Pulaski County Council Approves Encumbrance Requests, Following Confusion over Procedures

Pulaski County Council: back row: Mike Tiede, Kathi Thompson, Brian Young; front row: Scott Hinkle, Rudy DeSabatine, Jay Sullivan (not pictured: Ken Boswell)

We’re more than a third of the way through 2019, but some Pulaski County officials are still trying to pay bills out of the 2018 budget. More than $10,000 in encumbrances were presented to the county council for approval Monday.

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Pulaski County Council Considers Budget Transfer, Additional Appropriation Requests

Funding for Pulaski County’s fiscal plan, the courthouse elevator replacement project, and reassessment expenses was among the transfer and additional appropriation requests brought to the county council last week. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer explained that he has $50,000 budgeted annually for potential land acquisition. But since the CDC won’t be needing it for that purpose, the county council agreed to let him make $36,000 of that available for the fiscal plan. The county commissioners have since decided to hire Peters Municipal Consultants for a cost not to exceed $24,000.

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Pulaski County Chief Deputy Coroner’s Resignation Leads to Heated Wage Discussion

The Pulaski County Coroner’s Office is facing a staffing shortage, following the resignation of the chief deputy. Coroner John Behny told the county council last week that his lone deputy Jon Frain had “had enough.” “I not only lost my chief deputy,” he said. “I also lost a facility for which to check the bodies over and do our autopsies and so forth. I’ve lost all of that. I’ve lost storage of our files. I’ve actually gone backwards. I’ve gone from having an office. I got displaced. I have nothing. Our building isn’t going to be ready for some time.”

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Pulaski County Council Discusses Shortfalls in Part-Time Pay Budgets

The Pulaski County Council decided Monday not to appropriate additional funds to pay part-time staff. Last month, Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston asked council members for permission to spend another $30,000 for part-time help. At the time, he reminded them that money had been cut from the 2018 budget so the state would approve it, with the understanding that he could come back later to request enough for the rest of the year.

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Pulaski County Council May Look at Property Taxes to Resolve Budget Shortfalls

The Pulaski County Council is working to make sure the maintenance department has enough money to pay its part-time employees through the end of the year. Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston reminded council members Monday that they’d cut money for part-time pay when they put together this year’s budget. “You guys, at that time, told me to come back halfway through the year and request enough to cover the rest of the year,” he explained. “It’s for $30,016 for Part-Time Help.”

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Pulaski Council Makes Funds Available to Pay Five Sheriff’s Department Staff Members

Making sure money is available to pay Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department employees was the goal of a couple budget items approved by the county council this month. To help balance the county’s General Fund budget, council members had previously moved several staff members’ salaries into other parts of the budget. But that’s led to some new issues.

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Pulaski County Council Finalizes Local Funding Match for Arens Field Upgrades

Funding arrangements for upgrades to Arens Field are back in place, following action by the Pulaski County Council last week. The airport is in the process of getting more than $200,000 worth of improvements. Pulaski County only has to pay five percent of the cost, since the rest will be covered in state and federal grants. However, much of the local match was apparently cut from this year’s budget.

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Pulaski County Council to Consider Replenishing Airport Grant Match Fund

The Pulaski County Council is making funding arrangements to keep airport upgrades on track. Aviation Board President Jim McDaniel says Arens Field is in the process of getting more than $200,000 worth of improvements, “A new parking lot out front, more security across the fuel farm, working closer towards, someday, they’re going to request that we fence the whole place, but there’ll be a gate.”

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North Judson Town Council Members Address Leftover Financial Matters of 2017

North Judson Town Council members took care of some final financial business from 2017 when they met in a special session earlier this week.

Monday night, members approved a resolution to transfer appropriated funds from various motor vehicle highway accounts. Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe explained that while meeting with Umbaugh representatives, he was alerted there were a few adjustments that needed to be made to keep everything in the black. Continue reading

Pulaski County Health Department Faces Funding Challenges

Funding challenges are causing concerns for the Pulaski County Health Department. “In doing our year-end reports for our health board meeting, it’s come to our attention that we only received about $40,000 in settlement this year,” Department Office Manager Terri Hansen told the county council Monday. “We usually get at least double that.”

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Starke County Council’s Concerns with Coroner Brought to County Commissioners

Salary increases for the Starke County Coroner’s Office were again discussed during Monday’s county commissioners meeting. Coroner Dannie Hoffer has been looking for a raise for himself and possibly his deputies in next year’s budget. While the final decision would be up to the county council, council members weren’t ready to approve the raise until Hoffer worked out a few concerns with the commissioners.

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