Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Purdue Extension Educator Joan Younce appeared before the county council Tuesday clearing up a misconception about local staffing.
During Monday's budget hearings, wage committee member Brad Tandy did not recommend the $5,000 increase in contractual services because the office hasn't been at full staff for two years. There is a contract between Purdue University and the county for the Extension staff, which includes an Extension coordinator and agriculture and youth educators.
Younce said there's never been a staffer missing for two years, that Youth Educator Christie Bloemeke left April 28 and she worked the previous 16 months. A new youth educator will start Sept. 5. The gap in staff is just four months.
Tandy apologized for the misunderstanding, but he said, "Our premise is if we're paying for a contract, we should receive those services."
Younce said the wages that would have been paid during those four months has been set aside and is still available. She was going to use it for emergency expenditures instead of coming to the council.
Younce said an increase hasn't been requested for many years.
Council President Harold Jones suggested a youth educator be hired in the spring instead of the fall so they are working during the 4-H fair. Younce said she couldn't influence people's professional choices.
County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Hearn presented four budgets before the council: the prosecuting attorney's budget of $293,387, and Title IV, $359,577.
In the prosecuting attorney's budget, as in many other budgets, employee salary increases will be advertised at 10 percent, with anticipated cuts coming during final adoptions.
Hearn said the pretrial and diversion program fees totaled $129,871 last year and $42,000 of that went to the county's general fund. The property seizure program brought in $326,000 with 100 percent of those funds going to the operating budget of the drug task force.
Hearn was thanked for the information. Jones said he'd never heard those figures before.
Other budgets approved were for:
• County Recorder LaShawn Brumfield's budget was up $13,083, but included a 10-percent salary increase that will be reduced to 3 percent. The budget amount given was $163,744.
• County Service Officer Mike Barnett - $15,753.
• Soil and Water Conservation District, represented by Darci Zolman - $144,109 from the general fund as well as a $41,512 budget for a grant-paid technician's salary.
• Superior Court No. 1 Judge Duane Huffer, Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed and Chief Probation Officer Ron Babcock presented the Circuit and Superior Court I, adult and juvenile probation user fees budgets, totaling $1,426,488, about $20,000 less than last year.
• Judges James Jarrett, Superior Court No. 2, and Joe Sutton, Superior Court No. 3, presented budgets for their courts and drug and alcohol user fee figures, totaling $532,706.
• Peggy Shively, of the county welfare department, showed two budgets totaling $1.9 million: $1,637,000 for the county family and child's fund, and $350,000 for the children's psychiatric residential treatment.
• The county assessor's four budgets, presented by assessor Laurie Renier, totaled $629,236.
• Township trustee budgets for 2007 were approved and presented as: Ben McKrill appeared for Clay Township, $21,918; Gary Sponseller, Etna Township, $14,100; Trillia Gearhart appeared for Franklin Township, $11,588; Jim Moyer appeared for Harrison Township, $23,614; Joe Kinch, Jackson Township, $14,154; Terry Zimmerman appeared for Jefferson Township, $14,490; Molly Bradford, Lake Township, $18,556; Sandra Fiedeke, Monroe Township, $13,837; Julie Goon appeared for Prairie Township, $22,510; Fred Slabaugh, Scott Township, $13,885; Aime Hoffman, Seward Township, $25,490; Pat Hurd, VanBuren Township, $26,536; and Dean Rhoades, Washington Township, $32,378.
• Township assessors presented the following budgets: Jane Lynch for Plain Township, $104,893; Dorothy Riesemeyer for Tippecanoe Township, $131,941; Patty Gammiere for Turkey Creek Township, $138,123; and Kristy Mayer for Wayne Township, $156,778.
• The auditor's budget totaled $391,734, a decrease of more than $15,000 from last year. Sue Ann Mitchell also presented a budget of $24,000 to rebind books.
• Also approved was a Rainy Day Fund budget to provide money for the Redevelopment Commission in the amount of $15,200 for secretarial services.
County council members are John Kinsey, Harold Jones, Charlene Knispel, Tom Anglin, Larry Teghtmeyer, Bob Sanders and Brad Tandy.
