Purdue Extension Educator Seeks Funds From County
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
As the Purdue Cooperative Extension Office Educator, one of Joan Younce's jobs is to see that the office gets money for all of its programs.
Thursday, the Kosciusko County Council, working with a tight 2004 budget, declined to give her the salary increases for 2004 for the office's employees the cooperative was asking the council to give.
Monday, at the first county council budget workshop, the wage committee recommended and the county council approved to keep the Extension Office's wages at $87,450 for 2004, the same as 2003, not the $89,200 the office requested.
Younce was at the council meeting Thursday to convince them to change their minds and allow the increase. She offered a solution that she said was a win-win solution for all.
Her proposal was that the $1,750 increase be moved from the summer staff account to the contractual service account. The budget would be no different and no additional money would be appropriated.
"That way, I can meet what is expected of me," she said.
The office has three full-time staff members. The county pays the salary of one of the full-time employees. For the other two, Purdue pays 60 percent of their salaries and the county pays 40 percent.
"In actuality," Younce said, "you are funding the youth position."
Council chairman Harold Jones said the council has not done much with the wages for anyone else. If they were to grant the salary increase for the Cooperative, Jones said, they would be "setting a precedent."
Younce replied that last year, Purdue gave less money than the county did.
The wage committee recommended not to give the increase, councilman John Kinsey said, and he said they should not usurp the wage committee's authority.
"I don't feel we are in the position to make an exception at this time," said Charlene Knispel, county councilwoman.
No motions on the matter were made.
County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell later reported on the council's preliminary 2004 budget.
She said the county's general fund budget "wound up close to $15.4 million." It appears to her, she said, the county's operating balance for 2004 will be back to where the county wanted, approximately $1.9 million. That means the county will be cash solvent, she said, but issues such as county withholding and public employees' retirement fund still need to be addressed.
The budget, Mitchell said, is "remarkable, considering where we started from."
She said she's received various e-mails from auditors from other counties and many counties are giving no raises or are cutting people from staff altogether. She said she sees the county where many Indiana counties were a year ago. Kosciusko County, she said, is living within its means and has weathered the storm.
Jones said one reason the county is in as good as shape as it is is because of "the conservative efforts of the council."
He thanked the wage committee, the county commissioners, the various departments and especially the auditor's office for all their help and good work.
"I think the county is going to be in good hands for another year," Jones said.
Final budget adoption is Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
In other business, the county council:
• Approved transfers of $5,500 and $1,500 for the county clerk's office.
• Approved a transfer of $400 for the Tippecanoe Township Assessor.
• Approved a transfer of $300 for Scott Township.
• Approved a transfer of $27,500 for the county highway department.
• Approved a transfer of $12,249.60 for the county assessor's office.
• Approved a transfer of $30,000 for the 911 Central Dispatch Center.
• Approved a transfer of $10,361.76 for the county sheriff's department.
• Approved a salary ordinance at $9 for Beth Krull for part-time work for geographical imagining system work.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $12,000 for the county assessor's office for sales disclosure software.
Members of the county council are Harold Jones, Tom Anglin, Brad Tandy, Larry Teghtmeyer, John Kinsey, Maurice Beer and Charlene Knispel.
Members of the wage committee include councilmen Tandy and Teghtmeyer and county commissioner Brad Jackson. [[In-content Ad]]
As the Purdue Cooperative Extension Office Educator, one of Joan Younce's jobs is to see that the office gets money for all of its programs.
Thursday, the Kosciusko County Council, working with a tight 2004 budget, declined to give her the salary increases for 2004 for the office's employees the cooperative was asking the council to give.
Monday, at the first county council budget workshop, the wage committee recommended and the county council approved to keep the Extension Office's wages at $87,450 for 2004, the same as 2003, not the $89,200 the office requested.
Younce was at the council meeting Thursday to convince them to change their minds and allow the increase. She offered a solution that she said was a win-win solution for all.
Her proposal was that the $1,750 increase be moved from the summer staff account to the contractual service account. The budget would be no different and no additional money would be appropriated.
"That way, I can meet what is expected of me," she said.
The office has three full-time staff members. The county pays the salary of one of the full-time employees. For the other two, Purdue pays 60 percent of their salaries and the county pays 40 percent.
"In actuality," Younce said, "you are funding the youth position."
Council chairman Harold Jones said the council has not done much with the wages for anyone else. If they were to grant the salary increase for the Cooperative, Jones said, they would be "setting a precedent."
Younce replied that last year, Purdue gave less money than the county did.
The wage committee recommended not to give the increase, councilman John Kinsey said, and he said they should not usurp the wage committee's authority.
"I don't feel we are in the position to make an exception at this time," said Charlene Knispel, county councilwoman.
No motions on the matter were made.
County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell later reported on the council's preliminary 2004 budget.
She said the county's general fund budget "wound up close to $15.4 million." It appears to her, she said, the county's operating balance for 2004 will be back to where the county wanted, approximately $1.9 million. That means the county will be cash solvent, she said, but issues such as county withholding and public employees' retirement fund still need to be addressed.
The budget, Mitchell said, is "remarkable, considering where we started from."
She said she's received various e-mails from auditors from other counties and many counties are giving no raises or are cutting people from staff altogether. She said she sees the county where many Indiana counties were a year ago. Kosciusko County, she said, is living within its means and has weathered the storm.
Jones said one reason the county is in as good as shape as it is is because of "the conservative efforts of the council."
He thanked the wage committee, the county commissioners, the various departments and especially the auditor's office for all their help and good work.
"I think the county is going to be in good hands for another year," Jones said.
Final budget adoption is Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
In other business, the county council:
• Approved transfers of $5,500 and $1,500 for the county clerk's office.
• Approved a transfer of $400 for the Tippecanoe Township Assessor.
• Approved a transfer of $300 for Scott Township.
• Approved a transfer of $27,500 for the county highway department.
• Approved a transfer of $12,249.60 for the county assessor's office.
• Approved a transfer of $30,000 for the 911 Central Dispatch Center.
• Approved a transfer of $10,361.76 for the county sheriff's department.
• Approved a salary ordinance at $9 for Beth Krull for part-time work for geographical imagining system work.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $12,000 for the county assessor's office for sales disclosure software.
Members of the county council are Harold Jones, Tom Anglin, Brad Tandy, Larry Teghtmeyer, John Kinsey, Maurice Beer and Charlene Knispel.
Members of the wage committee include councilmen Tandy and Teghtmeyer and county commissioner Brad Jackson. [[In-content Ad]]