Bartholomew County government has more than sufficient funds to provide raises to more than 400 county employees next year, county officials say.
But a few county council members worry whether using taxpayer money for salary hikes is the right thing to do while so many local families remain in financial trouble due to unemployment related to COVID-19.
The entire 2021 county budget totaled $54.1 million from property taxes, local income tax revenue, grants, fees and other forms of income. During budget talks in August, the council had trimmed almost $2.5 million from requested expenses. They had decided to wait until Monday to discuss possible raises.
The council’s work session on Monday began with an upbeat financial overview from Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor. The county will receive enough federal funds through the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund that the $689,533 in local funds set aside to cover COVID-19 expenses can be spent on something else, O’Connor sad.
In addition, the amount of local income tax (LIT) revenue will be “substantially higher than what has been predicted in July,” the auditor said. Figures from last month indicate about $20.6 million in total LIT revenue for county government will be available next year, which is $3.5 million higher than what was estimated in July, O’Connor said.
With less than two months before the end of the year, the county’s general fund still has $3 million in unappropriated funds, the auditor said. The health trust for the self-insured county government has more than $5 million in reserve, and the county is receiving $57,000 in unexpected riverboat tax income.
Finally, O’Connor said long-term projections it appears the county will receive more money than expected in 2022 than what was originally forecast, although the auditor quickly added that “we don’t know what the future holds.”
The better-than-expected financial outlook resulted in requests for additional expenses Monday. Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin requested full funding to hire an additional case manager to work with participants in the Family Recovery and Drug Recovery courts.
While all council members agreed the additional case manager is needed, some council members seemed disappointed because officials in Columbus wouldn’t pay half the expenses for the new case manager as they have in the past. But council member Mark Gorbett says that should not have been surprising since the county received more LIT revenue than the city for next year.
Bartholomew County Recorder Tami Hines asked that her chief deputy receive the same amount of money as others with the same title in other departments. She also requested that her annual salary of $54,154 be raised by about $3,000 to make it on par with the county assessor and county treasurer. Next came county assessor Ginny Whipple, who asked to raise a part-time employee’s salary from $20,000 to $25,000.
But then, a presentation from retiring Bartholomew Superior Court 2 Judge Kitty Kathleen “Kitty” Tighe Coriden kicked off a lengthy debate among council members. After Coriden pointed out that county clerk Jay Phelps’s office manager is tentatively scheduled to receive the same pay as the prosecutor’s office manager ($44,520), the judge said she felt her court office manager deserved to make the same amount.
That prompted council members to start talking about raises for office managers in several other departments including Purdue Extension, the highway department, code enforcement and the health department. Throughout the talks, council members like Jorge Morales, Laura DeDomenic and Mark Gorbett advocated for salary increases up to 3%.
Those favoring salary increases said withholding meaningful raises would be “a slap in the face” to county workers. They also pointed out that county employees paid through the state will receive a 3% pay hike next year, so they feel it would only be fair that all county workers get the same increase.
But after keeping quiet for nearly an hour, the longest-serving elected official in modern history spoke up.
“I’ve been hearing from people who are telling me that they are looking for jobs, and the jobs are not out there,” said Evelyn Pence, who has served on the council for 40 consecutive years. “There are restaurant people who have lost employees and can’t stay afloat.”
Council president Matt Miller also expressed a strong reluctance to approve large salary increases that create an obligation that will have to be met year-after-year while future finances remain on shaky ground.
In terms of the requested raises for office managers, Miller said it’s impossible to determine whether all of those managers deserve large pay hikes because no employee performance reviews were conducted this year.
When council member Bill Lentz suggested that “we could lower taxes” with the excess money, his idea was met with silence before Gorbett spoke up.
“We’re not going to go backwards in time, Bill,” Gorbett said. “We’ll be back in the same boat we were in three years ago.”
Although no votes were allowed during Monday’s work session, the council is allowed to question each other to see if there is a consensus on certain proposals
There was a consensus on a $1,500 across-the-board permanent raise for all employees, included elected officials. Most members voiced support for bringing the salaries of all office managers up to $41,955 before adding additional across-the-board increases. The council also seemed to informally support raising the salary of contract employees and part-time workers by 2%, and foregoing salary increases for themselves.
But as other salary increases were brought up, questions again began to emerge such as the number of employees each office holder manages, as well as comparisons of one department head’s responsibility with another.
Although a vote on the final passage of the 2021 county budget is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 13, not all salary issues are expected to be settled by then.
The council asked Chief Deputy Auditor Dalene Pattingill to gather data from comparable-sized counties to see how much they pay their office holders and support staff.
If warranted, adjustments to salaries can be handled through an additional appropriation before the end of the year, O’Connor said.
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Big ticket items tentatively approved for 2021 county budget expenditures include $127,000 for the first of five annual installments for body and car cameras.
In addition, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department is expected to get eight new cars, and the addiction program at the county jail is expected to receive funds for one full time addiction recovery specialist and two part-time positions.
Final passage and adoption of Bartholomew County government’s 2021 budget is expected when the council meets formally at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Since health precautions are still in effect, residents can only watch the meeting streamed on the Internet. Contact the Bartholomew County Auditor’s office at 812-379-1510 for instructions and passwords.
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