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Before Kosciusko County Auditor Sue Ann Mitchell can pay the county's bills, she normally submits the claims to the county commissioners for their approval.
Today, the commissioners approved a resolution that will allow Mitchell to pay the bills that are due by a certain date and then submit the claim to the commissioners.
Mitchell told the commissioners the bills will be those that the commissioners already know about - such as utility bills or service agreements.
County Commissioner President Brad Jackson said he is concerned that eventually the county will be expected to pay their bills a lot faster.
By approving the resolution, Mitchell said, the county can avoid penalties. Every month, the county has penalties on telephone bills because the county is paying only the current charges. Government bodies do not have the authority to pay late charges so the companies who charge them have to absorb the late charges.
"I think we should pay them on time and get it cleaned up," said commissioner Ron Truex.
Mitchell said the resolution defines which bills she can pay before submitting the claims to the commissioners and includes interlocal agreements, license or permit fees, insurance premiums, payroll, local and state excise taxes, service agreements, utility bills, etc. She also said checks to pay the bills won't be issued the first day they come in but would be paid before the bill's deadline. All bills will be continously monitored.
Mitchell also reported that the county received a notice from the Kosciusko County Youth Center that they will be closing because of the dramatic decline in demand for shelter care.
The county had budgeted $100,500 for this year to pay for the shelter to take in area youth and has paid the shelter $67,000 so far this year. The remaining $33,500, Mitchell said, will remain in the same county account so if any juveniles need to be taken to a shelter, the county will have the money to pay for them to be taken elsewhere.
The juvenile shelter was the only place in the community for the county to house children in need of services.
In other business, the county commissioners:
• Approved Dixie Lee Likens' petition to rezone one acre from an agricultural district to a commercial district. The property is on the west side of Ind. 13 and 1,320 feet south of CR 500N in Tippecanoe Township.
• Approved a 5-year contract with Cintas for the uniforms for the Kosciusko County Highway Department.
• Approved accepting the roads in the North Dells subdivision, phase six, into the county except for Knoll Wood Drive. The drive does not have a turn- around for snow plowing, said Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent and Engineer Rob Ladson. If the developer fixes the drive so it has a turn-around, the county can accept the drive later.
• Approved ordinances for stop signs in the Saw Grass subdivision, Atlantis Villas and Wausau subdivision.
• Approved lowering the speed limit on CR 700S in front of Claypool Elementary School to 25 miles per hour.
• Approved the Warsaw Housing Authority reapplying for a grant for $145,000. The K21 Foundation is putting up the local matching funds of $14,500. Laura Kauffman, WHA executive director, said they applied for the grant last year but there was a "deficit" in the public notice and so they did not get the grant. A resolution signed by the commissioners is needed so the WHA can reapply for the grant this year.
County commissioners are Brad Jackson, Ron Truex and Avis Gunter. They meet at 9 a.m. in the county courthouse every other Tuesday.
