Bartholomew County government officials say they have enough money to pay for all of next year’s funding requests from every department — without making one single cut.
That’s what county auditor Pia O’Connor told the seven-member Bartholomew County Council during a work session Aug. 5, as the council prepares to begin budget hearings for county departments Monday.
Council member Laura DeDomenic pointed out many global stock indexes recorded their worst day of the year on Aug. 5 as fears increase about an escalating trade war.
“A significant portion of our revenues are from income taxes,” DeDomenic said. “I want to caution we could be in trouble if there is suddenly a 10% drop in employment.”
The county council approved a 40 percent increase in local income taxes that went into effect in January 2018.
Total county revenue in 2020 is expected to be $55,070,026 — more than the $51,554,286 preliminary budget, according to the auditor’s report. Proposed expenditures are $1,268,910 higher than this year, the report states.
Despite the excess funds, council member Jorge Morales said he is not in favor of what he described as “carte blanche” funding.
Local income tax revenue is estimated to be $19,134,984 — an increase of $580,376 or 3.13% from this year, O’Connor said.
The traditional, property-tax supported county general fund is estimated to have $29,828,291 next year. That will be roughly $2.8 million higher than what was provided for 2019.
The county will also receive a 3.5% increase in what’s called the growth quotient, which is essentially an rollover of funds to each of Indiana county calculated from averages involving non-farm personal income. As a result, Bartholomew County has an additional $628,683 in growth quotient revenue coming next year, O’Connor reported.
As the 2020 budget is advertised, residents are urged to remember the county is including all income sources this year. That’s different from the past, when only tax-derived funds were listed in the budget, so figures will appear different than in previous years, O’Connor said.
Budget hearings
All county budget hearings beginning Monday will be held in the council’s fourth floor chambers at the county government building, at Third and Franklin streets.
While most county department heads are asking for 3 percent increases for their employees, others are seeking higher amounts.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers will be requesting a 29% salary increase for the jail matron, bringing her wage up to $55,508 annually. That increase is partly required by a state statute that says the matron is entitled to the same salary as other department members of the same rank, grade or position, Chief Deputy Maj. Chris Lane said.
Another factor is a Gibson County jail matron who won a substantial amount of back pay after filing a lawsuit that cited that statute, Lane said.
The sheriff’s department is also requesting the hiring of a new detective with at least 10 years experience at a cost of $70,183. But that’s just a budgetary figure reflecting the maximum salary for the position, Lane said.
While the budget presentation states the department is asking for 4 percent raises next year for 26 deputies, as well as Lane and three captains, the figures on paper can be misleading, Lane said.
In reality, the request is to give deputies a 3 percent raise in base pay, he said. However, additional increases will come from a pay matrix and other policies developed over the past few years that include factors such as military experience, specialized training, longevity and shift differentials, Lane said. Raises will be different for each merit officer, Lane said.
Myers is request that the salaries of correctional personnel be increased by 7.5% next year. For civilian jail officers, raises include a 33% increase for captain, a 25% increase for lieutenant, a 19% increase for sergeant, and 8% for a regular jail officer.
The increases are proposed to counteract turnover for correctional personnel — the jail has lost an average of 11 correction officers annually since 2010, Lane said. There are currently no financial incentives to keep individuals in a high-stress correction job in the jail, Lane said.
“A 30-year corrections officer get the same pay as a one-year employee,” the chief deputy said.
Larger increases for higher ranking jail personnel are intended to prevent the most experienced corrections personnel from taking jobs elsewhere, Lane said.
A request to increase operating supplies at the jail by $112,372 or 29%, will also be considered when Myers makes his case for his proposed budgets before the council at 3 p.m on Monday. The state requires the department to replace older and worn out equipment, such as Tasers and body armor, Lane said.
More dispatchers
Also on Monday, Bartholomew County Emergency Operations 911 Center director Todd Noblitt will make his case for hiring six new emergency dispatchers. He’s scheduled for appear before the council at 2 p.m. Monday.
Last June in a narrow 3-4 vote, the county council denied a request to immediately hire two new dispatchers. The proposed hiring was part of a plan to hire two new dispatchers every six months until a total of six were hired by July 2020.
But council members said they wanted to wait until this month’s budget talks to discuss the matter.
The 2020 budget does include $260,103 to hire six new dispatchers at any time next year, O’Connor said.
Additional requests
In the Bartholomew County Health Department, administrators will ask the council to replace retired administrator Collis Mayfield with a new Environmental Health Specialist earning $51,813 (11% increase), as well as adding a registered nurse making $51,295 (11% increase).
In addition, the Bartholomew County Parks Board is requesting $50,000 to hire its first-ever full time employee — a county parks facility coordinator.
Other proposed salary increases that exceed 3% include Chief Deputy Auditor (9%), two assistant animal control personnel (11%), three maintenance employees (between 11 and 12%), teachers, relief worker and custodians at the Youth Services Center (11%), adult probation officer (14%), alcohol and drug probation officer (12%), juvenile probation officer (12%), conditional release probation officer (6%), one Circuit Court reporter (9%), a Superior Court 1 reporter (8%), and chief court reporter in Superior Court 2 (6%).
In non-personnel expenses, the Bartholomew County Commissioners will be requesting an addition $1 million in their budget for courthouse maintenance.
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The annual budget discussions by the Bartholomew County Council will be held this week on the fourth floor of the county governmental office building.
Key presentations on Monday include:
12:05 p.m. – Circuit Court, Court Services, judicial programs and drug treatment programs
1:30 p.m. – Prosecutor’s office
2 p.m. – E911 Operations Center
3 p.m. – Bartholomew County Sheriff (jail and law enforcement branch).
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