Council moves forward on ’21 budget

Budget finalizing has started.

Jay County Council on Wednesday approved auditor Anna Culy’s request for permission to advertise the 2021 budget, which she plans to have ready by the end of the month.

Advertising the budget is the first step of the process. It will then be subject to review by council and public comment.

Culy estimated the 2021 budget at $19,224,538, which would be up just over $200,000 from the 2020 budget. Culy said she likes to leave space for potential last-minute additions. Once the budget is advertised, it can be cut but cannot be increased.

Council president Jeanne Houchins addressed several key points from recent personnel committee meetings. She noted increases in a few budgets and funds, including about $31,600 more in the police pension for the higher number of community members drawing from the pension and $3,000 in the cemetery fund for headstones. Budgets for the following also increased: Jay County Jail increased $20,000 for repair equipment; Auditor’s office increased $8,500 for repairing record plat books; Highway department increased $22,500 for vehicles.

Houchins also noted pay increases for each local government job category, which should bring them within 10% of the “external midpoint,” as determined by a wage study completed last month by consulting firm Waggoner, Irwin, Scheele and Associates.

That means all Jay County government workers are getting closer to making average pay compared to the same positions in other counties. Several years ago, county pay averages were 13% to 25% behind other Indiana communities depending on the job category.

Culy and Houchins discussed plans to cap longevity bonuses at $2,000 for 2021, but concerns were quickly raised from the council about fairness toward all workers. If bonuses were frozen across the board, there would be no chance for newer workers to earn as much as senior employees.

“The fact of the matter is, that person that’s further behind should be caught up,” council member Ted Champ said.

That discussion was tabled for the next personnel committee meeting.

Council also got a quick glance at the 2021 estimated property tax cap impact report for Jay County, which showed losses of $313,080 for Jay School Corporation, $242,100 for Portland, $177,500 for the county and $117,740 for Dunkirk. (Indiana property taxes are capped at 1% for residential, 2% for rental and farmland and 3% for all other types.)

Culy noted the report is a just an estimate and she will have the exact numbers in February or March.

Council members also heard from Travis Richards, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation and chairman of Jay County Economic Development Income Tax (EDIT) Advisory Committee. He asked for the advisory committee guidelines to be approved. He began the process with commissioners in February, but the COVID-19 shutdown halted progress for several months.

Richards asked the council to approve the guidelines so the committee can start to operate according to one document. This will make it easier for the committee to keep track of rules and for community members who may have questions, he said.

Council approved the new rules unanimously.

In other business, council members Faron Parr, Amy Barrett, Cindy Newton, Gary Theurer, Houchins and Champ, absent Mike Rockwell:

•Approved the following: transferring $5,000 in the county general fund from clerical to professional services; transferring $200 in the retirement center fund from mileage to office supplies; moving $400,000 from the local road and street fund to the Community Crossings grant to serve as the county’s match toward the ongoing Como Road reconstruction project; and a state-mandated resolution to declare commissioners the fiscal body for the Jay County Public Library.

•Made the following additional appropriations: $20,972.28 from the drug free community fund to Jay County Organization, which was approved in the last meeting; $50,000 from the backhoe repair and replace fund to the surveyor’s office for a new bulldozer; $30,300 from the health bio-terrorism fund to several health department needs, including the preparedness coordinator salary and equipment and medical supplies.

•Met the new Purdue Extension office agriculture and natural resources educator, Justin Curley.