PORTER COUNTY COUNCIL
October 25, 2005

The Porter County Council met on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. in the County Administration Center, 155 Indiana-Suite 205, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Members present were Laura Blaney, Jim Burge, William Carmichael, Al Steele, Rita Stevenson, President Robert Poparad, and Dan Whitten, who was not present at roll call. Also present was Auditor Sandra Vuko, Becky Phillips and Jan Noll.

The meeting was called to order with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. Poparad, Approval of the September 19th minutes.

Mr. Carmichael moved to approve the minutes of September 19, 2005 as received. Mrs. Blaney seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

FIRST READING

Mrs. Vuko read the Notice to Taxpayers.

A & A MANUFACTURING
Compliance with Statement of Benefits

Mr. Poparad, A & A Manufacturing. Do you want to come on up, please.

Chris Metrusias, My name is Chris Metrusias, I am the controller with A & A Manufacturing. As we’ve previously supplied for tonight’s meeting, the Compliance with Statement of Benefits relating to our tax abatement, as well as an employment table. I don’t have a lot to add, other than we are in the fortunate position of representing all of our goals have been exceeding relating to the employment at our Valparaiso facility--Porter County facility. So we are very pleased with the progress of the facility in Porter County, and appreciative of the abatement relating to it. So we respectfully ask for this group’s blessing relating to our tax abatement.

Mr. Poparad, I’m assuming everybody looked at it. Does anybody got any questions?

Mrs. Stevenson, According to the chart, it states: 26 employees for full-time. Is that accurate?

Mr. Metrusias, Yes, that is accurate.

Mr. Poparad, What do you guys do? I’m just curious.

At this time, Mr. Whitten joined the meeting.

Mr. Metrusias, We manufacture cable-carrier systems in our Porter County facility. We have injection-molding operations in our facility as well as fabrication with metal.

Mr. Poparad, Does anybody got anything else?

Mr. Carmichael, What year is he in at this point? How many years?

Mr. Metrusias, I believe ’99 was the starting date. As far as the number of years, I believe we are in year seven.

Mr. Poparad, Seven, yes.

Mr. Carmichael moved to approve the Compliance with Statement of Benefits submitted by A & A Manufacturing. Mr. Burge seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Thank you.

Mr. Metrusias, Thank you very much.

CONVENTION, RECREATION & VISITORS COMMISSION 93
Transfer
$500 from 3520 Water & Sewage to 3220 Telephone
$1,000 from Lease Purchase to 3950 Contractual Services
$1,000 from 3920 Disposal to 3951 Contractual Attorney

Mr. Poparad, Convention, Recreation & Visitors Commission. You have a transfer of $500 from Water & Sewage to Telephone; $1,000 from Lease Purchase to Contractual; and $1,000 from Disposal to Contractual Attorney.

Mr. Burge, What is the background on the $1,000 coming from Lease Purchase to Contractual Services?

Lorelei Weimer, Okay, we had, a couple of things that we’ve been doing this year is, first of all, we are literally on hand ledgers for our bookkeeping, as prescribed the State Board of Accounts. We are trying to go automated with that, so we’ve actually, they don’t have any approved software for us, so we’ve actually brought in a computer programmer to literally take what’s on hand ledgers, and duplicate that onto the computer. We have a couple of minor things that we still have to do with that, so that will cover that.
And then the other thing is, we were without our director of finance, from March through September, and to get us through that time, we hired a CPA person to do our hand ledgers so we can stay, you know, in accordance with the State Board of Accounts, and that’s the fund that comes out of there, so we were running short to cover those two expenses.

Mr. Whitten, Maybe I missed this, but what’s the legal services outside your attorney’s contract? What is that?

Ms. Weimer, David Hollenbeck is our attorney, and we have a contractual service, and the Board knows that if he has to do above and beyond the work, outside that regular contract, we pay him his hourly fee. The Visitors Center, the last couple of months, mainly in 2005, David has really had to exceed and go outside that contract with a lot of the services that we had to the visitors center.

Mr. Whitten, Are we talking about hours, or are we talking about specific kinds of legal services?

Ms. Weimer, It’s hours for the new visitors center, and it is outside his, and the Board did approve this. And he’s been really good about not having extra hours, but this year we’ve really had a lot of contractual work that we’ve had to do for the new visitors center.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfers of funds submitted by Convention, Recreation & Visitors Commission 93, $500 from 3520 Water & Sewage to 3220 Telephone, $1,000 from Lease Purchase to 3950 Contractual Services and $1,000 from 3920 Disposal to 3951 Contractual Attorney. Mrs. Stevenson seconded, motion carried on the following voice vote:

Blaney - Yes Burge - Yes
Carmichael - Yes Poparad - Yes
Steele - Yes Stevenson - Yes
Whitten - No

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Thank you.

Ms. Weimer, Thank you.

SUPERIOR COURT 3 - JENT 01.38
Transfer
$1,100 from 2110 Office Supplies to 3130 Training & Education

Mr. Poparad, Come on up, Judge.

Mr. Whitten, Hello, Judge.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, you’ve got $1,100 from Office Supplies to Training & Education.

Judge Julia Jent, Right.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Superior Court 3, 01.38, $1,100 from 2110 Office Supplies to 3130 Training & Education. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more discussion?

Mr. Burge, What type of training is being conducted?

Judge Jent, Training, this is for me, the continuing education that’s required by the Judicial Center, and by the Bar--the State Bar. We have to go, and since my budget is so limited, I pay for it myself until the end of the year, and then when I see I have the money, I transfer, otherwise, I eat it.

Mr. Burge, And there’s enough money left over in your Office Supplies? It seems like $1,100 for Office Supplies is a lot to lose, a lot of paper and…

Judge Jent, Well, we’re okay with that. I do this, this is annual trek for me. I do this every year, I wait and see just what we have, and there is some still left to make sure we are covered for the rest of the year.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions? All in favor of the transfer, say aye.

Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Thank you, Judge.

Judge Jent, Thank you.

COMMISSIONERS 01.30
Transfer
$440 from 2110 Office Supplies to 4410 Office Equipment over $100
$2,500 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly
Additional Appropriation
$6,883.20 to 3110 Legal

Mr. Poparad, Commissioners. You want to transfer $440 from Office Supplies to Office Equipment over $100; and $2,500 from Salaries to Hourly. Let’s do that first.

Com. Bob Harper, As you remember, we discussed at budget time when we did the part-time last year, we didn’t put the extra money with the raises they got into the budget line. So that’s just to bring that up to date. The other is just for office equipment.

Mrs. Blaney moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Commissioners 01.30, $440 from 2110 Office Supplies to 4410 Office Equipment over $100 and $2,500 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, And you need an additional of $6,883.20 for the landfill cost, it appears.

Com. Harper, Did we, we didn’t discuss the Motor Vehicles, did we? That transfer?

Mr. Poparad, We’re not there yet.

Com. Harper, Okay, I’m sorry. Oh, I see. Okay, that’s asking for an additional to finish, hopefully, it will be the last bill on landfill.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Are we reimbursing the Plan Commission or are you guys footing this?

Com. Harper, We’re paying it.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Commissioners 01.30, $6,883.20 to 3110 Legal. Mrs. Blaney and Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

CCD FUND 132.30
Transfer
$10,000 from 4420 Motor Vehicles to 4540 Other Equipment

Mr. Poparad, Okay, you’ve got a $10,000 transfer from Motor Vehicles to Other Equipment out of the CCD.

Com. Harper, Yes, to buy a mower, to help put some more money in the account to buy a mower for our groundskeeper, and for a?

Melissa Hartig, It’s a…

Com. Harper, Cash scanner.

Ms. Hartig, Yes, it’s like a money counter, and it checks counterfeit bills for Treasurer’s Office, and whoever might need to use the machine.

Mr. Poparad, I thought we used markers for that.

Mr. Whitten, As I recall, didn’t we take away one of your groundskeepers; you still need this mower.

Com. Harper, I have…

Mr. Poparad, The other guy has got to have something to do.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by CCD 132.30, $10,000 from 4420 Motor Vehicles to 4540 Other Equipment. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions?

Mr. Burge, Just one. For counterfeit bills, do we have any idea of all the bills paid, how much of it actually comes in the form of cash, percentage-wise?

Ms. Hartig, The Treasurer’s Office, when they asked if we could purchase this for them, said that they get a lot of money at tax time. They didn’t specify how much. She said it would really be helpful, and see if we could get it before the deadline.

Mr. Burge, Okay. I’m somewhat surprised, I would think that most people would pay by check.

Ms. Hartig, Yes. I think the people that come in here, and stand in line, a lot of those people pay cash, I think.

Mr. Burge, Okay, alright, thank you.

Motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

EXPO CENTER 146.66
144 Form
Manager from $0 to $49,238
Transfer
$9,725.37 from 3950 Contractual Services to 1110 Salaries

Mr. Poparad, The Expo Center. Is that you guys?

Com. Harper, That’s us.

Mr. Poparad, You’ve got a 144, you want to take the Manager from $0 to $49,238.

Com. Harper, The explanation on that, that was a contract position. It was a contract position, and part of the contract was the medical coverage, and we feel it would be better to be a salaried position. I am interviewing for it. We picked that figure, because that’s the high from the rate, the county rate set for that position. Then that leaves us some room to look over the qualifications and so forth when a person applies.

Mr. Steele, So, Bob, it isn’t 49 for sure. After you look at the person, you’re going to make a proposal to them.

Com. Harper, Right.

Mr. Steele, And that will be your position.

Com. Harper, Right.

Mr. Steele, Have you had any people who were professional expo managers apply for this?

Com. Harper, Not professional expo managers, but we’ve got 38 applications to go through. So we have a lot of varying backgrounds with professional people.

Mr. Poparad, So you are proposing that this becomes a county employee, paid by the Expo Center?

Com. Harper, Right, and what I’m telling you is, it was a contract position, but we were taking care of the medical coverage for that person. So it’s not going to be like that now.

Mr. Poparad, That was last year. Next year that was going to come out of the Expo budget.

Com. Harper, Right, it’s going to come out of the Expo budget.

Mrs. Blaney, And why do you want to switch from a contract position to a county employee?

Com. Harper, Well I just think it’s much better. I don’t know how it ever got to be a contract. I think it used to be a salaried position, then it went to this contract position. I think this is much better.

Mr. Burge, Because of? Just being able to help to direct the activities?

Com. Harper, Right, because all you have, all you really have is this contract, and it goes for a year. You know, you really didn’t have any input into it.

Mr. Steele, And that person out there too was wearing two hats. They worked for the Agriculture Society, and was probably be getting paid for that. If there is ever a conflict of interest it’s, having been in the carnival business, the people who are managing the midway, from one perspective, and the County itself, it’s really opposing. I think this is an excellent move, and the control will be there.

Mr. Poparad, That’s an interesting question. Are they going to be allowed to work for the Fair Board at fair time?

Com. Harper, Well this will have to be a commissioners’ decision. Okay? But I don’t think it should be, in my personal opinion, they should just be a county employee.

Mr. Steele, There’s too many conflicts on interest, and I could talk to you about that for hours someday, so I agree with your position.

Com. Harper, I agree with that.

Mr. Whitten, How much was the contract?

Com. Harper, $38,500, plus, as Al said, there was also another contract with the Fair Board that I think was around eight. I’ve got the contracts at home.

Mr. Steele, I think you’re right.

Mr. Whitten, I’ve got you.

Com. Harper, We didn’t just pull this figure. This figure is from that, from your consultant’s work on that job. I will tell you that in my discussion with people that, even at that point, that’s a low figure if you’re going to get a real professional in there.

Mrs. Blaney, Why did it go to a contract to begin with? Were you here then?

Mr. Carmichael, Why did we go with a contract? It was after my time as a commissioner.

Com. Harper, Yes, when you were here, it was salaried, right, Bill? It was a salaried position.

Mr. Carmichael, It was a salaried position originally, until Lonnie came on board. Who’s living in the house, Bob?

Com. Harper, I don’t know, it’s rented, and I will find that question out for you. It’s rented, and the money goes to the Expo. It’s rented out, and the money goes to the Expo.

Mr. Carmichael, Oh, okay.

Com. Harper, It goes into the fund, but I’ll find out. I can’t tell you the name of the person, but I will get that for you.

Mr. Carmichael, Good.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions? Does someone want to make a motion on the 144?

Mr. Steele moved to amend the 144 Form submitted by Expo Center 146.66, Manager from $0 to $49,238. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, we have a transfer of $9,725.37 from Contractual Services to Salaries.

Com. Harper, Because there is no money in the salary line.

Mr. Poparad, Right, there’s nothing in the hole.

Com. Harper, So that’s what’s left of his contract for the year, so if we hire someone in the next few weeks we’ll have some salary money to work off of.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Expo Center 146.66, $9,725.37 from 3950 Contractual Services to 1110 Salaries. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

PLAN COMMISSION 239
Additional Appropriation
$1,000 to 3320 Legal Notices

Mr. Poparad, Plan Commission; you’re a member of the Plan Commission, sit down. You’ve got an additional of $1,000 for Legal Notices. Is that for the…

Bob Thompson, To explain this briefly, we just adopted new rules and procedures, and it requires signage for notification of public hearing for the BZA and Plan Commission. So for us to be able to purchase the signs so the staff will be able to put these, we need to put additional monies in there to purchase the signs.

Mrs. Blaney moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Plan Commission 239, $1,000 to 3320 Legal Notices. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Thompson, Thank you very much.

OPERA HOUSE 158
Additional Appropriation
$5,000 to 3730 Director, Choreographer
$3,500 to 2250 Other Supplies
Transfer
$3,000 from 1120 Hourly to 3310 Printing other than Office Supplies
$20 from 1120 Hourly to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions
$500 from 2230 Food & Groceries to 2250 Other Supplies

Mr. Poparad, Opera House. You have an additional of $5,000 to Director, Choreographer, and $3,500 to Other Supplies. We’ll handle that first. Are you guys all on the same page now? Is everybody happy?

Mrs. Vuko, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, She has the funds? These are her own funds, she just has to put them in a line item.

Mrs. Vuko, Right.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Opera House 158, $5,000 to 3730 Director, Choreographer and $3,500 to 2250 Other Supplies.

Mr. Steele, Bill, wait. How much does it, is the Director, Choreographer one classification? Is that one person or two people?

Holly Seibel, No, it is guest directors, choreographers, vocal directors, orchestra directors, a band playing.

Mr. Steele, Okay, so why are you asking for an additional? They already receive a salary, how much is that?

Ms. Seibel, No, they just get paid per show for how many performances they do.

Mr. Steele, So this is not, this is paid for work that may be different at different times?

Ms. Seibel, Yes.

Mr. Steele, This is just a slush fund--so to speak. This isn’t a wage that they are going to receive…

Ms. Seibel, Correct.

Mr. Steele, All of it. Is that correct?

Ms. Seibel, Correct.

Mr. Steele, And you have this in your…
Ms. Seibel, Yes, we do have it in the line item.

Mr. Steele, Line item.

Ms. Seibel, Yes.

Mr. Steele, Okay, thank you.

Mr. Burge, This supplements the gate receipts?

Ms. Seibel, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Bill made the motion.

Mrs. Blaney seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Whitten - Yes Steele - No
Stevenson - Yes Carmichael - Yes
Blaney - Yes Burge - Yes
Poparad - Yes

Mr. Poparad, We have a transfer of $3,000 from Hourly to Printing other than Office Supplies; $20 from Hourly to Dues & Subscriptions; and $500 from Food & Groceries to Other Supplies. And all this comes out of your rentals?

Ms. Seibel, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, I need a motion.

Mr. Carmichael move to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Opera House 158, $3,000 from 1120 Hourly to 3310 Printing other than Office Supplies, $20 from 1120 Hourly to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions and $500 from 2230 Food & Groceries to 2250 Other Supplies. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

GREG PHILLIPS MEMORIAL FUND 151
Additional Appropriation
$310,000 to 4210 Buildings

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE 94
Additional Appropriation
$385,000 to 4210 Buildings

Mr. Poparad, The Greg Phillips Memorial Fund. Hello, Russell. You want an additional of $310,000 to Buildings, obviously for, we are going to do both of these together. They’re both the same, basically.

Mr. Burge, This is the procedure to start the building?

Mr. Poparad, Right, we’ve got to move the money now. Does this wipe out the Memorial Fund?

Ms. Phillips, Well, yes, they have $305,341.62 in there as of right now.

Mr. Poparad, And that will be the official transfer, so you’ll take that fund out there? I mean when it’s zero, it’ll disappear.

Ms. Phillips, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Any questions or comments?

Mr. Steele, I’d like to make a comment. I’m going to vote no on this, because we discussed this, and I’ve looked this over, and I have a number of different buildings I put semi trailers in, vehicles, and so forth. I know this is going to be approved, but I think you’ve built a building twice as big as you need. That’s just my comment.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Greg Phillips Memorial Fund 151, $310,000 to 4210 Buildings, and in Hazardous Substance 94, $385,000 to 4210 Buildings. Mr. Burge seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Steele - No Stevenson - Yes
Carmichael - Yes Blaney - Yes
Burge - Yes Poparad - Yes
Whitten - No

Mr. Whitten, I agree with you, too big of a building.

Mr. Poparad, Thank you, Russell.

Russell Shirley, Thank you.

HEALTH 05.95
Transfer
$250 from 2210 Office Fixtures under $100 to 4410 Office Equipment over $100
$650 from 3210 Travel to 2250 Other Supplies
$1,000 from 3210 Travel to 2110 Office Supplies
$75 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3950 Contractual Services
$120 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3950 Contractual Services

Mr. Poparad, Health Fund. You’ve got a transfer of $250 from Office Fixtures under $100 to Office Equipment over $100; $650 from Travel to Other Supplies; $1,000 from Travel to Office Supplies; $75 from Dues & Subscriptions to Contractual Services; and $120 from Dues & Subscriptions to Contractual Services.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Health 05.95, $250 from Office Fixtures under $100 to 4410 Office Equipment over $100, $650 from 3210 Travel to 2250 Other Supplies, $1,000 from 3210 Travel to 2110 Office Supplies, $75 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3950 Contractual Services and $120 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3950 Contractual Services. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries.

Keith Letta, Thank you.

JAIL 217
Additional Appropriation
$15,000 to 1130 Overtime
$100,000 to 2230 Food & Groceries
$20,000 to 2330 Household & Bedding

Mr. Poparad, Jail 217. We have three additionals in 217, $15,000 to Overtime, $100,000 to Food & Groceries, and $20,000 to Household & Bedding. How is that fund running?

Sheriff Dave Reynolds, Good.

Mr. Poparad, Fat?

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Jail 217, $15,000 to 1130 Overtime, $100,000 to 2230 Food & Groceries and $20,000 to 2330 Household & Bedding.

Mr. Steele, Excuse me. There are monies in all these funds for this, Sandy?

Mrs. Vuko, In 217, she said yes.

Ms. Phillips, $251,754.04.

Mr. Steele, It will cover these three.

Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Bill made the motion, Dan made the second. Any more questions? Comments? Call the roll, Sandy.

Mr. Burge, Wait.

Mr. Poparad, Oh, I’m sorry.

Mr. Burge, Just one question on the $100,000 for Food & Groceries, that’s an enormous sum. Just a little background on what drives the $100,000 number.

Sheriff Reynolds, It’s running us around $22,000 a month. Isn’t that right?

Deb Harlow, Yes.

Sheriff Reynolds, I mean we’ve broken it down, we’re actually looking at another, actually looking at privatizing it with Canteen. They’re going to come up with a proposal that might be a little bit less, but if you compare what we pay per meal, what it costs us per meal, it’s less than any sheriff’s department in the area. I think we’re down to, we’re at $.69 a meal, and we have a lot of inmates, so I think, I’m real comfortable that they’re doing it the best they can, so. I think we can save a little bit of money, maybe by privatizing it, but probably not that much.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions? Call the roll, please, Sandy.

Motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

SHERIFF 01.05
Additional Appropriation
$80,000 to 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube - Amended to $60,000
144 Form
Corporals from 4 to 6 at $37,275
1st Class Patrolman from 34 to 32 at $36,312

Mr. Poparad, Okay, you have an additional for $80,000 to gasoline. We are going to handle that first. Rita, did you want to speak to that?

Mrs. Stevenson, Dave, I checked into the County Corrections fund, could you, there’s $46,482.69 in there right now. Is there anyway we could do $60,000 out of the general fund, and then you come back next month for an additional, and do $20,000 out of the County Corrections. So you’ll have your $80,000, just the 60 will be approved now, and then the 20 out of County Corrections for next month.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right. I think that would work.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, do you want to make that part of your motion?

Mrs. Stevenson, Yes.

Sheriff Reynolds, The motion, okay, $60,000 out of the general fund, and then $20,000 out of the County Corrections right now? Or do you want to wait?

Ms. Harlow, No, next month.

Mrs. Stevenson, No, wait until next month.

Sheriff Reynolds, Okay, that’s fine.

Mrs. Stevenson, Then make sure you put the additional in for next month out of the County Corrections.

Sheriff Reynolds, Okay, that’s fine.

Mr. Poparad, Do you want to change, so we are going to change it to a $60,000 additional instead of $80,000. Is everybody okay?

Mrs. Stevenson moved to amend the request for additional appropriations submitted by Sheriff 01.05 from $80,000 to $60,000 to 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube. Mr. Burge seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mrs. Stevenson, Now will that take care of you?

Sheriff Reynolds, Well I think we’ll come, we’ll probably come back next month and assess it, we’ll evaluate, you know, by next month to see where we’re at.

Mr. Carmichael, Well maybe Bob will give you a reduced price on that.

Mr. Poparad, Not me;I’m not selling, Bill, don’t blame me.

Mr. Carmichael, What’s it down to now, $2.10, Bob?

Mr. Poparad, Yes, it will be under $2 by next month.

Mr. Carmichael, Alright.

Mr. Whitten, You told us last time it was going to be like $8 by the end of the year.

Mr. Poparad, Next month is November. We’ve got a 144. He wants to take from four to six. Oh, you want to add two Corporals at $37,275, and you want to take the 1st Class Patrolmen back to $36,312.

Mr. Whitten, Wait a minute.

Mr. Steele, No, they’re at $36,312.

Mr. Poparad, He wants to reduce, I’m sorry, he wants to reduce the 1st Class Patrolmen, and increase the Corporals.

Mr. Steele, But 34 to 32, the pay is not…

Ms. Harlow, No, not the pay, just the…

Mr. Steele, I thought that’s how you read it, excuse me.

Mr. Whitten, So you are going to have two less patrolmen, and two more corporals, right?

Sheriff Reynolds, Yes, but, but, I don’t want them, see those two, I’m not asking for two new bodies.

Mr. Whitten, Right.

Sheriff Reynolds, I’m asking for two ranks. In all likelihood, one will, one of those corporals would be on the road, I’m not actually losing patrolmen.

Mr. Whitten, Right.

Sheriff Reynolds, I’m just gaining, I’m just making one of those patrolmen a corporal, and another patrolmen, who may not even be in patrol, you know, and I know you don’t want to hear how we operate our sheriff’s department, but, no, we’re not shorting our, minimizing the staff on the road at all. The other promotion would be outside of patrol.

Mr. Steele, Dave, my question was presented to you, Dave, and your chief, and Doug today, and there are on each of the four shifts, there’s a lieutenant, a sergeant, and a corporal already.
Sheriff Reynolds, Except for one, we’re short.

Mr. Steele, So you’re short one.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right.

Mr. Steele, Today I was told it was completely filled, but that’s okay.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well then he must of misunderstood.

Mr. Steele, That’s alright, I just wanted to be able to explain it.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right.

Mr. Burge, One point that I did see earlier, and correct me if the information is wrong, but it appears when you look at all the officers’ ranks from corporal through sheriff compared to the patrolmen, that would give you a supervisor to patrolman ratio of 24 supervisors to 36 patrolmen. That seems to be a rather high, heavy on the supervisory end.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well I think the answer to that in your, I think on ratio you’re probably right, but in the words, a little fat right now is probably in the sergeants.

Mr. Burge, Ten sergeants to six corporals.

Sheriff Reynolds, There is not much, I think attrition will eventually work that out, but as far as patrol, that, that, that’s mainly what we’re talking about, which is 45 of the 63, it’s, it’s, like Mr. Steele said, you have a lieutenant, a sergeant, a corporal on every turn. So, you’d almost have to see how, how things have kind of progressed in the last seven years to see where we were when we got here.
We didn’t have those lieutenants, so we made some promotions, there was, things did get out of, not out of whack, but you, but I think eventually it will work out, and it’s been working out. At one time it was even worse. But our main concern is the patrol division, and right now, we’ve never really addressed the corporals, and we’ve never added sergeants, what we did was we added lieutenants, some, and in our ranking structure, people can jump from patrolman to sergeants to corporals to lieutenants, and that’s what’s happened.
But I think eventually it will, there’s no question it will, it will work out. But right now, it’s not doing us any good because we need to promote the patrolman that have been there, and they can actually be promoted. And, although it looks that way on a pyramid, out of whack, it’s really a lot better than it was.

Mr. Whitten, Well it seems like there was a little bit of confusion at least, from what I’m hearing from Al, saying that today he was told that both of these corporals are going to be non-patrol corporals, but you’re saying one of them are going to be a patrol corporal. You’re sure?

Sheriff Reynolds, Right. I mean I don’t know, you’ve just got that confused, because we are, we are, we have been short since we promoted a patrolman to the detective bureau, we’ve been short on the road, a corporal, for, since Biggs got promoted, so it’s been, I don’t know, a year, nine months. And then, then we, then we have other specialty units that, you know, that are patrolman that need to be compensated, and those are the people that are competing for promotions, that want to get a promotion. But right now we are short, and have been short. Technically, we are short two, because Ransom retired, and he was a corporal, you know, so we have to fill that. See, tomorrow we’re actually, depending on what you’re doing tonight, we’re going, we’re starting the promotion process tomorrow, and we got to do it quick.

Mr. Poparad, I guess I’ve got to ask the question. Why didn’t we do this in August.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well because, you know what the answer is.

Mr. Poparad, Well we just did budgets.

Sheriff Reynolds, We, we, we had it, we had it in there, and then I was, I was given back the promo, I was with the mechanic that we’re going to address in a minute, we got, I got my proposal back saying you don’t want that proposal, you want the same, the same…

Mr. Poparad, Well, yes, right.

Sheriff Reynolds, Budget I submitted, and then you know what happened from then.

Mr. Poparad, Yes, I know.

Sheriff Reynolds, When we got off the track a little bit, but. But the original, and I think you’re right, that’s a legitimate concern or question, but we, we did try to, but we were told everything should be submitted the way it was from last year, so we pulled everything out.

Mr. Poparad, Would you be interested, you made a comment that I thought was interesting, and I don’t know your rank structure, alright. You know, I’m not that close to it. You’ve got too many sergeants, do you want to eliminate the sergeant slot?

Sheriff Reynolds, Well we can’t eliminate them, they’re sergeants.

Mr. Whitten, Demote somebody.

Mr. Poparad, No, through retirement, you said you were going to lose some.

Sheriff Reynolds, I think through…

Mr. Poparad, I mean here’s my thing, and this is nothing against anybody, but once, and I’ll…

Sheriff Reynolds, You see, and I have patrolman right now in effect, I mean it’s just, I mean we can get, we can sit down later, and I can tell you what’s all going on, but we, you know, right now, we have the right people in the right spots, and I’ve talked to, I know Mr. Carmichael, and a lot of people, no one wants to micromanage, you know, any department, but we know, we’re real comfortable in whose operating in what positions. So what we’re proposing is to two corporals that really amounts to, how much, $1,800. So it’s not so much as the money, it’s just money of how we operate.

Mr. Carmichael moved to amend the 144 Form submitted by Sheriff 01.05, Corporals from two to four at $37,275, and 1st Class Patrolmen from 34 to 32 at $36,312. Mrs. Blaney seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more discussion?

Mr. Burge, Overall, I feel it’s, we are too top-heavy in supervisor to patrolman ratio. I will probably vote against it.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, anything else? Anybody got any more questions or comments? Call the roll, please.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Blaney - Yes Burge - No
Poparad - Yes Whitten - Yes
Steele - No Stevenson - Yes
Carmichael - Yes

SHERIFF’S GARAGE 01.42
144 Form
Mechanic from $29,062 to Mechanic Supervisor at $35,200 - Amended to
Mechanic from $29,062 to Mechanic at $33,200

Mr. Poparad, Okay, we did the gas, okay, we are down to the Sheriff’s Garage. We’ve got a 144, Mechanic at $29,062 to Mechanic Supervisor at $35,200. Go ahead.

Sheriff Reynolds, My request here is, I guess it’s a little bit like what’s happening in the police department. You can look at the police department, and say we are top-heavy. You can look at the mechanics, and say we only have three people, but you can look at any other department, and, I guess you need to, before you make a decision, you need to know a little background.
This all developed, when I have a person who’s in charge, that we basically asked to resign, who was in charge of the mechanics, I have a, I bring a guy in to replace him as a supervisor of this, granted only two employees, but he’s still responsible for a lot of, a lot of money, the safety of the police officers. Basically, every vehicle that, that, that you guys own or the county owns, we’re responsible for maintaining that, and scheduling, and that, when I brought that individual in as a supervisor, he’s making $3,000 less than the other two.
And that only goes, that also goes to any, any department that I have. If I lost my head of my civil bureau or my records, if that person went to a different job tomorrow, and I replace somebody in charge of civil bureau or records, I would have to start that person at the lowest salary. And to me, that doesn’t make sense, private or public sector, it doesn’t make any sense. I mean, that person, I mean somebody’s got to be, somebody’s got to be in charge, and somebody’s got to be accountable.

Mrs. Stevenson, Who is in charge now?

Sheriff Reynolds, Of?

Mrs. Stevenson, Of the three?

Sheriff Reynolds, George Munoz is in charge, and has been in charge since I hired him.

Mrs. Stevenson, Why would the newest in seniority be over the other two?

Sheriff Reynolds, Well because that’s my choice. I didn’t want those other two people, you know, if you have a business, and you have two, three employees, I don’t automatically, why should I automatically give that other person, if I don’t want that person in charge, to be in charge. And I think that’s the, I think that’s the prerogative of the department head. I mean, you know what I’m saying, because it’s, we’re talking about, we’re talking about somebody that you can have confidence in that’s going to do the job, and I did not have confidence, if I did, I would have, I mean I would have, I mean without question, but it’s just like any other department. What if I don’t think, I might, I may, I may have some good employees in a department, but I don’t think any of them are really leadership capability. I have a person who was a, was in US Steel for several years, I mean he retired as a supervisor, and I was fortunate to get him, you know, and, and that’s what I needed. I need somebody with leadership ability that can, you know, understood what, you know, what we’re trying to do, and understood the scheduling, and, you know, accountability, and we were a little short on that, and.

Mr. Steele, Dave, I’d like to say this. I was in charge of 24 semi-tractor trailer units for like 22 years, and I’m going to tell you, it’s a lot harder to get good mechanics than it is managers. And your mechanics are the guys that keep it safe, so coming from a personal standpoint, I’d rather see the mechanics get a raise, and this person in the managerial position…

Sheriff Reynolds, Oh, he’s a mechanic.

Mr. Steele, He’s a mechanic too, but he isn’t, he can work part-time as a mechanic, and he can do his other duties on the side. Like six hours on the job, wash his hands, and take care of the books. This one man has been there for 15 years, the other one has been there for four years.

Sheriff Reynolds, So what are you saying, I automatically promote those guys?

Mr. Steele, I’m just saying that in that department…

Sheriff Reynolds, You, you…

Mr. Steele, I’m saying, in that department of only three people, it’s the mechanics that are the important people, it’s not the manager. Those are the guys keeping the horses safe.

Sheriff Reynolds, I think you’re getting a little confused. He is a mechanic.

Mr. Steele, I know.

Sheriff Reynolds, But it’s not, I mean, he, but I have to, you know, you have three mechanics, you can’t have them all separate. That’s what we had before, and that’s why we had a problem. We have three people all making the same amount of money, and then, and no one was in charge. Well this guy is in charge, but he’s not making any more money than the other two, so they all said, and you know, in the private sector, somebody’s got to make a little bit more money. It’s like having corporals and sergeants and lieutenants. What if they all made the same amount of money, but you’re a sergeant, you’re a corporal, you know, and you don’t make some, you know, it, it just doesn’t work. And, and, but you look at anything you’ve done throughout all these things, you give the managers and people in charge more money, just, that’s just how it goes.

Mr. Steele, I don’t agree with that, because this…

Sheriff Reynolds, Well you do it.

Mr. Steele, These mechanics…

Sheriff Reynolds, You just did it tonight.

Mr. Steele, No, I would give it to the mechanics. These are the guys that are keeping all your equipment up, making it safe for your men. Those are the important people in that department.

Sheriff Reynolds, So I shouldn’t have a supervisor.

Mr. Steele, I think, well, you’ve heard my pitch.

Sheriff Reynolds, I mean, okay, but I’m saying, what do I do?

Mr. Whitten, Well I guess I have a question.

Sheriff Reynolds, Okay.

Mr. Whitten, I guess I have a question. A couple concerns, then a couple of questions. One is, it seems like, I have a real aversion, a real problem with us dealing with salaries, and I’m not even criticizing necessarily, Dave. I understand why this didn’t happen, but I, it seems ridiculous to me that we are addressing salaries at the end of October when we went through, in theory, this planning called budget time. Why are we doing this? I mean, maybe I, it just seems like we nickel and dime ourselves all year, I mean what the heck do we have a budget for? I don’t know.
Then I guess my other question is this. The mechanic supervisor. See, because I’m not real clear on how this happened. You hired this guy in 2004 to be your mechanic supervisor. Is that correct?

Sheriff Reynolds, Yes.

Mr. Whitten, But that position was only budgeted for 29-and-change?

Sheriff Reynolds, No. The position was budgeted with the same amount of money that the other two were making.

Mr. Whitten, Okay.

Sheriff Reynolds, But they, but based on what we, how we do things in the County, he made less money, that was my point with any department head. If I lost a department supervisor, I have to have, if I put somebody in a supervisor’s position, and I respect what Mr. Steele says, I understand him, but, but you have to understand my position, somebody has to be in charge and accountable. And my, and I would, if everybody’s having a problem with the money, I have no, yeah, I can appreciate that. You’ve heard my opinion why I wanted to do this in summer, and I was told not to, but, but, at least the guy should make as much money as the other two guys.

Mr. Whitten, Okay, and I understand that. But I’m still not quite clear on it all. So you are saying, the way we do things, a new supervisor automatically makes less than the guys working, period.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right. The way it’s set up, they don’t really give the department heads of having a super, of having a supervisor, bringing a supervisor in. It’s almost like, like kind of what Rita is saying in a way, I think maybe in some departments you have to go within. But really, we don’t do that, it’s not, it’s not, we don’t, everybody doesn’t do that. I mean you just didn’t, you just did with, like with the, the, the Expo Center, he brings somebody else in. You know, you didn’t go through that whole Expo Center, and say, is there anybody in this system that we can hire. You bring in somebody that you think is qualified, and capable, and, you know, that’s, for the job, and experience, and whatever. And I think that, that some point in time, that’s what needs…

Mr. Whitten, Well I’m not…

Sheriff Reynolds, You’re really pointing out a problem in the County in a, in a hiring process, and I think that’s been our frustration all along. And I’m just saying you need to, I think you’re seeing my frust.., as you are frustrated up here, that’s how I’m frustrated. How can I have somebody that’s in charge of, and telling people what to do, and not, and not being at least, I mean he’s not even being compensated.

Mr. Whitten, I’m not interested, I’m not interested at all in, in who you pick to be for a supervisor. That’s your job. I absolutely agree with you.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well I appreciate that.

Mr. Whitten, You’re the sheriff. I’m just interested in the money.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right, and I, and I think you have a point. I think it should have been done in the summer, but you remember back how the summer was, it, we were told not to do it, and then, I was directed, I can’t even tell who, like we’ll do it later. Well, now it’s later.

Mr. Whitten, Yes, but weren’t you, wasn’t it, and I know it was a little hectic at budget time, but you put in proposal, it was rejected somehow and went back to you.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right.

Mr. Whitten, But then, weren’t you given the opportunity to come, and…

Sheriff Reynolds, I…

Mr. Whitten, Didn’t we give everybody the opportunity to come and say, okay.

Mr. Poparad, Yes.

Mr. Whitten, You rejected what I had before, or somebody did, now here’s my opportunity to get what I want.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right.

Mr. Whitten, Then we look, and we prioritized, and we decide what’s best, because we’re the money people.

Mr. Carmichael, Dan.

Mr. Whitten, Yes, Bill.

Mr. Carmichael, When we had the old system in effect, whereby we had a committee, the councilmen…

Mr. Whitten, Yes.

Mr. Carmichael, That did all the job descriptions, and so forth, yes, we suspended that. And what we said was this, any special requests such as the one where you are replacing a key employee, putting them in a slot, bring that request to us, and the Council will decide it in an open meeting. And that’s what, the point we’re at tonight.

Mr. Whitten, But see, I just, I just think that’s, that’s just the wrong way to do it.

Mr. Burge, Well, I agree with Dan. The idea of being able to pay a supervisor more, I’m fine with it. He should probably have that latitude to do that. The timing of it though, if we don’t try to keep those, this isn’t something that was all of a sudden, this is something that was, that could have been planned for and put in, in August. If it was an all of a sudden, you know, somebody retires, somebody dies, somebody, you know, that’s a different situation.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well, but really it was the same. I mean I, based on what Bill’s saying, Mr. Carmichael is saying, and it’s probably my fault, but I guess it’s not my fault because we’re all, you’re all having a problem with it right now, is when, when I, when the guy was relieved of his duties--so to speak--then the person I brought in, I should have came in here and fought for it right then. Okay. And I think, but, but you have to understand how we were kind of directed at the beginning, we were told that you couldn’t do that, you had to start him at, because I voiced my concern and objection to it then. So it’s, so now I think what you’re saying, which I’m, which I’m really pleased that you’re, you’re, I think you approve of the fact that what I’m doing, it’s the timing. So I mean I, I can relate to that. I guess, we tried to do this before, and, and I guess I could’ve, I guess when I came back when we did all the other 217 transfers, I could’ve done it then, but I, I, you know.

Mr. Burge, And I think every meeting we always come back to this, the biggest sticking point for every meeting that we’ve been involved with since January, always revolves, human resource issues, salaries, wages, promotions, because we don’t…

Sheriff Reynolds, Because there’s no set…

Mr. Burge, Have a set…

Sheriff Reynolds, Right, and it’s...

Mr. Burge, Policy and program.

Sheriff Reynolds, And it’s not your fault, but it’s not my fault either. It’s just we’re out, we’re out in limbo a little bit, and I, I...

Mr. Burge, And it needs to be addressed. It needs to be changed.

Sheriff Reynolds, Right.

Mr. Burge, And it’s something we should do, and can talk with the commissioners to get this fixed in the long term.

Sheriff Reynolds, And I know we’ve talked about this, and Debbie, we’ve talked about this, but at least, you know, that this guy shouldn’t be, because of my timing, the guy should at least get paid what the other two guys get paid.

Mr. Whitten, What would that be to pay this guy the same as the other two?

Ms. Harlow, 41…

Mr. Poparad, $33,200.

Mrs. Blaney, 33-2, it looks like.

Mr. Whitten, Alright.

Mr. Poparad, Is that right? Is that what you’ve got?

Mr. Whitten, I don’t know.

Mr. Steele, No, I think it’s $3,138.

Mr. Poparad, $3,138.

Ms. Harlow, Yes, it’s 3,138.

Mrs. Blaney, Then what am I looking at?

Mr. Poparad, What am I looking at?

Mr. Whitten, Well what am I looking at?

Mr. Poparad, I’ve got $33,200.

Mrs. Blaney, I’ve got 33,200 too.

Ms. Harlow, Oh, I though you wanted the difference.

Mr. Blaney, No. What does the mechanics make now?

Mr. Carmichael, Let’s have a correct figure.

Mr. Poparad, Sandy, what have you got in the budget?

Mrs. Vuko, This year it’s $33,200.

Mr. Whitten, Okay, then I’d like to make a motion.

Mr. Poparad, Wait a minute, $33,200 is the real number?

Ms. Noll, Yes.

Ms. Phillips, For this year.

Mr. Poparad, For this year.

Mr. Steele, But the increase. This is the increase.

Mr. Whitten, Okay, here’s what I’d like to suggest before I make the motion to see if everybody else is, I agree that the mechanic supervisor should make more than the mechanics. I do believe that there is something intrinsic in being a supervisor. However, that kind of thing is something that I think is appropriate for budget time. However, I also think that it’s crazy for a supervisor to make less than the people they supervise.

Mr. Whitten moved to amend the 144 Form submitted by Sheriff’s Garage 01.42, Mechanic from $29,062 to Mechanic at $33,200, and deal with additional monies at budget time. Mr. Carmichael seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more discussion?

Mrs. Blaney, Just a quick question, as far as when you do hire somebody in as a supervisor, it’s not a separate job as the mechanics. I don’t understand why he would get less.

Sheriff Reynolds, Well because we, it is a small, it is a small, it’s like a, it’s like a, it’s not, that’s not his only, I mean he’s a mechanic, but he’s basically, what separates them is that the, the ordering, scheduling.

Mrs. Blaney, Right, I understand that.

Sheriff Reynolds, Things like that.

Mrs. Blaney, It’s not what he does so much, I’m just surprised it’s not a separate person.

Mr. Carmichael, I get it’s in addition to his regular mechanic work. I call for the vote.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, call the roll, Sandy.

Mrs. Blaney, Well I was just thinking…

Mr. Poparad, I’m sorry.

Mrs. Blaney, Never mind.

Mr. Carmichael, Go ahead, Laura.

Mrs. Blaney, Well it seems like if he’s got additional duties, he should get a little bit more, maybe not the whole, but we’re not really solving a problem, are we.

Mrs. Stevenson, Yes, but I thought that should be addressed at budget time.

Mrs. Blaney, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, At least we are getting them equal.

Mrs. Blaney, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, Call the roll, please.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Burge - Yes Poparad - Yes
Whitten - Yes Steele - Yes
Stevenson - No Carmichael - Yes
Blaney - Yes

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries, thank you, sheriff.

Sheriff Reynolds, Thank you.

JUVENILE DETENTION 01.80
Additional Appropriation
$8,000 to 2230 Food & Groceries
Transfer
$800 from 3120 Consultants to 3130 Training & Education
$100 from 3120 Consultants to 2110 Office Supplies
$650 from 2410 Medical & Dental to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions

Mr. Poparad, Juvenile Detention.

Mr. Whitten, Isn’t there some kind of ballgame tonight.

Mr. Poparad, Yeah, we got like six minutes.

Mrs. Blaney, We’d be done if everybody got here on time.

Mr. Whitten, You started without me; you started without me.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got an $8,000 additional to Food & Groceries. What’s wrong?

Ken Perkins, Well.

Mr. Poparad, Let ‘em eat cake.

Mr. Perkins, I just want them to eat. Yes, a number of factors. We’ve got more kids this year; the Niequist Center has more kids this year that we’re feeding. Since our average length of stay is getting longer, when we get kids with special diets, they stay longer, and that means we have to make additional purchases.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Juvenile Detention 01.80, $8,000 to 2230 Food & Groceries. Mr. Carmichael seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Will this get you through to the end of the year?

Mr. Perkins, We’ll make it.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Dan made the motion, Bill seconded it. Any more questions? We’ve got to feed the kids, I guess. Would you call the roll, please.

Motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, And we have a transfer of $800 from Consultants to Training & Education; $100 from Consultants to Office Supplies; $650 from Medical & Dental to Dues & Subscriptions.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Juvenile Detention 01.80, $800 from 3120 Consultants to 3130 Training & Education, $100 from 3120 Consultants to 2110 Office Supplies and $650 from 2410 Medical & Dental to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

Mr. Perkins, Thank you very much.

PARKS OPERATING 127
Additional Appropriation
$1,500 to 1120 Hourly
$115 to 1210 FICA
$225 to 2250 Other Supplies
$1,000 to 3340 Advertising
$3,100 to 3980 Event Expenses
Transfer
$252 from 3950 Contractual Services to 2250 Other Supplies
$2,300 from 3959 Grants to 1121 Interpreter/Educator

PARKS 01.85
Transfer
$750 from 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube to 3510 Power
$750 from 3950 Contractual Service to 3510 Power
$1,000 from 3920 Disposal to 3620 Building & Structures
$250 from 3920 Disposal to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles

Mr. Poparad, Parks. This is the tourism grant. We have an additional of $1,500 to Hourly; $115 to FICA; $225 to Other Supplies; $1,000 to Advertising; and $3,100 Event Expenses.

Mrs. Blaney moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Parks Operating 127, $1,500 to 1120 Hourly, $115 to 1210 FICA, $225 to 2250 Other Supplies, $1,000 to 3340 Advertising and $3,100 to 3980 Event Expense. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.


Mr. Poparad, And we have a transfer of $252 to Other Supplies; and $2,300 from Grants to Interpreter/Educator. And we’ll do the Park’s other budget, $750 from Gas to Power; $750 from Contractual to Power; $1,000 from Disposal to Building & Structures; and $250 from Disposal to Other Equipment. We’ll do both transfers together, unless somebody has a problem.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Parks Operating 127, $252 from 3950 Contractual Services to 2250 Other Supplies and $2,300 from 3959 Grants to 1121 Interpreter/Educator; and in Parks 01.85, the transfers of $750 from 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube to 3510 Power, $750 from 3950 Contractual Service to 3510 Power, $1,000 from 3920 Disposal to 3620 Building & Structures and $250 from 3920 Disposal to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles. Mr. Burge seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

Ed Melendez, Thank you.

COUNCIL 219
Additional Appropriation
$525,000 to 0010 Loan Repayment

Mr. Poparad, The Council, we have an additional of $525,000, our loan repayment.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Council 219, $525,000 to 0010 Loan Repayment. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote.

Steele - Yes Stevenson - Yes
Carmichael - Yes Blaney - No
Burge - Yes Poparad - Yes
Whitten - Yes

Mrs. Blaney, I just can’t vote for that.

AUDITOR MAPPING 33.02
Additional Appropriations
$275.30 to 3610 Maintenance Agreements

Mr. Poparad, Auditor Mapping. Sit down, we’ll do it from there. You want an additional of $275.30 to Maintenance Agreements.

Mrs. Vuko, For the copier.

Mr. Poparad, The copier.

Mrs. Vuko, For our software maintenance.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, does anybody got any questions about that one?

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Auditor Mapping 33.02, $275.30 to 3610 Maintenance Agreements. Mrs. Stevenson seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

PORTAGE TOWNSHIP 01.11
Transfer
$3l9.02 from 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100 to 2110 Office Supplies

Mr. Poparad, We have transfer of $39.02 from Furniture & Fixtures to Office Supplies. All in favor of the transfer, say aye.

Request approved on a unanimous voice vote.


YEAR-END MEMO

Mr. Poparad, Everybody got the memo we are going to send out about the end of the year. Let’s not spend all our money.

Mr. Whitten, I think we should have a meeting on December 25th.

Mr. Steele, I think so.

Mr. Poparad, No.

Mr. Whitten, To see where your heart is.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT

Mr. Poparad, The attorney had nothing to report. You got his notice; he had, something came up, and he couldn’t get here. Second reading, please.

SECOND READING

Mr. Carmichael moved to approve Second Reading. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

LONGEVITY DISCUSSION

Mr. Poparad, Is there anything else? Go ahead, Bill.

Mr. Carmichael, A couple of things. Longevity, we have $891,000 in our casino fund account. I would suggest that we pay that second half of the longevity out of that casino account.

Mr. Poparad, We’ll have to do an additional for our next meeting.

Ms. Phillips, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Is that a motion, Bill?

Mr. Carmichael moved to approve the advertisement of an additional appropriation to pay out Longevity. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

Blaney - Yes Burge - No
Carmichael - Yes Poparad - Yes
Steele - Yes Stevenson - Abstain
Whitten - Yes

Mr. Poparad, Okay, motion carries. Anything else? Okay, you’ll take care of it for the next meeting.

MILEAGE DISCUSSION

Mr. Carmichael, What about the gas, mileage, Bob? Where are we?

Mr. Poparad, That will fix itself January 1st.

Mr. Carmichael, That will fix itself?

Mr. Poparad, Yes, because that was automatic, right?

Ms. Phillips, What’s that?

Mr. Poparad, The mileage thing with the state is automatic, January 1st, the County will change.

Ms. Phillip, Well, no.

Mrs. Vuko, It changed in October.

Mr. Poparad, According to the information I have, when we went through this before, the motion was, on January 1st to adopt the state level. That’s the way…

Mrs. Vuko, So we’d be paying…

Mr. Poparad, Automatically it changes whatever the state pays, January 1st.

Mrs. Vuko, January 1st, so there is no $.40 now until January.

Mrs. Blaney, I thought we had something, what was that memo?

Mr. Poparad, That’s what it was.

Mrs. Vuko, From $.34 to…

Mr. Poparad, It’s $.34, it goes to $.40.

Mr. Whitten, Do we automatically change with the state?

Mr. Poparad, We automatically follow the State, January 1st.

Mrs. Blaney, I thought the state changed already.

Ms. Phillips, The state changed October 1st.

Mr. Poparad, Right, and that’s why we decided to do January 1st, what, two years ago or something?

Mrs. Blaney, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, Instead of coming back, and revisiting this, we give you the permission to just follow the state, because it hadn’t happened for like five years or something.

Mr. Whitten, I don’t know if we want to do that.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve always followed the state’s, but we never, it just fell throw the cracks.

Mrs. Vuko, So as of January 1st, it will be $.40.

Mr. Poparad, If that’s what it is.

Mr. Carmichael, Make it a motion.

Mr. Poparad, We already did.

Mr. Steele, We did.

Mr. Poparad, We already did this like a year and a half ago, two years ago.

Mr. Carmichael, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, To follow the state.

Mr. Carmichael, I don’t disagree with it.

Mr. Poparad, I mean if we don’t do anything, it will just, it’s supposed to fix itself. It’s either that or we’d be coming back every six months, and doing this, and that’s where all the confusion is.

Ms. Noll, We’ll send you guys a memo.

Mr. Whitten, Well I know how mileage works, but I also know how the state average works too.

Mr. Poparad, Yeah, but we decided to follow the state, because it was just something, it hadn’t been done. Anything else?

There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

PORTER COUNTY COUNCIL
PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA


Laura Blaney
Jim Burge
William Carmichael
Robert Poparad
Al Steele
Rita Stevenson
Dan Whitten

Attest: Sandra Vuko, Auditor