JCDC will ask council for more funding

Ask for full funding.

That’s the decision Jay County Development Corporation’s board of directors came to in the face of a potential budget deficit for 2024.

Travis Richards, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation (JCDC), told board members he asked to have a business meeting this month — the organization typically holds business meetings in even-numbered months and informational sessions during odd-numbered months — in order to be able to discuss various items related to the organization that had been put on the back burner while it was working out its contract with county officials. He listed the 2024 budget, strategic planning, marketing, the organization’s funding request and the upcoming Launch Jay! business pitch competition as topics he wanted to cover.

During the meeting that stretched just over an hour, the board never got past that first topic.

Richards explained to the board that based on projected funding from the county and other sources, JCDC would likely have a budget deficit in 2024, regardless of whether employees received raises or not. (He estimated a $12,000 deficit with no raises. The number would increase to about $16,000 with 3% employee raises) He asked for guidance on how to move forward, with options including using cash reserves to cover the deficit in 2024, reducing expenses and fundraising in an attempt to cover the gap.

That request immediately launched into a discussion about the county’s reduction in funding for the organization. The county had contributed $210,000 to JCDC in 2022. That amount was cut to $146,000 this year. In budget talks thus far, county support of $130,000 has been proposed for 2024. (The county’s budget will not be finalized until October.)

JCDC board member Mark Leavell asked about the reason for the further reduction, with county commissioners president Chad Aker responding that it was the number that was settled on considering that the county has taken on hiring a community developer, which used to be a JCDC position. (In August, commissioners approved a two-year contract with East Central Indiana Regional Planning District for those services with Nate Kimball assigned as community coordinator.) Aker later noted that there was funding in previous years’ budgets that was not used when the community development position with JCDC was vacant.

Board members discussed the various options on how to handle the projected 2024 budget deficit, generally agreeing that they could not find reductions needed to balance the budget and that JCDC should not be a fundraising organization. Several noted that while the organization does have the reserves to cover the deficit next year, that is not a sustainable model long-term.

Josh Atkinson expressed his opinion that the situation is one the board is likely to encounter again.

“I believe that the commissioners are going to continue to cut our budget,” he said. “I believe that we are going to slowly be pushed out. All of this money is going to be funneled out of our county.”

Acknowledging that during the August JCDC meeting he had advocated for the organization and the county to “play nice,” Bryan Alexander concurred with Atkinson’s assessment.

“I agree that this is a pattern of destruction that’s only going to be solved at the ballot box,” he said. “The next election is do or die for this organization.”

The north and south commissioner seats, currently held by Rex Journay and Brian McGalliard, are up for election next year. (Alexander lost a bid for the Republican nomination for the middle district commissioner seat to Aker in 2022.)

Several board members also questioned county commissioners signing the two-year, $200,000 contract with the regional planning district after at the last JCDC meeting Aker and McGalliard said they could not commit to a funding amount for JCDC until the 2024 budget process is complete.

Leavell asked if JCDC could visit Jay County Council and ask for its funding to be increased from the amount currently being proposed in order to avoid a budget deficit. Council members Cindy Bracy and Faron Parr, who both serve on the JCDC board, said that is still possible as the budget will not be finalized until next month. (Council’s next meeting was Wednesday. See Friday’s paper for details.)

The board agreed to visit council to request the funding.

On the issue of raises, Leavell said he feels 6% doesn’t make sense given the budget situation but also that no increase would be unfair given that raises for between 2% and 7% are being considered for county employees. He proposed a 3% increase for JCDC employees.

The JCDC board unanimously approved a 3% wage increase for employees. A budget will be prepared reflecting that increase for the board to consider for approval at its October meeting.

Also Tuesday, the board agreed to purchase a commemorative brick in the Farmer’s Building at Jay County Fairgrounds in honor of Dick Heupel, the inaugural director of JCDC who died last month at the age of 68. Board members agreed to donate individually toward the brick, which costs $250.