The Pulaski County Commissioners have attempted to provide some clarification about the future of the County Courthouse. In a press release read during Tuesday’s meeting, the commissioners said they’ve been presented with a number of issues with the current building that have to be addressed.
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The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department has been busy in recent weeks. Sheriff Jeff Richwine gave an update to the county commissioners Monday. “We had a pursuit, a residential entry over by Bruce Lake that turned into a bunch of meth,” he said.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners may appoint a new maintenance director tonight. Jeff Johnston stepped down from the position last month to take another job elsewhere, as county officials continue debating the future of the courthouse.
Continue readingAmbulance bids are expected to be discussed during this morning’s Pulaski County Commissioners meeting. The EMS Department had planned to purchase a truck this year. County officials have also been exploring the possibility of renting an ambulance or using a lease purchase agreement to spread out the payments.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department had a busy year in 2018. Sheriff Jeff Richwine reviewed some of the annual statistics with the county commissioners last week. “As you can see, the 911 Center, we had 3,521 911 calls, 51,810 administrative calls, for a total of 55,331 calls for the year 2018,” he said.
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.
Continue readingThe Pulaski County Commissioners will hear from a representative of the Save the Courthouse group tonight. The group formed after county officials unveiled a proposal last month to demolish the county’s 123-year-old courthouse and replace it with an addition to the Justice Center. At the time, Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston said the plan would address security and accessibility concerns, as well as a number of other issues, at about a third of the cost of renovating and expanding the existing courthouse.
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Some of Pulaski County’s old jail uniforms will soon be going to Starke County. The Pulaski County Commissioners agreed to let Sheriff Jeff Richwine move ahead with the sale last week. “They want them, and we would just throw them away,” Richwine said.
Work continues on a body camera policy for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county commissioners last week that he’s begun getting requests for body camera footage, but there are laws that limit what the department may release. “It’s a kind of a nightmare,” he said. “We’re working on getting the software that we can redact all the stuff. [County Attorney] Kevin [Tankersley] read the law, I read the law, and you’re head still kind of spins.”
Pulaski County is getting rid of some unused equipment. Last week, the county commissioners agreed to let Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff sell two Unimog utility vehicles at auction on December 8.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department is looking to finalize a couple of contracts. An agreement with Motorola for new body cameras, portable radios, and other equipment was approved by the county commissioners earlier this month. Auditor Laura Wheeler told the county council last week that she needs to know where exactly the money is coming from, before the paperwork may be finalized.
The Pulaski County Commissioners will get updates from several department heads when they meet this morning. Outgoing EMS Director Bryan Corn is expected to give his monthly report. He and the commissioners will likely continue their discussion of possibly renting or leasing an ambulance.
Housing and transporting federal inmates continues to cause budget challenges for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county council Tuesday that while the effort is making money for the county overall, the associated income and expenses are in two different parts of the county’s budget.
A shortfall in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department’s overtime budget has the sheriff asking to move some money around. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county commissioners last week that he plans to transfer a total of $17,600 into his overtime budget. “Some of this is due to people not getting moved in the matrix in time, so we have to go back and do back pay, so that’s some of it,” he explained. “Some of it’s overtime.” Richwine said that money will come out of the Dispatch Salary, Equipment Repair, and Part-Time Cooks line items.
A contract for new body cameras for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department was approved by the county commissioners Monday. Sheriff Jeff Richwine previously explained that the agreement with Motorola also includes cloud data storage, video editing software, and some other equipment. The sheriff’s department will pay for the equipment in yearly installments out of the county’s 911 Fund.
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.
The Pulaski County Council is making funding arrangements for new communications equipment for the Sheriff’s Department. Plans call for upgrades to the 911 center’s phone system, new body cameras and portable radios for the deputies, new video editing software, and cloud storage.
The Pulaski County Commissioners will hear updates from EMS Director Bryan Corn and Highway Superintendent Terry Ruff during this morning’s meeting. According to the advance agenda, County Attorney Kevin Tankersley will discuss vaping, Recorder Sue Fox will discuss two bids, and Building Inspector Doug Hoover will ask the commissioners to approve an invoice.
Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputies will have a new retirement plan, starting January 1. The county council voted Monday to change the system to a 32-year plan. Currently, the number of years of service that count toward deputies’ retirement benefits is limited to 20.
The Pulaski County Commissioners will decide tonight whether to ban commercial wind turbines. The updated wind turbine regulations head back to the commissioners tonight, after the county’s advisory plan commission agreed last week to some language adjustments the commissioners had recommended. Under the updated proposal, landowners would still be allowed to build noncommercial and micro wind energy convergence systems in certain areas.
