate it and hope to do a good job,” Ford told the commissioners.
The contract also continues to send revenue from prisoner meals and tax warrant collection fees to the county’s general fund.
A swearing-in ceremony for Ford and other newly-elected officials is set for 9 a.m. on Dec. 30 at the Jay County Courthouse.
Approval of Ford’s contract was made by commissioners Jim Zimmerman and Faron Parr.
Longtime commissioner Milo Miller Jr. was ill Monday and was unable to attend his final meeting as a commissioner.
Miller will be recognized for his years of service at the first commissioners meeting of 2015. Doug Inman, who defeated Miller in the Republican primary and went on to election in November, will assume his office.
Also Monday, commissioners set in motion a sale of properties for delinquent property taxes and authorized a flyover of the county for purposes of reassessment.
The county will contract with SRI of Indianapolis for the sale of 35 properties with an estimated $100,000 in back taxes. Unlike recent tax certificate sales, this will be a live auction rather than an online sale.
SRI officials indicated that since the goal is to get properties back on tax rolls, a live auction with more local bidders would be preferable to an online sale. An estimated 50 percent of properties sold in an online tax certificate sale never make their way to a deed transfer.
The tax auction, tentatively scheduled for late February or early March, will require minimum bids of 10 percent of the delinquent tax due on each property. The county also has the authority in the interim to transfer the properties directly to cities or towns that would like to acquire them.
At the request of county assessor Diana Stults, the commissioners agreed in principle to hiring Appraisal Research of Ossian to do a flyover of the county at a cost of $34,575. Images from the flyover will be integrated into other aspects of the county’s property database. Funds to pay for the flyover are available in the reassessment fund.