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After presenting their 2003 budget requests before the Kosciusko County Commissioners July 2, local nonprofit organizations had to also present their requests to the county council Thursday.
The council will consider each request at budget hearings scheduled for Aug. 5, at 6 p.m.; Aug. 6, 6 p.m.; Aug. 8, 7 p.m., first budget reading; and Sept. 12, 7 p.m., budget adoption.
Kosciusko Development Inc. is requesting $35,000 for 2003, the same request as for 2002.
Joy McCarthy-Sessing, KDI president, said since August of last year, KDI has responded to 27 business relocation inquiries in the county. They are working on a manufacturer's council with the first meeting being planned for October.
Councilman Harold Jones asked her if, with all the information they received, there was any forecast for Indiana's economy in the next five to 10 years. Though it's hard to predict for the next five to 10 months, much less the next five to 10 years, she said, Indiana has lost more manufacturing jobs of late than any other state. Long range, the prediction is that manufacturing jobs for all of the state will become less significant.
Kosciusko County, she said, has a very concentrated field of biomedical manufacturing, which the state is trying to help promote. She said the biomedical companies are in a good place right now and "we're in a good place right now" because of them.
Jones said, as elected officials, they need to do what they can to maintain the industries in the county.
Most industries looking to relocate, McCarthy-Sessing said, want an area already properly zoned and with access to sewer and water.
She said KDI tries to meet with local manufacturers on a regular basis, and the manufacturers' council will help them do that.
Combined Community Services is requesting $85,000 for 2003, $55,000 of which CCS will use to help pay for insurance for their 11 employees. The remaining $30,000 will fund CCS' information and referral service.
Tippecanoe Environmental Foundation made a $1,000 request for 2003.
Kosciusko County 4-H is requesting $48,811 for 2003, an approximate $6,000 increase from their 2002 request of $42,639. Arrow Head RC&I made a request of $500.
Cardinal Center is requesting $95,000 while Home Health Care requested $50,000. Kosciusko County Historical Society is proposing $23,000, while Beaman Home is proposing an increase of $4,000 over 2002 to $34,000.
Kosciusko County Council on Aging wants to increase its funding from the commissioners to $40,000 from $30,000. St. Joseph River Basin is requesting $500.
A 10 percent increase is being proposed by the Animal Welfare League, making their 2003 proposed budget $72,600.
In other business, the county council:
• Denied a gun violence enforcement grant the Kosciusko County prosecutor received. The grant and program were tabled from the council's June meeting for the council to gather more information.
County Prosecutor Chuck Waggoner was awarded the grant of $120,000 for three years, which would pay $40,000 each year for a prosecutor - a new employee - to handle cases involving guns.
Council president Jim Tranter said in addition to the $40,000 per year the grant paid, the county's cost would be approximately $30,000 per year.
Tom Anglin, councilman, said the council should wait until they have a new prosecutor on board at the first of the year and then let him decide on any new such programs.
• Approved the creation of a prosecutor overtime account.
The State of Indiana Division of Family and Children approved the payment of overtime for the child support office to correct files.
This will be reimbursed on a dollar-to-dollar basis. Employees will be paid their rate of pay between 37.5 and 40 hours, pay will be time-and-a-half for hours worked more than 37.5 in a work week.
The initial amount expected is $3,850, with the possibility of additional funding being made available.
"They are correcting data entry errors that have been made over a long period of time," said Sue Ann Mitchell, county auditor.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $100,000 for the county highway department for curb and gutter work and surface work in two older subdivisions.
• Approved a transfer of $276 for the county sheriff's department from law enforcement user fees to continuing education.
• Approved a transfer of $400 for the county recorder's office from office equipment to per-diem meetings.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $1,000 for the county clerk's office for voter registration cards.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $49,920 for contracts for the county assessor's office and $79,619 for computer software.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $23,148 for the work release center for the salary of a new employee. The money comes from an Indiana Department of Corrections grant. A salary ordinance also was approved for the new employee.
Councilmen are Jim Tranter, Brad Tandy, John Kinsey, Larry Teghtmeyer, Maurice Beer, Harold Jones and Tom Anglin. They meet at 7 p.m. in the county courthouse on the second Thursday of every month.
