Commissioners approve EDIT requests

Commissioners made a few funding decisions Thursday.

Council will consider whether to allocate dollars to those choices next month. 

Jay County Commissioners reviewed applications again for this year’s economic development income tax (EDIT) dollars. 

Approved by commissioners Thursday included funding of $35,000 for John Jay Center for Learning, $15,000 for Arts Place’s Arts in the Parks program, $8,000 for Jay County 4-H Clubs, $5,000 for Jay County 4th of July Committee, $3,000 for East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, $2,500 for Dunkirk Fire Department and $2,500 for Redkey Fireworks Committee.

Commissioners forwarded those requests to Jay County Council, which meets March 12.

Other requests for dollars — they included requests from Jay County Development Corporation, Jay County Chamber of Commerce and Jay County Fair Association — were put on hold.

Commissioners last year included $323,000 EDIT dollars in their 2025 budget request for various entities or projects, which included $260,000 in a fund labeled as contractual services and $63,000 split between John Jay Center for Learning ($25,000), Arts in the Parks ($15,000), Jay County Development Corporation services ($10,000), Jay County 4th of July Committee ($10,000) and East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center ($3,000).

Jay County Council in September agreed on a split 3-2 vote to allocate no specific funding in that portion of the county's 2025 budget. Instead, it decided commissioners could approach the council to request additional appropriations for using EDIT dollars in 2025. 

As of Friday, the county had more than $2.15 million in its EDIT fund, with the county estimated to receive another $775,747.50 by the end of the year.

Commissioners agreed Thursday to contribute $35,000 to John Jay Center for Learning’s High School Equivalency (HSE) program. The organization originally requested $70,000.

Executive director Rusty Inman explained the HSE program serves the community in more ways than one.

“The way we attract other entities to come into the community or to raise wages is through education,” he said.

Answering a question from commissioner Doug Horn, Inman said the HSE program serves an average of 45 to 50 people annually. Commissioner Duane Monroe asked how many of those are Jay County residents, with Inman saying the majority live in Jay County.

Commissioners president Chad Aker noted the county contributed $25,000 to John Jay Center for Learning last year, $50,000 in 2023 and $70,000 in 2022. Aker said he believes John Jay Center for Learning is valuable to the community , but he balked at the amount requested. He noted the county has contributed $665,000 to the organization in total over the years.

“At some point I’d like to reduce those costs to the county,” he said, suggesting the organization potentially charge more for its services or look into other solutions.

Monroe compared assets from John Jay Center for Learning and Arts Place to others seeking EDIT funding, pointing to a greater need for others.

Inman said the grants John Jay Center for Learning receives are restricted to certain uses and can make the organization’s assets look more inflated. He pointed to a $70,000 loss this year in the organization’s budget.

Aker said he was in favor of contributing a portion of the request to John Jay Center for Learning. Horn suggested $35,000, with Monroe and Aker agreeing.

Arts Place executive director Carolyn Carducci noted Arts Place is about 75% funded through donations, endowments and grants. She pointed out the large amount of services rendered to communities.

Carducci briefly discussed Arts in the Parks, a summer arts program for school-aged students offered in 14 communities in Ohio and Indiana, including Jay County. Last year, there were 897 class registrations for the program in Jay County, with Carducci noting children may take more than one class. (There were more than 2,200 registrations across the 14 communities.)

Commissioners agreed to grant the full $15,000 request to Arts Place.

Commissioners tabled a $25,000 request from Jay County Chamber of Commerce.

Representative Zach Chenoweth explained the organization is no longer planning to ask for $25,000, saying its request would likely now be closer to $10,000.

“That would be tremendous for the budget, where we don’t have to necessarily spend so much time and do so many events, as far as labor-wise, be more committee-side,” said Chenoweth. “The director can actually be out and about and meet with chamber members, in my opinion, provide a true value to the chamber members … (that’s) the goal with the next director.”

He added that the chamber has already made some changes amid its search for a new director. Chenoweth said the request will likely depend on the new director’s salary.

Aker asked Chenoweth to fill out another funding application. Monroe added that he’d like to wait until the organization has another director.

Addressing a $26,050 request from Jay County Fair Association, Aker said the request was made for the dollars to cover insurance related to an infrastructure project. He suggested Jay County Fair Association first look into an Indiana Office of Community Rural Affairs grant to help pay for the project and advocated for not allocating funding to the organization Thursday.

Horn agreed, saying he would like Jay County Fair Association to seek an OCRA grant first. He suggested that if the group can’t secure funding in a timely manner, commissioners should revisit the topic. Monroe noted that if the organization can’t get an OCRA grant, he would like to approve the request.

Community developer Nate Kimball pointed out OCRA’s budget has been cut by 57% this year. Some grants may not be available and those that are may be more competitive, he added.

Commissioners tabled requests from Jay County Development Corporation for its annual budget and its Launch Jay! business pitch competition ($15,000).

Commissioners recently agreed to a $100,000 contract with JCDC through the end of June. Aker mentioned he met with JCDC officials Thursday morning and said there isn’t a clear budget request yet, noting the organization is still in the process of hiring a new executive director.

Commissioners agreed to contribute $8,000 — an annual request — to Jay County 4-H Clubs for awards. The organization originally asked for $17,936, with the additional amount to cover insurance, locks, bookkeeping software, a laptop and sound deafening panels. Commissioners said they would like to see 4-H Clubs raise their own funding toward the project before asking for county dollars.

Commissioners agreed to a $3,000 request from East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center. A representative explained its services are free to the public. The organization offers business advice, such as one-on-one business consulting, financial projects and workshops.

They also agreed to requests from Jay County Fourth of July Committee, Dunkirk Fire Department and Redkey Fireworks Committee for Independence Day events.

Also Thursday, Aker asked commissioners to consider a cut-off date for receiving EDIT requests for 2026. He suggested they set a date at their regular meeting Monday.