County slices facility budget

Jay County Country Living will be funded through June 30.

Jay County Council slashed the living facility’s budget for next year in half on Wednesday following a first reading of the 2026 budget.

The budget, advertised last week at an estimated nearly $26.6 million, sits at an increase of roughly $2.5 million from the current year. It includes $12.03 million in the general fund.

Council on Sept. 10 made several cuts to its budget, with the largest change resulting from bumping proposed raises from 3% to 2%. At that time, council member Harold Towell also suggested funding Jay County Country Living through the end of June 2026, six months earlier than the deadline set by Jay County Commissioners for the facility to close.

Council followed through on that proposal Wednesday, cutting approximately $210,316 from Jay County Country Living’s budget for next year. (Additional appropriations can be made if needed amid the transition, Towell pointed out Sept. 10.)

Efforts are in the works to find new homes for the remaining residents at Jay County Country Living. County officials have voiced hopes to have folks relocated by the end of this year.

On Monday, commissioners also decided on a 2-1 vote not to allow new residents.

Council member Cindy Bracy, who also serves as Jay County Country Living advisory board president, noted Monday that The Journey Home — an organization aimed at ending veteran homelessness — recently visited Jay County Country Living and expressed interest in moving from its Winchester location to the Portland site. (Randolph County Commissioners have been pushing the organization to find a new location, saying they feel the current space at Randolph County Center for Family Opportunity is not a good fit.)

When council broached the subject Wednesday of whether to fund the facility for half of 2026, council members looked to Bracy. She said she believed the June 30, 2026, deadline was reasonable.

“Maybe we'll have a straggler or two, but I got a message today that there were some other county homes that have reached out to Stacey, and she’s taking some residents there, so that’s a real blessing, because … some people don’t really qualify for assisted living but need assisted living,” Bracy said.

Council members Randy May, Faron Parr, Matt Minnich, Bryan Alexander, Towell and Bracy, absent Michael Brewster, then voted to cut approximately $210,000 from facility’s budget.

Council OK’d a few increases to the 2026 budget from the current year — they were already implemented into the recently advertised budget — at their meeting Wednesday, including an additional $100,000 for medical supplies and an additional $15,400 for utilities at Jay County Jail, as well as a $3,825 increase in the annual contract for Purdue Extension Office services.

It also OK’d job classification changes, which would increase some employees’ wages and increase the budget by approximately $14,391. The changes were recommended by consulting firm Waggoner, Irwin, Scheele and Associates as part of a regular wage study.

Council also agreed to bump Jay County surveyor Brad Daniels’ pay to match Jay County recorder Melanie Upp’s pay.

Alexander proposed increasing Daniels’ pay from the current year by about $5,290, pointing out Daniels is on the lower side of the regional average pay scale based on the wage study. 

Alexander said most other elected officials are above the regional average pay, with Jay County auditor Emily Franks noting council, commissioners and Jay County Coroner Brayden Fields are not included in that list. (Fields is slated for a nearly 16% raise — $3,000 — for 2026.)

Also Wednesday, council took no action on a $33,570 transfer request from commissioners to pay for planning work for a proposed new public safety building. The request originally died for lack of a motion at council’s meeting Sept. 10.

Commissioners decided on a 2-1 vote Aug. 25 to move forward with MSS Engineering to draft plans for the proposed structure, which would house Jay Emergency Medical Service, Jay County Health Department and Jay County Coroner’s Office. Plans had been to place the structure on the county’s 68 acres along Indiana 67 in Portland, although recent discussion among commissioners has led to suggestions of other locations. (Commissioner Duane Monroe suggested negotiating with IU Health Jay to see about expanding the current Jay Emergency Medical Service base in Portland.)

Commissioners president Chad Aker shared plans to meet with representatives next week to begin planning. He pointed out that MSS Engineering’s work would be the first step in the process, noting it needs to be done before construction work can be bid out in the future.

He added that the company has requested a down payment ($33,570) before starting.

Bracy questioned where the additional $70,000 for the contract will come from, with Aker saying it would come from next year’s budget. Bracy voiced concern about moving forward with the work amid uncertainty.

Council members sat in silence for a moment, with the request again dying for a lack of a motion. 

In other business, council OK’d transferring $33,500 and $14,000 between funds in Jay County Jail’s budget to pay for holiday and overtime wages through the remainder of the year.

Council also agreed to hold another meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 to adopt Jay County Solid Waste Management District’s budget. (Franks noted a computing error with submitting the district’s budget on Indiana Gateway earlier this month.)