County Accepts $50k Homeland Security Grant
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Craig Brosman-
Kosciusko County Health Department Director Bob Weaver asked the commissioners to accept a nomination to appoint Terry Owens to the county health board as the infection control director. The commissioners approved the request 3-0.
Kosciusko County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock petitioned the commissioners to accept a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant is for $50,000 to be split between the seven counties in the emergency management district.
Rock informed the commissioners the $7,300 the county would receive would be used to purchase a new server.
Commissioner Ron Truex was surprised that the grant did not stipulate exactly what could be bought.
“Grant money to buy something we actually need, that’s a nice thing,” Truex said.
The commissioners voted 3-0 to accept the grant and become the fiscal agent for the grant.
Kosciusko County Treasurer Sue Ann Mitchell informed the commissioners that there has been a sharp decline in the amount of interest accrued from tax dollars since 2006.
In 2006 the county banked $2.1 million in interest from tax dollars, but in 2011 the county only banked $174,000 from interest. Mitchell told the commissioners that the interest rates have plummeted from 5 percent to half a percent.
“The rates on CDs are far less than I can get from a bank account,” Mitchell said. “I am requesting that the investment policy for 2012 be changed to allow funds to be moved around in order to gain the most amount of interest.”
The commissioners approved the request 3-0.
Mitchell also nominated Truex to be the president of the finance committee for the treasurer. The commissioners approved 3-0.
Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson requested the commissioners accept the reappointment of Max Courtney and Mark Dobson to the regional economic development committee. The commissioners approved the appointments.
Robinson also requested $8,500 to repair cameras in the jail as well as court rooms in the justice building. The commissioners approved the request.
In addition, Robinson informed the commissioners that the phone system throughout the county is out of date and needs replaced.
“The phone system is 11-12 years old and needs upgraded,” Robinson said. “And the tower in Syracuse also needs updated at a cost of $25,000. In addition to the tower at Wawasee High School and the phone system being updated, the money will go to the Highway Department annex and the county work release program.”
The commissioners accepted that the upgrades were needed and approved them.
Robinson also told the commissioners there have been issues with the email service and that it needs to be replaced.
“By transferring to Google we can eliminate quite a few of the problems we are having,” Robinson said.
Robinson informed the commissioners that the cost for the change would be $15,180 annually, which is approximately 10 times what the county pays now for the Internet services.
The commissioners expressed concerns with the amount the new service would cost and how it would differ from the previous service. The commissioners decided that they would not continue on the subject until a representative from the county information technology services came to speak with them about why it was needed.
When Bob Momeyer from IT Services arrived he explained that the main reason why the change to Google services was needed was in order to comply with an Indiana law that states all emails are public record and must be properly archived in case of a public information request.
“The current system cannot archive emails,” Momeyer said. “There is no real good way to do that under this system. The Google project does come up with a solution to the email issues.”
In addition to the email issues, the Google option allows for better and more reliable access to email from smart devices. It also allows for county officials to check and plan their calendar when they are not at work, something the previous system did not allow outside of the network.
Commissioner Bob Conley questioned the need for the upgrade by asking how many public records requests for emails the county has received.
Momeyer responded with zero.
“I just don’t see the need for it if we have not had any requests,” Conley said.
County attorney Mike Miner informed the commissioners that not every county is in compliance with every law, but this is a law they want to be in compliance with.
“Basically, what I am saying is now that you know you are not in compliance, the burden to comply is on the county,” Miner said.
Truex motioned to accept the request with the statement that “this is another wonderful burden that state legislators in Indianapolis have placed on the taxpayers of the county.”
The motion passed 2-1, Commissioner Brad Jackson was the lone no vote.
County Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden requested the acceptance of a speed limit ordinance for a 2,100-foot section of CR 100N, approximately 1,860 feet east of CR 475E. The speed limit ordinance would lower the speed limit from 55 to 35 for 2,100 feet. The commissioners approved the ordinance 3-0.
Tilden also informed the board that the second of four new dump trucks was to be delivered today.
“The third truck is 90 percent done and the fourth is about 50 percent finished,” Tilden said.
The next meeting of the commissioners is Feb. 14 at 9 a.m.[[In-content Ad]]
Kosciusko County Health Department Director Bob Weaver asked the commissioners to accept a nomination to appoint Terry Owens to the county health board as the infection control director. The commissioners approved the request 3-0.
Kosciusko County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock petitioned the commissioners to accept a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant is for $50,000 to be split between the seven counties in the emergency management district.
Rock informed the commissioners the $7,300 the county would receive would be used to purchase a new server.
Commissioner Ron Truex was surprised that the grant did not stipulate exactly what could be bought.
“Grant money to buy something we actually need, that’s a nice thing,” Truex said.
The commissioners voted 3-0 to accept the grant and become the fiscal agent for the grant.
Kosciusko County Treasurer Sue Ann Mitchell informed the commissioners that there has been a sharp decline in the amount of interest accrued from tax dollars since 2006.
In 2006 the county banked $2.1 million in interest from tax dollars, but in 2011 the county only banked $174,000 from interest. Mitchell told the commissioners that the interest rates have plummeted from 5 percent to half a percent.
“The rates on CDs are far less than I can get from a bank account,” Mitchell said. “I am requesting that the investment policy for 2012 be changed to allow funds to be moved around in order to gain the most amount of interest.”
The commissioners approved the request 3-0.
Mitchell also nominated Truex to be the president of the finance committee for the treasurer. The commissioners approved 3-0.
Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson requested the commissioners accept the reappointment of Max Courtney and Mark Dobson to the regional economic development committee. The commissioners approved the appointments.
Robinson also requested $8,500 to repair cameras in the jail as well as court rooms in the justice building. The commissioners approved the request.
In addition, Robinson informed the commissioners that the phone system throughout the county is out of date and needs replaced.
“The phone system is 11-12 years old and needs upgraded,” Robinson said. “And the tower in Syracuse also needs updated at a cost of $25,000. In addition to the tower at Wawasee High School and the phone system being updated, the money will go to the Highway Department annex and the county work release program.”
The commissioners accepted that the upgrades were needed and approved them.
Robinson also told the commissioners there have been issues with the email service and that it needs to be replaced.
“By transferring to Google we can eliminate quite a few of the problems we are having,” Robinson said.
Robinson informed the commissioners that the cost for the change would be $15,180 annually, which is approximately 10 times what the county pays now for the Internet services.
The commissioners expressed concerns with the amount the new service would cost and how it would differ from the previous service. The commissioners decided that they would not continue on the subject until a representative from the county information technology services came to speak with them about why it was needed.
When Bob Momeyer from IT Services arrived he explained that the main reason why the change to Google services was needed was in order to comply with an Indiana law that states all emails are public record and must be properly archived in case of a public information request.
“The current system cannot archive emails,” Momeyer said. “There is no real good way to do that under this system. The Google project does come up with a solution to the email issues.”
In addition to the email issues, the Google option allows for better and more reliable access to email from smart devices. It also allows for county officials to check and plan their calendar when they are not at work, something the previous system did not allow outside of the network.
Commissioner Bob Conley questioned the need for the upgrade by asking how many public records requests for emails the county has received.
Momeyer responded with zero.
“I just don’t see the need for it if we have not had any requests,” Conley said.
County attorney Mike Miner informed the commissioners that not every county is in compliance with every law, but this is a law they want to be in compliance with.
“Basically, what I am saying is now that you know you are not in compliance, the burden to comply is on the county,” Miner said.
Truex motioned to accept the request with the statement that “this is another wonderful burden that state legislators in Indianapolis have placed on the taxpayers of the county.”
The motion passed 2-1, Commissioner Brad Jackson was the lone no vote.
County Highway Superintendent Scott Tilden requested the acceptance of a speed limit ordinance for a 2,100-foot section of CR 100N, approximately 1,860 feet east of CR 475E. The speed limit ordinance would lower the speed limit from 55 to 35 for 2,100 feet. The commissioners approved the ordinance 3-0.
Tilden also informed the board that the second of four new dump trucks was to be delivered today.
“The third truck is 90 percent done and the fourth is about 50 percent finished,” Tilden said.
The next meeting of the commissioners is Feb. 14 at 9 a.m.[[In-content Ad]]
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