As the Kosciusko County Council went through all the proposed 2025 budgets Wednesday, two things that were tabled stood out while most other requests were approved.
The wages and salaries for the county surveyor’s office were tabled for further study, and no action was taken on the coroner’s request in his budget for a second vehicle.
At the council’s Aug. 14 budget presentations, current county surveyor Mike Kissinger, who is a licensed county surveyor, and surveyor-elect Jim Moyer, who is not licensed, presented the 2025 surveyor’s office budget. A non-licensed county surveyor can’t perform some of the duties of the office so those will have to be contracted out. It’s the first time in 64 years that the county hasn’t had a licensed county surveyor and it’s estimated that contracted services could cost $170,000 to $200,000, though Moyer presented his vision to the council Aug. 14 on how he will handle those costs, including the elimination of a position and taking on additional duties himself.
On Aug. 15, the council continued discussing the surveyor’s office with Kissinger answering their questions that he could. Moyer was not present. Part of the discussion included whether Moyer had to be paid a surveyor’s salary or the base salary.
On Wednesday, when the council was reviewing the surveyor’s office budget, Councilwoman Joni Truex made a motion to table the salaries and wages until the council receives the updated and corrected salary and compensation charts.
“From who?” Moyer asked, to which Truex responded human resources.
Councilwoman Kimberly Cates asked when Truex thought they would have the charts.
“We will have it before we approve the budget in October,” Truex stated.
Councilwoman Kathy Groninger seconded Truex’s motion and it passed unanimously.
After all the funds in the surveyor’s office were approved that didn’t relate to salaries and wages, Moyer asked, “So to clarify, anything but the salaries for me and an assistant” were approved. Council President Mike Long said that was correct as that was what was being “looked through right now to make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed. This is new ground for this county and this council, and it’s been a pretty hotly talked-about, researched, whatever. We just want to make sure we’re doing everything correctly.”
Moyer said the St. Joe County Council is going through the exact same thing right now.
Coroner Vehicle
As part of his 2025 budget presentation on Aug. 15, County Coroner Tyler Huffer presented a request for a new second vehicle for his office for almost $160,000. No decision was made after a long discussion on the cost and need of the vehicle.
Tuesday, Huffer sent the council a letter via email updating them on the costs for a new emergency response vehicle. He stated he received an additional quote for a 2024 Dodge Ram 2500 with an 8-foot bed, including an emergency response setup from John Jones Police Pursuit Vehicles. The setup includes enclosing the rear of the vehicle, a ventilation system for the rear area and emergency lights, with a total cost of $70,682.50. Additionally, the letter states, Crossroads Ambulance Service will handle the installation of the floor and the Stryker Power Cot and Powerload system for $7,574.98. He said he also will be acquiring a used Stryker Powerload and cot for $50,000. Total cost would be $128,257.48.
Wednesday, Councilman Tony Ciriello, the prior county coroner, said he couldn’t justify spending that much money for a vehicle. He said he supported the coroner’s office having what they need to do the job, and he understood what Huffer was trying to get out of the second vehicle, but he had a “hard time spending that kind of money on a vehicle that may be used a few times a year.”
“So what do you suggest we do to protect our deputies?” Huffer asked.
Ciriello asked him what he did when he transported bodies at the funeral home, as Huffer works at Titus Funeral Home. Huffer said they use a hearse. Ciriello said he didn’t know any funeral home used a hearse to transport bodies, and Huffer said they did.
Truex made a motion to improve all of Huffer’s budget, including the $130,000 for the second vehicle, and Cates seconded the motion but it later died by a vote of 2-5.
Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell said she’d like to see if there was an avenue to pay for the vehicle through some sort of grant. She also clarified a comment from the Aug. 15 meeting that when she suggested a pickup truck, that would be the vehicle the coroner’s office could use to take bodies to Fort Wayne for autopsies, not the vehicle for picking up bodies from people’s homes.
The council also discussed contracting with other funeral homes to pick up bodies and used ambulances or hearses.
Mitchell asked if there would be any interest in not considering the vehicle for the 2025 budget but working on it for the current year. She said there may be some alternative to Huffer’s request.
“I’m not opposed to it, Tyler, I don’t want you to think that. It’s just the funding and trying to be sure we’re doing the right thing because this was pretty quick and we really haven’t done our homework on it,” she said.
Ciriello said he wasn’t against a second vehicle, but he was against “this amount of money for a second vehicle.”
He made a motion to approve all of the coroner’s budget except the fund for the second vehicle, and the motion passed.
Nonprofits
Funds from the county to local nonprofits are under one of the county commissioners’ budgets. The commissioners have discussed the idea of not funding nonprofits in the future, and recommended to the county council that funding to seven nonprofits be granted at the same amount in 2025 as 2024, with the exception of the St. Joe River Basin being granted an additional $14 per their request.
During their first day of budget presentations Aug. 14, the county council discussed the commissioners’ notion of the county not granting any money to the nonprofits in the future and that it was just being talked about for now.
On Wednesday, County Administrator Marsha McSherry said the money for the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County will be reduced by $40,000 to $185,000 for 2025, which is still an increase of $35,000 over what was provided to the AWL in 2024. The shelter had requested $225,000 for 2025.
“We’re not saying the commissioners are going to approve the $35,000 increase, they’re still in negotiations with the AWL on that, but the $35,000 will give them what they want to work with, with them,” McSherry said.
The contract between the county and AWL is up at the first of 2025.
There was some confusion as to whether or not the AWL was one of the nonprofits the commissioners were considering not funding in the future, but the animal shelter is not one of the seven and has been separated out as a separate line item because the AWL takes care of the animals in the county. The county is obligated to provide animal control for its residents.
Long said that even if the additional $35,000 is budgeted in 2025 for the AWL, there’s no guarantee that they’re going to use it.
County Councilman Dave Wolkins said, “And there’s no guarantee that the Animal Welfare will continue to service the county.” He said the commissioners need to be very careful with what they’re doing because, “Who else does it (what the AWL does)?”
“They understand that. The commissioners understand that,” McSherry stated.
The council approved the budget, including the $185,000 for the AWL.
There was some question as to what was approved for the nonprofits, if what was approved was what the commissioners recommended. It was clarified that what was approved was the commissioners’ recommendation - to keep nonprofit funding the same for 2025 as 2024. The council also approved to separate the St. Joe River Basin out of the nonprofit funding going forward.
In 2024, Kosciusko County 4-H Council was approved for $46,589.91 from the county; Cardinal Services, $108,129; Stillwater Hospice, $50,000; Kosciusko County Historical Society, $23,230; Beaman Home, $33,425; Kosciusko County Senior Services, $33,425; and St. Joe River Basin, $3,794, according to information previously provided.
Another nonprofit the county provides funding to - and is required by the state legislature - is the Bowen Center. The county will contribute $809,558 to the Bowen Center in 2025, but it’s not listed with the seven other nonprofits because of the state mandate.
Justice Building
Of the millions of dollars the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), approximately $2.4 million was originally allocated for Justice Building renovations. The project came in lower earlier this year at around $1.6 million.
In the future, county buildings will need maintenance but there may be no federal funds to pay for it.
In the commissioners’ cumulative capital development budget for 2025, a line item for $500,000 is budgeted.
Truex asked Wednesday, “We’ve already done $2.4 million additional appropriations, we need another $500,000?”
McSherry said last year the council asked for a plan and a gradually increasing fund to cover expenditures that need to be taken care of in the interiors of the county buildings so there’s no $1.6 million project like there is now in the Justice Building being paid for by ARPA dollars.
“So, it’s recommended that every six to eight years we do these kind of things,” she said, so the plan is to build that line item up each year so when the funds are needed, they’re there.
Truex asked if the budget line item then should be $250,000 for 2025, but it’s double that and she wanted to know why.
McSherry responded, “Because $250,000 is not going to cover a $1.6 or $2.4 million project.” The fund has to increase every year to eventually build up to that.
“Fast forward to next year: You going to ask for $750,000?” Truex asked.
“Probably,” McSherry answered. “But that was your suggestion to be able to cover this, having a line item that covers this. We’ll be spending some of these dollars here maybe yet this year on some additional furniture. We have some offices at the courthouse that need to be done that are coming up. I don’t know that we’ll get to them this year. At least one probably this year, with two locations that next year we’ll have some more offices at the courthouse that will be paid out of this.”
Ciriello said they asked for a five-year plan to spend money to keep up with everything “so we can get to the point where we’re at. I think part of that discussion was raising money in CCD to set aside just for that purpose.”
“I’m just really confused because just because you budget it, it’s not going to grow,” Truex said a few minutes later. “This budget is a one-time thing, so it’s spend it or lose it. If she keeps increasing it, the only way it’s going to grow is if she keeps asking for more and more and more.”
Long said they’re looking to build that line item up to “a meaningful balance that when we have these major projects pop up ... that we have the money then set aside to support that. It’s more like a cumulative fund over time, and my opinion is, if you’re trying to accumulate with the amount of dollars that could possibly keep this building in a usable state, $250,000 is very conservative because over 10 years that’s $2.5 million, and that is not going to go far in this whole structure.”
The council approved the budget.
Sheriff’s Budgets
Originally, Sheriff Jim Smith wanted four new jailers for 2025. He reduced his request to two new jailers in order to get 24/7 medical coverage for the jail at $780,000, and the council approved both requests unanimously.
They also approved Smith’s request for an additional merit deputy and the creation of a traffic administrator sergeant position.