The Starke County Council and Commissioners both discussed the overspending at the highway department with Interim Superintendent Rachel Oesterreich during their meetings last week.
In a previous story, it was announced that Starke County Highway Superintendent Dan Dipert had officially turned in his letter of resignation earlier this month on November 8. That resignation was formally approved by the commissioners during last week’s meeting. The commissioners then appointed Starke County Auditor Rachel Oesterreich as the Interim Highway Superintendent.
Additionally, former Highway Superintendent Dipert previously informed the council the department was $228,513.29 over what was previously budgeted for the 2023 calendar year. After much discussion, a motion was made to have the highway department request anything above $10,000 to the council for approval in efforts to not go over budget in the future. That motion was seconded and passed unanimously by vote. The council then made a motion to approve the transfer request in the amount of $228,513.29 from the county’s bituminous fund. That motion was seconded and passed by a vote with council member Todd Leinbach opposed.
During last week’s council meeting, Interim Highway Superintendent Oesterreich stated she had found that the highway department had overspent an additional $427,000 on top of what was already transferred. She added she is still looking through the receipts of the department to determine the exact cause of overspending. She mentioned the department has three mechanics on hand but many of the expenses went to farming out vehicles to be fixed elsewhere and not in house. She added a large chunk of the overspending went to Central Paving for the Community Crossings Matching Grant 2023-01 Chip Seal Project. Oesterreich told WKVI News, due to the former Highway Superintendent over expending the roads and bridge CEDIT fund, money was not available for the matching grant portion on that project.
After much discussion during last week’s council meeting, it was clear the council is working to get to the bottom of what caused the overspending. As for the amount owed, the council made a motion to approve the additional $427,000 from ARPA to pay off the highway department’s bills. That motion was seconded and passed by vote with council member Todd Leinbach abstaining. The council then formally asked County Attorney Justin Schramm to report the incidences to the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
