District plans to increase spending

With its cash balances now in good health, Jay County Solid Waste Management District plans to spend more next year.
The district board gave an initial review to its 2017 budget Monday, proposing a 17.2-percent spending increase after making several adjustments. The budget total is $311,200, up from $265,600 this year.
Board members did not vote on the budget as a whole, saving that step for their next meeting before sending it to Jay County Council for its review. The budget will also need approval from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
The bulk of the discussion about the budget was regarding salaries for district director Ronyelle Edwards and educator Bettie Jacobs.
Edwards had suggested raises of 10 percent for both her and district educator Bettie Jacobs in the proposed budget she prepared. Meanwhile, Jacobs, who was not present at the meeting, had asked in writing that her salary be raised to match that of the district director — $30,000 — from the current $15,000.
“That’s doubling her salary,” said board president Jeanne Houchins. “Six and a half, seven years ago, we were in a bad spot. I think as board members, we need to protect the budget at some point.”
“That’s a heck of a jump all at one time,” agreed board member Bill Gibson.
Board members Doug Inman, Faron Parr, Tom Johnson, Jim Zimmerman, Houchins and Gibson, absent Randy Geesaman, discussed the issue on a variety of fronts, including whether it made sense to give raises to solid waste district staff when the likelihood is that county employees will get none.
After some discussion about leaving salaries at their 2016 level, Parr went to bat for Jacobs, saying that she has vastly improved recycling education in the county.
“This whole organization was set up to educate people, help keep stuff out of the landfill,” he said. “I think Bettie’s done a good job with that.”
Board members settled on a $2,000 — 13 percent — increase for Jacobs to a salary of $17,000. They decided to leave Edwards’ salary unchanged at $30,000, noting that she received a $7,000 (30 percent) raise last year after just a few months on the job. Jacobs received a $4,000 (36 percent) raise in 2016.
The board also decided to create an executive committee at its August meeting. It will be tasked with better defining the duties of both the director and the educator.
The largest budget increase was the addition of $12,000 for Arts Place’s Arts in the Parks program. Jay County Commissioners have previously funded the program, including at $11,500 this year, but wanted to pull that money in order to help the county’s general fund in 2017. The solid waste district board decided to fund Arts in the Parks because many of its programs include reusing and recycling materials.
Several other increases included new line items for initiatives the district undertook for the first time this year. Those included $5,000 for education grants (it gave $2,080 in grants this year after offering $10,000), $4,000 for the purchase of recycling containers and $3,000 for educational events such as performances by the Dumpster Drummers.
The board also more than doubled its advertising budget to $10,000 from the previous $4,500 in an effort to make county residents aware of its programs and increased its budget for education supplies by 60 percent to $8,000. It also more than doubled its budget for paper shredding events to $2,500 after deciding earlier this year to offer the service twice a year instead of once and added $2,000 for Saturday recycling because of increased costs.
In other business, the board:
•Heard from Edwards that the district brought in $22,758 in tipping fees on 13,004.77 tons dumped at Jay County Landfill in June. The district now has a cash balance of $499,863.16.
•Learned the recycling dumpster it provided during the Jay County Fair was filled twice during the week. Edwards also said members of the Lions Club asked if a dumpster could be placed closer to their location in the food court. She suggested they bring up the issue with the fair board.
Also, a total of 49 55-gallon drums were filled with recyclables during the fair.
•Were reminded that the Dumpster Drummers will perform two shows Sept. 8 during the inaugural Rural America Farm and Garden Expo at Jay County Fairgrounds.
•Asked Edwards to inquire with a document-shredding company as to its availability for a free shredding day during the first half of September. In order to make the service more convenient for business, it is planned to be held on a weekday outside of Jay County Courthouse.
•Paid claims totaling $16,421.96.