The Pulaski County Council finalized more than $70,000 in additional appropriations this week. A large chunk of that was pension and vehicle funding for the Sheriff’s Department, according to Auditor Laura Wheeler.
Continue reading
The Pulaski County Council and Commissioners will open health insurance bids tonight. The bid opening will take place during their joint session, scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. EDT at the Pulaski County Highway Garage.
Continue readingBefore the Pulaski County Council finalized one request for additional funds for Superior Court Pauper Counsel, Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher was already asking for more money.
Continue reading
A new court program designed specifically to support families may soon be coming to Pulaski County. Pulaski Circuit Court is looking into what it would take to launch a family reunification court, according to Judge Mary Welker.
Continue readingJust a few weeks into 2019, Pulaski Superior Court has already used up its annual budget for examination of prisoners and witness fees. Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher told the county council and commissioners Monday that the two line items had a combined $3,000 budgeted for this year. That money is used to hire doctors for the process of determining whether defendants are competent to stand trial.
Continue readingPulaski County is moving ahead with funding requests for its new veterans court and jail treatment programs. Last week, the county commissioners agreed to let Dr. Natalie Daily-Federer and Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher apply for a 1006 grant through the Indiana Department of Correction.
Continue reading
Pulaski Superior Court is seeking funding for security cameras, after a defendant apparently left a knife in the courtroom, within easy reach of jail inmates.
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.
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.
Making up shortfalls in the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department’s overtime budget was the goal of a couple budget transfers approved by the county council Monday.
More than $18,000 was moved from various line items, at the request of Sheriff Jeff Richwine. “These are all to cover overtime. Well, the part-time clerical’s not, but the other is overtime for deputies,” he explained. “And then one’s overtime for dispatchers.”
Pulaski County is gearing up for the launch of its new veterans court. The county recently got a grant for almost $45,000 for that purpose, according to Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher. “There’s a push by the Supreme Court to help us establish these veterans courts to provide services to veterans in our communities who have criminal charges,” she told the county commissioners Monday, “and generally speaking, it’s things like substance use or maybe domestic violence, things like that.”
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.”
Pulaski Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher is asking the county for another $40,000 for pauper counsel costs. She told the county council last week that the $20,000 budgeted for this year and an additional appropriation of $40,000 have already been used up.
More than $1.4 million in additional appropriations that were requested back in February were finally approved by the Pulaski County Council this week. The bulk of that was to allow the County Highway Department to spend Community Crossings grant funds on bridge and paving projects. Continue reading
Whether Pulaski Memorial Hospital will get almost $800,000 for its new MRI building from the county’s Cumulative Building Fund will be up for discussion during tonight’s county council meeting. Under the proposal, that money would be given to the hospital in 17 installments between now and 2027.
Overtime costs continue to add up for Pulaski Circuit Court. The Pulaski County Council voted Monday to transfer $5,000 into the court’s overtime budget from the law books line item, at the request of Judge Michael Shurn. “Last week, a two-day jury trial morphed into a four-day one,” he explained. “And I was working 16-hour days, and my staff was real close to that.”
Discussion continues about moving Pulaski Circuit Court out of the County Courthouse and into the Justice Center. The move is seen as a cheaper alternative to installing and staffing a security checkpoint in the courthouse.
Pulaski County is looking for funding to help get some of the people awaiting trial out of the county jail. Last week, the county commissioners voted to allow Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher to apply for a grant from the Indiana Department of Correction to help launch a pretrial release program.
The Pulaski County Council will consider extra funding to cover overtime costs for Circuit Court staff tonight. Judge Michael Shurn is asking for permission to spend another $10,000 for employee overtime. Several cases have been transferred to Circuit Court from Superior Court, following Crystal Brucker Kocher’s appointment as Superior Court judge this past summer. There are many cases she’s not allowed to hear because she worked on them when she was chief deputy prosecutor.
Pulaski Circuit Judge Michael Shurn is trying to clear up some confusion about recent changes to the court’s hours of operation.
