Council gives OK to budget

Jay County Council was divided on two of its votes Wednesday night.
Ted Champ and Jeanne Houchins voted against adopting the county’s 2016 budget, and Cindy Newton voted against continuing to look into jointly purchasing dispatch equipment with three other counties and the City of Bluffton.
The $15.7 million dollar budget was passed on first reading Sept. 23 with the same votes.
Champ explained then that he does not approve of using $500,000 from the rainy day fund to cover a budget shortfall left after department heads were not all able to cut 7 to 10 percent of their budgets as requested by council.
Champ was absent from the meeting at which the transfer was initially approved. Houchins was present but said she did not vote.
Council members Cindy Newton, Mike Rockwell, Gary Theurer, Bob Vance, Champ and Houchins, absent council president Mike Leonhard, unanimously approved an ordinance allowing the recorder’s office to use $50,000 from the records perpetuation fund to cover the majority of the office’s 2016 budget of $85,143.94.
Recorder Betty St. Myers submitted a sworn statement to council before its Sept. 16 meeting that said the fund would still have enough money to pay for any technology or records management upgrades that it is responsible for.
The $50,000 will cover the recorder’s entire salary of $42,110.86, with the rest contributing to pay for a clerical position in the office.
Council also discussed whether to move ahead with Adams, Blackford and Wells counties and Bluffton and look further into purchasing dispatch equipment.
The sheriff and police agencies can get a lower price by purchasing together. Whether alone or in a group, Jay County will have to buy new dispatch consoles in the next few years because support for its current equipment ends in 2018.
“This is probably our best chance to get a good price,” Rockwell said.
The council, except for Newton, voted to proceed by putting a representative on a joint committee of the four counties and Bluffton. Houchins was chosen for the committee, and will likely be joined by a commissioner, 911 director Bill Baldwin and a county attorney.
Newton expressed frustration at the lack of a better price estimate. Jenny Edwards, a sales representative for Emergency Radio Systems, provided a quote of $574,000 to council in August and again at a Tuesday meeting attended by representatives of the four counties and Bluffton. That figure includes no discounts and no trade-in credit, and doesn’t account for any grants the counties and Bluffton may receive.
Newton also wondered if there would be an additional cost to set up the new equipment, and where the money to come from, noting the county just took a significant amount of money from the rainy day fund.
Theurer told her this money would not come out of rainy day. Champ said that while the county hasn’t committed to any cost yet and no final estimate is available, council should start working now to see how it might come up with the funds.
Council was unanimous in voting to join the Regional Development Authority for the East Central Indiana Regional Planning District, which also includes Blackford, Delaware, Henry, Madison and Randolph counties.
We may or may not get any money from the governor’s Regional Cities Initiative, but I think for moving forward it gives us an easier opportunity to work together on large projects in all the counties,” said Pam Price, executive director of the district.
The Regional Cities Initiative was passed in 2014 and funded with $84 million this year with the goal of making Indiana a more attractive place for business and population growth. The initiative encourages collaboration and the creation of development plans to improve economic benefits that would encourage business growth and, in turn, encourage population growth as those businesses need employees.
If the counties do want to work on a project together, Jay County would be free to back out of anything too costly.
In other business, council approved these transfers within department budgets:
•In local option income tax certified shares, $10,000 from group health to computer maintenance to cover the cost of a new server.
•In the health department, $825 from assistant registrar to food inspector to train a new health inspector.
•In the general cemetery fund, $579.85 from clerical and $75 from office supplies to maintenance to ensure all maintenance can be completed.