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In a record-breaking 12 minutes Thursday, the Kosciusko County Council conducted all its business.
Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine told the council he will present to the county commissioners an ordinance to increase the jail inmates' medical co-pay amount. Since 1995, the county has charged inmates $7 - if they're able - for the co-pay. Last year, the co-pay brought back approximately $1,801 to the county.
The ordinance - which he was just letting the council know about - will increase the co-pay to $10. Before the Legislature, Rovenstine said, is a bill that may increase to $15 the amount the county can charge.
Council president Brad Tandy said of the increase, "We support that."
Not only does the council support the increase, councilman Tom Anglin said, but if the Legislature approves a bill to increase it to $15, the county should increase the co-pay amount immediately to $15.
Before the council Thursday were several transfers that were unanimously approved.
For the Kosciusko County Highway Department, the council approved a transfer of $20,000 from overtime pay to group insurance. There was a shortfall in the estimate for group insurance since the amount the county is paying increased for 2002. The transfer will cover the highway department's shortfall.
Five-hundred dollars was approved to be transferred from the county council's consulting fund to a recording fees fund. This is for the fees the county recorder is required by law to charge the council for recording documents.
All payroll items in the county commissioners' budget were moved to a different account in the last budget session but one such fund was missed. The council approved to move that missed fund, amounting to $620,000, from one fund to the other. The appropriation is not an additional expense.
So the county can track its Economic Development Income Tax funds better, the council approved transferring $2,645,606 from the cumulative capital development fund to the newly created EDIT fund.
"It should be very nice for us," said Tandy.
Also approved was a resolution to determine not to let any of the County Option Income Tax go to the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District. The council must approve an ordinance every year as to whether or not to let any of the COIT funds go to the district. Historically, said Tandy, the council has voted against letting any of the money go to the district.
In a last matter, Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson said there will be an open house for the new Justice Building expansion but a time and date are unknown at this time.
"Yes," said Robinson, "we will have an open house. ... We just don't know when."
Members of the Kosciusko County Council present at Thursday's meeting included Tandy, Anglin, Maurice Beer, Harold Jones and Larry Teghtmeyer. Not present were Jim Tranter and John Kinsey.
The council meets on the second Thursday of every month in the Kosciusko County courthouse, Warsaw, at 7 p.m.
