A state senator is stepping down and taking over as Pulaski County’s chief deputy prosecutor. Randy Head announced Monday that he’ll be leaving the State Senate August 12. The Logansport Republican has represented Senate District 18 since 2008. His district currently includes Cass, Fulton, and part of Marshall County.
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Pulaski County will soon have a new prosecutor. Dan Murphy has announced that he’ll resign from the position effective August 3, according to a post on the Pulaski County Government’s Facebook page Tuesday.
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After a couple months of discussion, the Pulaski County Council has approve a salary change for a staff member in the Prosecutor’s Office. The county council voted five-to-two Monday to tie the victim’s assistance coordinator’s pay rate to the level specified by the grant that funds the position, as requested by Prosecutor Dan Murphy back in January.
Continue readingPulaski County’s long-awaited fiscal plan is set to be unveiled next month, but in the meantime, several departments’ requests for additional help will remain on hold. Three department heads were scheduled to ask the county council for staffing increases Monday, but at the start of the meeting, Council Member Kathi Thompson said that fiscal planning consultant Jeffrey Peters has asked council members to hold off.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Council will consider several departments’ requests for additional help tonight. Prosecutor Dan Murphy has been asking for another full-time secretary, citing a significant increase in the number of cases being filed, along with the addition of new court programs. A vote on the matter ended in a three-to-three tie last month. Council President Jay Sullivan asked the county commissioners to weigh in, but they sent it back to the council without making a formal recommendation.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners have declined to make an official recommendation about adding a new secretary for the Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Dan Murphy has been asking for a seventh full-time staff member, citing a significant increase in the number of cases being filed, along with the addition of new court programs. The matter ended in a three-to-three tie during this month’s county council meeting, leading Council President Jay Sullivan to ask for the commissioners’ input.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Council has referred a series of salary-related requests to its salary matrix committee. Prosecutor Dan Murphy has been asking for a pay raise for the victim’s assistance coordinator, to bring the position in line with the conditions of the grant that funds it. He initially suggested removing the position from the county’s salary matrix entirely, but last week, he told council members that it might be better to create a new position in the salary matrix to reflect the new responsibilities.
Continue readingThe 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 Pulaski County Council and Commissioners are expected to make appointments to various boards and commissions tonight. Appointments to the board of zoning appeals, advisory plan commission, and Kankakee-Iroquois Regional Planning Commission will be discussed during tonight’s joint council and commissioners meeting.
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.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Council wants more information before agreeing to a salary change for the victim’s assistance coordinator. During last week’s meeting, Prosecutor Dan Murphy explained that the position is funded primarily by federal grant money distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
Continue readingPublic hearings over three potential tax abatements will be held during tonight’s Pulaski County Council meeting. Council members have recently taken steps to make the JSI Steel and IBC Thermoplastics properties eligible for abatements, along with a site near U.S. 421 and County Road 200 South that’s being considered for a potential value-added agriculture business.
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Pulaski County’s General Election ended with some incumbents unseated in tight races. Democrat Linda Powers lost her District 3 County Council seat to Republican Brian Young by a margin of 56-to-44 percent. Winamac Town Council Member Dan Vanaman lost his at-large seat by just five votes, coming behind fellow Republican Alvin Parish and Democratic challenger Dave Schambers.
Pulaski County may finally be switching its court software, to bring it in line with much of the rest of the state. Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher, Prosecutor Dan Murphy, and Circuit Court Judge Candidate Mary Welker met with the county council and commissioners earlier this month, urging them to make the switch from CSI to Odyssey.
The Pulaski County Prosecutor’s Office is getting a new investigator vehicle. Prosecutor Dan Murphy plans to get a 2019 Dodge Charger from Braun. “We’ll have about a $12,000 discount buying it through that program that the State Police use for vehicles,” Murphy told the county council Monday. Once the discount, trade-in, and the addition of a police package are taken into account, the final cost is around $26,400.
Work continues to crack down on truancy in Pulaski County’s schools. The West Central School Board got an update on the effort last week, according to Superintendent Don Street.
The Pulaski County Council will consider a salary matrix amendment when it meets tonight. Auditor Laura Wheeler first proposed the changes back in July, following the adoption of a set of written “Matrix Rules” the month before. However, council members had questions about whether the EMS Department should be added into the matrix, and if so, how to do it.
The Pulaski County Commissioners will continue discussing plans to move the Emergency Management Agency’s radio equipment to the former Winamac Masonic Lodge. Last month, Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston suggested looking into whether the county’s DRMO funds could be used. That money comes from the sale of former military equipment owned by the county.
The man suspected of his involvement in a fatal house fire in Medaryville in the afternoon on Monday, Aug. 13 has been charged in the incident.
Pulaski County is planning to expand its at-risk youth mentoring program to the middle school level.
