Commissioners review budget

A slim agenda allowed Jay County Commissioners to handle some internal business.
Commissioners Faron Parr, Jim Zimmerman and Doug Inman spent nearly the entirety of their meeting Monday reviewing their 2017 budget, with discussion focused on benefits for part-time elected officials and the county’s computer maintenance fund.
Commissioners began their review by discussing possible reductions in benefits for part-time elected officials such as commissioners and county council members, a possibility mentioned in previous Jay County Budget Committee meetings and at Wednesday’s county council meeting.
Currently, the county is paying $44,000 in benefits for health insurance between commissioners and council. Health insurance costs come out to about $6,300 for each employee, auditor Anna Culy said, adding that two council members and one commissioner currently don’t receive them.
Inman noted that based on previous budget committee discussion, he wouldn’t be surprised if a recommendation is made to either eliminate the benefits or restructure them so employees pay more into benefits like health insurance.
Parr issued concern that scaling back benefits could diminish the quality of candidates who run for those county offices.
“Once you take it out, putting it back in is probably going to be tough,” he added.
Commissioners also discussed computer maintenance, which is included in their budget, specifically examining contracts with Randy Cleaver of Cleaver Cabling and Consulting and 39 Degrees North, LLC.
Inman indicated that Cleaver seems to be handling IT issues more than once per month, which is the frequency his contract stipulates he must be in the county.

“I don’t think there’s been a month yet where he’s only been here once. I think he’s been here a couple times a month, every single month,” Inman said.
The county currently pays $75 per hour and mileage to Cleaver, who is based out of Martinsville.
Inman proposed having him visit every three weeks, which would increase his presence in Jay County by six days per year.
Zimmerman raised concerns that Cleaver might be solving problems county employees could fix.
“Some of the things he is doing, it looks to me like, we know somebody else will take care of this so we’re not taking of it ourselves when maybe we can,” said Zimmerman. “Or if we can’t, it looks to me like some simple stuff. We need some simple training teaching some people how to do some things we are asking him to do for us.”
Culy noted, however, that troubleshooting would keep county employees away from other duties.
Zimmerman asked why computer maintenance is under the commissioners budget, suggesting the possibility of going back to individual departments.
County attorney Bill Hinkle said it is included in one line item for control, so that multiple departments aren’t using a number of separate vendors for maintenance.
“It hasn’t controlled what has happened at all,” Zimmerman replied.
In addition, commissioners decided that $10,000 of its $70,000 contract with 39 Degrees North, LLC, which handles its GIS mapping service, should be moved into the county’s economic development fund.
Commissioners also discussed funding for Jay County Development Corporation, a topic that got significant discussion at the July 18 budget committee meeting.
At that meeting, Inman mentioned concerns the county wasn’t receiving a return on its investment since most economic development has occurred in the Portland city limits.
JCDC has received $216,410 in County Economic Development Income Tax (CEDIT) funds annually since 2012. Inman said Monday that he spoke with JCDC executive director Bill Bradley, who said he will asking for an additional $5,000 from Portland for next year’s budget.
“This is just my thought process. I think the city should be paying a third of that. I think the city should be paying, instead of $35,000, they ought to be paying about $95,000 toward that budget,” Inman said, adding Portland could bump up its share over time.
After discussion, commissioners agreed the county should budget JCDC $210,000 for next year.
In other business, commissioners heard from Leslie A. Reilly-Green of R&R Employment Inc. Reilly-Green provided a brief presentation about the hiring and placement company, which was approached by highway superintendent Ken Wellman.
Parr described as the company’s services as a “good resource to look at.”
Hinkle asked Reilly-Green for a copy of the company contract with neighboring Adams County, who has hired the firm, so he could look at issues relating to liability, insurance and termination.