The Bartholomew County Council will begin deliberations on the 2023 budget at its meeting at 6 p.m. today
The meeting will be in the council chambers on the first floor of the Bartholomew County Government Building at Third and Franklin Streets.
The final vote and adoption of next year’s budget is scheduled at the same time and location on Thursday, Oct. 20.
After more than 60 employees left the county’s employment since the first of the year, a number of administrators and department heads are claiming the county is facing a staffing crisis, council member Mark Gorbett said.
Last year, the council narrowly approved hiring the Muncie-based firm Waggoner, Irwin and Scheele Associates to do a salary study for county government.
When the report was submitted to the council in late February, it showed a general lag between Bartholomew County government salaries and those in other counties. The biggest gap was with professional and administrative jobs, according to Kent Irwin, CEO of the Muncie consulting firm.
“Before you gave raises for 2022, those jobs were around 10% below the external market,” Irwin said. “After the raises, they are closer to 6%.”
Irwin also said pay gaps between full-time and part-time employees are too large. For example, Bartholomew County pays $14 an hour for a part-time court reporter, while a full-time person doing the same work is getting $19 an hour.
In June, the council gave 169 out of more than 400 county workers raises to make their pay more equitable. As budget time approached, the Bartholomew County commissioners recommended that department heads request a 5% raise for their employees to continue addressing inequities, as well as to offer relief from inflation.
With total revenues of $32,114,352 anticipated for next year, the county has sufficient money to fund all requests from department heads and full-time elected officials, county Auditor Pia O’Connor. In addition, there will also be an anticipated 2023 reserve fund (also known as the “rainy day” fund) of about $10 million next year.
But instead of approving those requests, the council finished out their budget deliberations by doing some significant trimming. But the time the talks ended, 9% was chopped from what was originally proposed.
“Just because we have it doesn’t mean we have to spend it,” council member Matt Miller said in August.
Items cut includes a $356,828 reduction from proposed raises, leaving most full-time county employees with a 3.5% salary increase, rather than the suggested 5%.
Cuts were also made to a number of higher-priced proposals that include:
- $1.5 million – replacing the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at the Bartholomew County Jail
- $118,470 – hiring two new patrol deputies for the sheriff’s department.
- $105,650 – two new patrol vehicles and equipment.
- $102,250 – consultants for the county commissioners and county auditor.
- $60,000 – hiring of a human relations director
The rationale for substantial budget cuts was established one year ago this month. That’s when the council voted to adopt a set of non-binding fiscally conservative policies with a goal of reducing taxes and minimizing government debt.
For example, council member Evelyn Pence said she wants to use $6 million to pay off the $25 million jail construction bond issued in 2008 to expand the Bartholomew County Jail.
There is also concern expressed by a number of council members about inflation, as well as the potential for a weakening economy.
However, the council has been known to make changes in the following year’s spending plan and the first reading of the budget.
