The Knox School Board took action Monday to correct an issue with this year’s budget. Board members gave their permission for another $1.3 million to be spent on personal services in the Education Fund.
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The Pulaski County Council is asking the sheriff to look for money in his budget to help cover the cost of his deputies’ new retirement plan. Last year, the council approved a switch from a 20- to a 32-year retirement plan. That was expected to increase the county’s cost by about $28,000 a year.
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Pulaski County could see annual funding shortfalls of $2.7 million within the next few years, if it remains on its current financial path. Consultant Jeffrey Peters presented the first part of a fiscal plan to the county council and commissioners Monday.
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The Pulaski County Election Board passed a resolution Monday officially declaring that there will be no primary election there this year.
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The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is asking for permission to spend almost another $42,000 beyond what was budgeted for this year. Almost $13,000 of that has to do with medical bills, according to Sheriff Jeff Richwine.
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The addition of a new secretary for the Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office appears to depend on a recommendation from the county commissioners, after the county council was once again unable to reach a clear consensus Monday.
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The amount of time spent processing excise tax will soon be reduced for the Pulaski County Auditor’s Office, thanks to some new software. On Monday, the county commissioners approved the payment of a $6,000 invoice for the new system, at the request of Auditor Laura Wheeler.
Continue readingPulaski County Prosecutor Dan Murphy says he needs more help to keep up with his increasing caseload. He reminded the county council last week that he’d asked for an additional secretary when preparing this year’s budget, but members denied the request.
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After all of the work was done to cut about $833,800 from the 2019 budget, the Starke County Council found that they are unable to give raises to county employees this year.
Continue readingThe Eastern Pulaski School Board has decided to continue using the services of attorney Tim Murray on an as-needed basis. He was officially reappointed as board attorney Monday.
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The Culver Community Schools Corporation will now officially be able to use its referendum revenues, following action by the school board. In November, voters agreed to let the school district raise property taxes by up to 17 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for an eight-year period. The school board took a final step Monday by establishing a Referendum Fund to accept that money.
Continue readingThe Eastern Pulaski School Board wants more time before finalizing a legal representation agreement for 2019. Last month, school corporation attorney Tim Murray presented a proposal calling for a flat fee of $2,000 per month, in exchange for a list of specified services.
Continue readingThe Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation is making the final preparations for the 2019 budget year. Last week, the school board officially readopted the 2019 Operations Fund budget, after Superintendent Dan Foster said an error was found in the fund’s adopted tax levy.
A five-year strategic plan will be up for approval during tonight’s Eastern Pulaski School Board meeting. The proposed plan was presented to the school board last month. It includes a mission statement, beliefs, parameters, objectives, and strategies, to help guide the school corporation through 2023.
Confusion remains over how much money new Pulaski County Highway Department employees are supposed to make. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff brought the question to the county council Monday. “We hired two new guys,” he explained. “What’s the deal on their pay? What do I tell them they’re getting paid right now? I don’t know if it’s $13.77. Is it for six months, a year? What are we doing?”
The Culver School Board has finalized preparations for the new school funding structure. Starting January 1, each school corporation’s General Fund will be replaced by an Education Fund, while the Capital Projects, Transportation, and Bus Replacement Funds will be combined into an Operations Fund.
Financing options for a new ambulance were presented to the Pulaski County Commissioners last month. Angie Deming with Republic First National out of Rochester explained that the company specializes in lease purchase agreements. “Really, a lease purchase is no different than a loan,” she explained. “The only thing that makes this program different than a loan is that a loan is going to have a fixed term; regardless of what happens here at the county, you’re required to make the payment. However, with the lease purchase plan, it has a clause that’s called a non-appropriation clause in it.”
The Pulaski County Highway Department is seeking bids for paving work, as well as a new dump truck. Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff told the county commissioners last week that he wants to have cost estimates ready for the next round of Community Crossings grants. The state program covers up to 75 percent of the cost of qualifying road work.
The Knox Community School Corporation’s 2019 budget has been approved by the state with no big surprises, according to Treasurer Dawn Bailey. She told the school board last week that the Department of Local Government Finance cut the budget a little bit, and that the district’s property tax rate is set to go up by a little more than two cents.
Starke County officials will need to push the pencil to the paper to come up with about $838,000 in cuts to the 2019 budget as mandated from the state.
