Adoption of the 2024 budgets by the Kosciusko County Council went mostly smoothly, except for concerns about a budgeted donation of $50,000 to Stillwater Hospice for 2024.
Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice (KHCH) merged into Stillwater in March 2023. Every year, the county has budgeted money toward a number of nonprofit organizations in the county, including for KHCH for 2023. The county earlier this year agreed for Stillwater to keep the donation made this year to KHCH on the premise that those funds would be used for patients in Kosciusko County.
The county commissioners budgeted $50,000 to Stillwater for 2024.
Thursday, Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell told the other council members, “Some of you know that I have looked into what we gave to Stillwater for this year.” She said Stillwater serves 12 counties and she polled the other 11 counties and found that none of them were giving Stillwater any money for their services.
“We have budgeted $50,000. I’m not feeling very good about Kosciusko County putting $50,000 in their bucket when no other county is giving any tax dollars to support them,” she said. “I don’t know that we’ve ever done this, but I would like to remove that from the budget with the understanding that next year if they came back and had funding from other places, we might consider it.”
Councilman Kathleen Groninger said she talked to Stillwater Hospice Outreach Director Glenn Hall Thursday about that and while she realizes that no other counties are supporting Stillwater, Kosciusko County is because “we are supporting the not-for-profit that they replaced.” She said Hall said he would do whatever he could to verify that the county’s funds would stay and be used in Kosciusko County. Hall told her he would be fine with showing the county that the funds stay in Kosciusko County.
Councilwoman Kimberly Cates asked Mitchell if she asked for that proof 30-60 days ago. Mitchell said she eventually talked with Stillwater Chief Development Officer Mary Shankster and Shankster sent her a list of the number of people (30) being serviced by Stillwater.
There also was some discussion about Stillwater asking the 11 other counties for donations in the future.
Joni Truex, councilwoman, said she would feel better if the council would grant Stillwater the money this year with the understanding that they would really like to see support from the other counties involved and that they would really like the money to stay in Kosciusko County.
Councilman Tony Ciriello made a motion to adopt the 2024 county budget, including the $50,000 for Stillwater contingent upon Stillwater providing documentation by the council’s next meeting that the full amount will only be spent in Kosciusko County. Groninger seconded his motion. His motion was approved 5-2, with Mitchell and Councilman Dave Wolkins opposed.
The county’s 2024 adopted budget is $50,091,808 for the things that figure into the tax rates; with the balance of the funds being $25,765,364; for a total of $75,857,172 that will be appropriated, Mitchell said. That leaves a tax rate of $0.2816.
The council also adopted the 2024 county salary ordinance unanimously.
Budgets for two organizations that the county had reviewed previously were also given the greenlight by the council Thursday - the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservancy and the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District.
For Turkey Creek what the county council adopted was a budget of $313,200 with a tax levy of $313,200 and tax rate of $0.0267.
For the KCSWMD, the adopted 2024 budget is $440,093 with a tax levy of $275,272 and a tax rate of $0.0039.