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Concluding their hearings Thursday for the 2000 budget, the Kosciusko County Council approved increasing most county employee wages from 95 to 100 percent of the market value.
Positions that were not recommended for raises will receive a $200 increase. The county council and commissioners will receive no pay raises.
Starting hourly rate for county employees will increase from $7.43 to $7.80.
Area Plan Commission, the Tax Board of Revue, the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Drainage Board members' salaries will remain at $75 per meeting. Wages for assessor deputies to township trustees will increase $3 to $70.
Level one and level two appraisers will receive a lump sum compensation when their certification is complete. Level one will receive $500 annually at the end of the year and level two will receive $1,000. They will continue to receive their designated annual compensation as long as their certification remains current.
To be more competitive with public employment institutions in the area, 911 dispatchers will receive a 7 percent increase above the 95 percent market and merit pay employees in the sheriff's department will receive 8 percent above the 95 percent of market. Merit pay employees include ranking officers and deputy marshals.
That increase is great news to the county sheriff's department, whose members gave a presentation to the council before the council discussed wage increases.
The presentation compared the workload between the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, the Warsaw Police Department and the Indiana State Police. According to the figures presented, the county's workload increased while the salaries remained the same.
For example, in 1998, WPD had 2,593 calls for service. The sheriff's department had 16,931 and the ISP had 10,548. But captain salaries were $32,924 for the sheriff's department, $38,534 for the WPD and $36,982 for the ISP in 1998.
"My main concern is our entry level. ... We've lost two very good officers in the past year who indicated salary was a reason," Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine said.
After approving the county employee wages, councilman Jim Tranter said of the sheriff's department increase, "We are sending a message that we appreciate what they're doing."
Rovenstine said of the wage increase, "It's humbling, very humbling. ... The guys are second to none in my opinion and we really appreciate the council support."
Rovenstine's wage level will be handled in the sheriff's contract this fall.
The council also approved an additional $350,000 for salaries for 2000 to cover an extra pay period. There are 27 pay periods in 2000 instead of 26.
In other business, Animal Welfare League President Chad Harvey ask the county council to increase the AWL budget over the $30,000 they approved Monday.
Harvey said, "The numbers we came up with, we had no idea what the actual numbers would be. As we've progressed, we've kept three times the number of animals the county did and we've hired more employees."
He said they are spending more on advertising, pet neutering education and housing and taking care of the animals. He said, in hindsight, $30,000 barely pays for a salary.
Councilman Lewis Bertsch asked him to compare how many animals AWL had when they took over the shelter Nov. 1, 1998, and how many they have now. Harvey said in 1998 they had 100. Now, they have almost 300.
"The philosophy has changed from what the county was doing and what we're doing. We're trying to keep euthanization to a minimum," he said.
Bertsch said that while what they were doing was a noble cause, "I don't know how you can possibly have a program where you try to save all the animals."
The council asked if any of the cities and towns are giving money. He said Warsaw is working with them and might donate $10,000 but no other towns have been contacted.
Tranter said he had problems increasing their funds because "there's a couple of issues that come to mind. We budgeted $25,000 for our senior citizens next year and you're asking for five times that much. You also have a building and we don't have a building for our senior citizens."
Harvey said the two cases are different because the animals are homeless whereas the senior citizens aren't.
Councilman Harold Jones told the AWL their contract is with the county commissioners and they should work with them on the issue. No motions were made, so the AWL appropriation from the county for 2000 remains at $30,000.
The department budget requests, excluding salaries and wages, approved were:
• Kosciusko County Recorder, $25,375.
• Kosciusko County Clerk, $120,312.
• Election Board, $78,559.
• Registration of Voters, $19,460.
• County Assessor, $32,500.
• County reassessment for commercial/industrial, $22,972.
Township assessors: Plain Township, $58,305; Tippecanoe Township, $20,100; Turkey Creek Township, $20,035; Wayne Township, $14,738.
Trustee/assessors:
Clay Township, $2,200; Etna Township, $1,530; Franklin Township, $1,600; Harrison Township, $2,000; Jackson Township, $850; Jefferson Township, $1,999; Lake Township, $2,100; Monroe Township, $400; Prairie Township, $2,744; Scott Township, $1,690; Seward Township, $2,600; VanBuren Township, $1,905; Washington Township, $2,950.
The figures for the township trustees/assessors do not count each township's project cost for the 2000 reassessment. Because the last reassessment was in 1995, the county council had no figures to compare the dollar amounts requested by each township trustee. The council tabled the approval of the township reassessment budget requests until the Sept. 2 meeting at 7 p.m. to gather more information.
