County to dip into rainy day fund (03/13/08)

Members of Jay County's fiscal body have decided it has become a "rainy day."

Jay County Council gave permission Wednesday to borrow from the county's rainy day fund, if necessary, to meet payroll and other expenses.

County auditor Nancy Culy made the request, noting that the county general fund - from which most county employees are paid - has a balance of just over $400,000.

The county is not in a financial crisis, but has been hit with several big expenses - including insurance premiums - early in the year.

The county's rainy day fund, with a balance of $1.2 million, was built through deposits of unspent funds at the end of budget cycles, along with some economic development income tax funds.

"All your big bills come at the beginning of the year," Culy told members of the council.

"At least we've got it (in reserve). A lot of counties don't," Councilman Gerald Kirby said.

Culy said this morning that the county's certified share of county adjusted gross income tax (CAGIT) is expected in May. That semi-annual payment was nearly $600,000 in 2007.

The county's share of property tax revenue is sent in June and December, the month after the bi-annual property tax payments are due.

Any money transferred into county general from the rainy day fund will be re-paid once the tax revenue arrives.

Also Wednesday, council members approved a series of requests from the county community corrections department.

Community corrections, which is funded through user fees and a grant from the Indiana Department of Corrections, is adding a full-time secretary and also plans to move from its current third floor courthouse location to an office on North Commerce Street across from the courthouse.

The initial cost of the move - including a $16,500 computer system - will be approximately $45,000. The additional annual cost for the move will be $19,700.

Director Yvette Weiland told the council that no local property tax funds will be used to pay for either the new office space or the secretary position.

"We are in an office space for one, and we have five staff," Weiland told council members Judy LeMaster, Mike Leonhard, Fred Bailey, Marilyn Coleman, Jim Zimmerman, George Meehan and Kirby.

"Our offenders will actually be paying for us to move to a bigger location."

Jay County Community Corrections currently has a balance of nearly $200,000 in user fees paid by offenders supervised by the department. All of the initial costs of the move will be paid through those fees, while the additional rent and other funds will be paid through the DOC grant.

The new office, located at 120 N. Commerce St., was the former office of attorney Brad Burkett.

Members of the council also agreed to submit a job description for the secretary position for review and grading under the county's pay plan.

Weiland recommended that that the position be a pay grade 7, which would pay $10.05 per hour, or $20,904 annually, in a 40-hour week.

Also Wednesday, the council sent a request for a tax abatement for a Madison Township manufacturer to the county tax abatement advisory committee.

John Fennig, who has operated Cross Road Precision Tool Inc. for nearly six years at 7747 East 800 South, Union City (in Jay County), plans to add a lean-to on an existing building.

Fennig told the council Wednesday he is unsure if the addition will increase the number of employees. But he said a request for an abatement on the original building promised just two employees; he now has five with an annual payroll of $175,000.

Fennig had praise for employees of the auditor's office for their assistance on preparing and filing the application for the abatement, which allows the phase-in of new property taxes due on buildings or equipment.

In other business, council members:

•Gave approval for the transfer of $1,000 from a liability insurance line item to gas, oil and lube in the community corrections budget.

•Approved a new copier maintenance line item, and allowed the transfer of $800 from a communications contract into the new line item, in the budget of Jay County Emergency Management.

•Agreed to meet April 9 with Kent Irwin from Waggoner, Irwin, Scheele & Associates, a management consulting service based in Muncie.

The company is being considered to provide human resources services - including modifications and oversight for the county's pay plan - on a contract basis. Irwin will be first on the agenda.

In a letter to council attorney George Lopez, Irwin estimated that a minimum of 50 hours annually will be spend on job classification and compensation, review and drafting of new personnel policies, a Fair Labor Standards Act self-audit, and supervisor training and consultation.[[In-content Ad]]