Budgeting for 2003 began Monday as the Kosciusko County Council heard from its county department heads.

Monday's session was the first of three scheduled budget workshops, with the other two set for tonight at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 7 p.m.

Budgets approved Monday did not include county employee wages and new employees; those will be addressed Thursday. The county's wage committee will make a recommendation to the council on wages and new employees. However, the total figures for each budget listedhere include the proposed wages and new employee salaries.

Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission proposed an estimated budget for 2003 of $285,238, a difference of only $18,797 over their 2002 budget. Not counting wages, the only changes were slight increases for office supplies and mileage. "Other than that," said Area Plan director Dan Richard, "we've stayed pretty much the same."

Rob Ladson, Kosciusko County Highway Department superintendent and engineer, presented four budgets to the county council. Those budgets include: motor vehicle highway general and undistributed, $1,510,847, an increase of $164,121; MVH maintenance and repair, $2,319,539, a decrease of $865,105; local road and street, $1 million, no change; and cumulative bridge, $1,225,000, an increase of $265,000.

For cumulative bridge, Ladson said, two bridges need to be replaced, with one possibly being replaced in the spring. For MVH maintenance and repair, he said, the county took a bit of a hit with the funding but was told that after the first of the year, the county may receive an additional $350,000. However, he said, his budget doesn't reflect that and is a "safe" budget.

The county recorder's budget for 2003 is proposed at $184,036, a difference of $14,383 from 2002. For the county service officer's budget, there is a proposed increase of $420, for a 2003 proposed budget of $14,173. The Soil and Water Conservation District proposed a 2003 budget of $99,516, an increase of $4,686.

Stephanie Esenwein, county treasurer, said there wasn't much of a difference in her 2003 budget compared to 2002. She proposed a total budget of $212,747 for 2003, an increase of $14,038.

The 2003 proposed budget for Circuit and Superior Court I is $1,151,390, an increase of $89,656. The increase is due mainly to wage increases, yet to be approved on Thursday. The adult probation user fees budget was approved at $117,000 for 2003.

For Superior Courts II and III, the proposed budget includes the new position of a bailiff. Judge James Jarrette said the bailiff will help maintain order and address security concerns in the courtrooms. He said he wants an employee who can "handle a scrap" should one break out and a bailiff who has experience and officer training. The 2003 estimated budget Jarrette presented is $426,038, an increase of $29,089.

Sharon Christner, county clerk, presented three budget proposals to the council. The 2003 clerk's budget is $628,030, an increase of $99,296.

The budget she presented for the county election board for 2003 totaled $1,390,291 and included $1.3 million for new voting systems. However, the county council said they will address the new voting systems later date and deleted the $1.3 million from the budget. Larry Teghtmeyer, county councilman, said when the county does buy new voting machines, it would be more appropriate to pay for them from the cumulative capital development fund.

Since the only election in 2003 is the city election, Christner said, less money will be needed for the registration of voters budget and presented a 2003 proposal of $20,975, a decrease of $1,625.

Avis Gunter, county commissioners' president, presented the commissioners' budget, which she said was "very conservative." However, there may be changes in it for employees' Social Security, retirement, unemployment compensation and workmen's compensation, depending on what the council does, "because there may not be enough money in there to take care of it."

The total 2003 proposed commissioners' budget is $4,850,354, a decrease of $21. The cumulative capital development fund budget and the Economic Development Income Tax budget were both approved at $630,753 (a decrease of $1,169,247) and $2 million respectively.

Kosciusko County Coroner Larry Ladd proposed a 2003 budget of $56,219, an increase of $1,654, while county surveyor Dick Kemper proposed a budget of $122,476 for the surveyor's office (an increase of $10,611) and $143,646 for the drainage board (an increase of $10,476).

With seven budgets to present, Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine said the local law enforcement responsibilities are becoming greater as the state's decrease. The budgets he presented included: county jail, $1,498,605, an increase of $141,581; sheriff's department, $2,237,044, an increase of $278,723; law enforcement forfeitures, $22,500, no difference; county correction, $60,834, an increase of $5,530; and AD grant, $100,164, an increase of $6,760. Tom Brindle presented the budget for the Emergency 911, proposed at $543,045 for 2003, an increase of $15,355.

Kosciusko County Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver presented four budgets to the council, with several of them being paid through grants. The county health department budget for 2003 is proposed at $495,495, a decrease of $407; health maintenance budget, $49,200, a decrease of $6,800; prenatal budget, $52,645, a decrease of $1,281; and Well Child fund budget, $40,000, no change.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Chuck Waggoner was not present at the Monday budget hearing, but his 2003 prosecuting attorney budget was proposed at $363,804, an increase of $81,534. The Title IV-D (child support collection office) proposed 2003 budget is $282,137, an increase of $80,710.

Waggoner's proposed budget for Victim Assistance VOCA grant was approved at $35,236 for 2003, a decrease of $1,358, but the budget for the Victim Assistance STOP grant was held off until Thursday due to questions the council had regarding funding. However, the proposed 2003 budget is $31,892, a decrease of $699.

Members of the Kosciusko County Council present Monday were Jim Tranter, Brad Tandy, Harold Jones, Tom Anglin, Larry Teghtmeyer and John Kinsey. Not present was Maurice Beer. [[In-content Ad]]