fPORTER COUNTY COUNCIL
November 29, 2005

The Porter County Council met on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at 6:30 p.m., in the County Administration Center, 155 Indiana-Suite 204, Valparaiso, Indiana.

Members present were Jim Burge, William Carmichael, Al Steele, Rita Stevenson, Dan Whitten, and President Robert Poparad. Also present were Becky Phillips, Judy Rubens, Jan Noll and Attorney David Hollenbeck, who was not present at roll call.

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

Mr. Poparad, Just so everybody knows, Laura had her baby Friday, and everybody is doing well, that’s why she’s not here. Approval of our October 25th minutes, and the 2006 Budget minutes.

Mr. Carmichael moved to approve the minutes of October 25, 2005 and the 2006 Budget Hearings as submitted. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

FIRST READING

At this time, Ms. Rubens read the Notice to Taxpayers.

CCD FUND 132
Transfer
$22,475 from 3620 Building & Structures to 3120 Consultants
$4,000 from 4420 Motor Vehicles to 4540 Other Equipment
$10,800 from 4420 Motor Vehicles to 4540 Other Equipment - Withdrawn

Mr. Poparad, The first thing we got up is the CCD Fund 132, we have a transfer of $22,475 from Building & Structures to Consultants; and $4,000 from Motor Vehicles to Other Equipment; and you’ve withdrawn the $10,800.

Com. Robert Harper, Yes, we have withdrawn the $10,800. The 22…

Mr. Carmichael, Is this, Bob, before the fire or after the fire?

Com. Harper, The $22,475 was for DLZ to put together the bid documents, and so forth, on the demolition of the County Home. The contract was entered in, and I think most of the work was done before the fire.

Mr. Carmichael, Is there any additional that needs to be done?

Com. Harper, I don’t believe they are going to have to do additional; it may affect the bids. Because part of the bidding process was that the people that were bidding it had the right to, you know, sell things, that they could sell usable things inside, and obviously, there’s a lot less that they will be able to salvage.

Mr. Carmichael, I just wondered if any additional work had to be done because of the fire.

Com. Harper, I don’t believe so. I believe the bidding process is going right along. In fact, everybody was out there two weeks ago, they were looking it over, the first run-through. The $4,000 is to replace the blade--the snow blade.

Mr. Poparad, Any questions? Comments?

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds as submitted and amended by CCD 132, $22,475 from 3620 Building & Structures to 3120 Consultants, and $4,000 from 4420 Motor Vehicles to 4540 Other Equipment. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

CEDIT Project #9 - 293.30
Additional Appropriation
$135,800 to 0001 CEDIT Project #9

Mr. Poparad, We have an additional of $135,800 for CEDIT Plan #9. I think you all got the, is this in the Third Amendment?

Com. Harper, I’m not sure. Sharon’s here. This, and I’ll start, and she can fill in. This is the Docuware thing that we met and talked about for, many times. I believe my understanding is we were going to give the departments what they needed to start this out to get them going. That we were not going to fund this large amount to recopy, this equipment, but we were going to fund some money to do the large books, to be done. And I assume that one of the next things, once we get all this equipment, and everything in place, then we will be exploring what an employee of ours could do to start working on the back, where the bid is for a million.
So this amount, and Sharon can tell it, fill in a little better. This amount is about between 60 and 70 to do all those additional, all those first things that the probation, and every, the different departments need, and the server, and everything, and the rest would be used to start copying the large books, and start on that project. Sharon, do you want to add? Is there anything? If you have any questions, ask Sharon.

Sharon Lippens, Do you want me to say what departments and the breakdown?

Com. Harper, It’s all in the plan that we sat and went over before.

Mr. Poparad, This is to buy the equipment to get them started digitizing.

Com. Harper, Yes, but, Bob, but there is also is some extra left in here.

Mr. Poparad, Right.

Com. Harper, To start copying the large books.

Mr. Poparad, Well yes, the large books we talked about. But I’m saying, from whenever this gets implemented, forward, we’ll be digitized.

Mrs. Lippens, Right. Just under half is for the startup of purchasing the license and the equipment, and the training, etc. And the rest of it, about $75,000 will go towards the starting of the back scanning.

Com. Harper, And once we get all the equipment in place, as suggested by the Council…

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted for CEDIT Project #9 - 293.30, the amount of $135,800 to 0001 CEDIT Project #9. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Com. Harper, Since everybody is in such a good mood, do you want to talk about that part-time.

Mr. Poparad, You’re not getting your groundskeeper back.

COMMISSIONERS 01.30
Transfer
$432 from 3973 Change of Venue to 2330 Household & Bedding
$469.60 from 3750 Other Rentals to 3230 Postage
$575.40 3970 Memorial Day Expenses to 3230 Postage
$648.54 from 3210 Travel to 3230 Postage
$1,840.98 from 1110 Salaries to 3230 Postage
$1,000 from 2430 Law Books to 3230 Postage
$1,000 from 3130 Vet Services to 3230 Postage
$4,000 from 3320 Legal Notices to 3230 Postage
$1,189 from 3973 Change of Venue to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100

Mr. Poparad, Alright, We have a transfer from the Commissioners 01.30 budget, $432 from Change of Venue to Household & Bedding; $469.60 from Other Rentals to Postage; $575.40 from Memorial Day Expenses to Postage; $648.54 from Travel to Postage; $1,840.98 from Salaries to Postage; $1,000 from Law Books to Postage; another $1,000 from Vet Services to Postage; $4,000 from Legal Notices to Postage; $1,189 from Change of Venue to Furniture & Fixtures over $100.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Commissioners 01.30, $432 from 3973 Change of Venue to 2330 Household & Bedding, $469.60 from 3750 Other Rentals to 3230 Postage, $575.40 from 3970 Memorial Day Expenses to 3230 Postage, $648.54 from 3210 Travel to 3230 Postage, $1,840.98 from 1110 Salaries to 3230 Postage, $1,000 from 2430 Law Books to 3230 Postage, $1,000 from 3130 Vet Services to 3230 Postage, $4,000 from 3320 Legal Notices to 3230 Postage and $1,189 from 3973 Change of Venue to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100. Mrs. Stevenson seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any discussion? Evidently, we ran short in Postage, right?

Com. Harper, We ran short in Postage.

Mr. Poparad, All in favor, say aye.

Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Thank you.

Com. Harper, Thank you.

COUNCIL 234
Additional Appropriation
$140,000 to 1241 Longevity

Mr. Poparad, The Council has an additional of its own, $140,000 to Longevity. Obviously, there’s nobody here to talk about it, because we are doing it.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Council 234, $140,000 to 1241 Longevity.

Mr. Steele, Where’s this money coming from, Bob?

Mr. Poparad, The Riverboat.

Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Carmichael, The gambling money.

Mr. Poparad, Gambling.

Mrs. Stevenson, For the record, I’d like to be put on for, I have to abstain.

Mr. Poparad, But we’re not there yet.

Mrs. Stevenson, I know, but I want it put on the record ahead of time.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, alright. Bill made the motion, and Al, you seconded it?

Mr. Steele, Dan.

Mr. Poparad, Oh, Dan seconded it. I’m sorry.

Mr. Whitten, It’s okay.

Mr. Poparad, Any questions?

Mr. Burge, Just overall, if you could quickly explain the thought process behind it.

Mr. Poparad, Well they took the longevity away in the budget cuts, and we can’t agree on what to do with the casino money, so this seems to be the best pot to put it in. What’s in the fund right now?

Ms. Phillips, $891,832.

Mr. Burge, How will that breakdown per employee?

Mr. Poparad, I don’t know the formula. Somebody share the formula.

Ms. Phillips, It depends on how many years you have been here.

Mr. Poparad, Give an example.

Ms. Noll, It’s $75…

Mr. Poparad, Aah. Go ahead, Becky.

Ms. Phillips, $75 per year.

Dale Brewer, Three years, 150, that’s when it starts.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Ms. Brewer, I got 20 years, can I get some.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions? Okay, call the roll, please.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries, thank you.

HIGHWAY 02
Transfer
$3,000 from 1120 Part-time Hourly to 1111 Full-time Hourly
$30,000 from 1110 Salaries to 1111 Full-time Hourly

Mr. Poparad, Highway, you’ve got a transfer.

David James, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, You have a transfer of $3,000 from Part-time Hourly to Full-time Hourly, and $30,000 from Salaries to Full-time Hourly.

Mr. James, We’re padding the numbers in case it snows.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Whitten, You mean it might not.

Mr. James, Well I’m hoping it doesn’t.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Highway 02, $3,000 from 1120 Part-time Hourly to 1111 Full-time Hourly and $30,000 from 1110 Salaries to 1111 Full-time Hourly. Mrs. Stevenson seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions?

Mr. Steele, I have a question. When we put money aside like this, and it stays there when we don’t have the snow, then what happens to the money? Does it revert back?

Mr. James, It goes back into the MVH.

Mr. Steele, Okay, thank you.

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

Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries.

Mr. James, Thank you very much.

CONVENTION, RECREATION & VISITORS COMMISSION 93
Additional Appropriation
$9,500 to 3994 Visitor Guide
Transfer
$625 from 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube to 1241 Longevity
$625 from 3510 Power to 1241 Longevity

Mr. Poparad, Convention, Recreation & Visitors Center, we have an additional of $9,500 to the 3994 Visitor Guide.

Lorelei Weimer, And then we have a transfer request, based on if you guys, we didn’t have that in, based on if you were going to give longevity. We would do longevity for our employees, but it would come out of our budget. It wouldn’t come out of the County’s budget.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Let’s take care of this additional first. Questions? Any comments?

Mr. Burge, Yes, again, go over…

Ms. Weimer, A little bit of the, what we are requesting?

Mr. Burge, Yes, the why.

Ms. Weimer, What we do is a lot of the production, especially for the travel planner, which is our key publication that we give to visitors and to people in the community. We do a majority of that production in ’05, or the previous year for the upcoming year. And so what we do is, we do get billed for part of that work in ’05, and then also in the upcoming year. What has happened though is that, it’s normally not budgeted that way, and so what we normally do is, we have to pay a lot in the forthcoming year, and have to cut some place else. So we thought to get on the budget cycle with the production cycle, to come for the additional at this point, and it will get us back on our schedule.

Mr. Burge, Where would that money normally have come from, and why is there a shortage?

Ms. Weimer, Right. What we do is like we would take it out of Promotion next year, but then we would have to cut a project for that. So we just thought, and what has happened in the past is, we are on a cash-flow budget, so we normally don’t have extra cash to come in and do an additional, but because of our being in a temporary location, our cash flow is in a different situation because we have less operational costs. So this is like the year we can kind of get on the right schedule, because of the cash-flow situation.

Mr. Burge, And the visitors guides, where do they end up? Where are they printed? How are they used?

Ms. Weimer, Right. We print 150,000, and 70,000 usually goes outside the County, and the remaining goes within the County at the Visitors Center, and at different locations, like the hotels, and so forth, and in hotel rooms. But the majority that are going out is direct mail, people requesting the guide either through our website or through our advertising campaign.

Mr. Burge, Are there other areas within your budget that you could pull from to cover that, as opposed to coming in for an additional out of the general fund?

Mr. Poparad, This isn’t general fund money.

Ms. Weimer, It won’t be out of the general fund.

Mr. Poparad, It’s the innkeepers tax.

Mr. Burge, So where would that money go if its not used here?

Mr. Poparad, They would just keep it in their budget. None of their money comes to us, and none of ours goes to theirs.

Mr. Burge, Okay, thank you.
Ms. Weimer, Okay, thanks.

Mr. Poparad, Any more questions? Any questions from this end?

Mr. Whitten, No.

Mr. Poparad, Anybody want to make a motion?

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Convention, Recreation & Visitors Commission 93, $9,500 to 3994 Visitor Guide. Mrs. Stevenson seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, What did we get, 4 to 2, motion carries. Thank you.

Ms. Weimer, And then the transfer.

Mr. Poparad, Oh yes, we have a transfer so they can do their longevity, $625 from 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lubrication to 1241 Longevity; and $625 from 3510 Power to 1241 Longevity.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Convention, Recreation & Visitors Commission 93, $625 from 2210 Gas, Fuel & Lube to 1241 Longevity and $625 from 3510 Power to 1241 Longevity. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries.

PROSECUTOR 01.08
144 Form (2006)
Receptionist/Secretary Luke from $0 to $22,199
Additional Appropriation
$6,095 to 4510 Data Processing Equipment

Mr. Poparad, Prosecutor, come on up; we’ve got two of ‘em now.

Brian Gensel, Yeah.

Mr. Poparad, Holy cow.

Mr. Gensel, I’m bringing along Jimmy.

Jim Douglas, Good evening.

Mr. Burge, Good evening.

Mr. Poparad, You have a 144, we’ll start with that.

Mr. Douglas, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, Receptionist/Secretary from $0 to $22,199.

Mr. Douglas, Actually, this position is a full-time position now. It’s paid out of the 12.08 account, and its, I know, you’ve probably heard so many times, and you get bored of hearing it. The 12.08 account is a non-taxpayer account. It is funded 100% from the Prosecutor Deferral account, which we get paid from various tanks.
I wrote a letter to the Council to essentially outline the various requests I have, which I believe is accurate. In that, I said I have several full-time people that I am paying all their salaries, benefits, from the 12.08 infraction deferral account. That’s actually five people, and I’ve been paying, the prosecutor’s office has been paying those five positions for eight, ten years, out of non-taxpayer money. That’s the way it’s been.
At the last budget hearings, I remember Mr. Whitten commenting that you are paying employees out of these, you know, non-taxpaying funds. The Council has got to be careful of that, because the non-taxpaying funds may dry up, go away, whatever, and then the people would be coming in saying, the council has got to pick them up, and you would have to at least consider that at that time. And it would be good to have the council actually know and pay for the vital services that are performed by the various departments. And I think Mr. Burge agreed or said the same thing. I remember the discussion with the sheriff’s people that are paid out of, not my fund, but a different non-taxpayer fund, monies from the commissary or the…

Chief Deputy Dave Lain, The 217, Jim.

Mr. Douglas, The magic 217, the Marshal’s money or whatever, and the number of employees that are paid outside of the taxpayer dollars. And at the budget hearing last year, in fact, I know the Council’s idea is, okay, we want to gradually lessen the effect of these non-taxpayer accounts, and have the County start to pay what they ought to be paying. And at that time, I think the County the picked up four sheriff’s people from the non-tax money to the tax account.
That’s essentially what I am asking the Council to do tonight. As I have said, I have five full-time people, I’m asking that one be moved out of the prosecutor fund, and paid by the taxpayers. I think it’s appropriate, and I would think that the County would think it was appropriate too. These aren’t, none of these positions are temporary, nor are they new. They’ve been there for a very long period of time.

Mr. Steele, Jim, is this fund in danger of drying up?

Mr. Douglas, Good question. Currently, it is, we are decreasing on a monthly basis. We had been, nearly $10,000 a month. We made some adjustments to in, and increased the fees to the extent that we can, and now, it’s very close to being neutral, not quite, fairly close. Whether that’s going to stay, I don’t know. This fund is a creature of the state legislature, they passed the law and said these things are okay, and you can do them as long as you meet certain requirements, and so on. As they have, the state can take it away. They have, this last legislative session, they dickered with it, and changed some things, reduced some things. So it’s kind of like everything, you don’t know that it’s going to be there.

Mr. Steele, So you say it’s neutral, and if we would transfer these monies, you still got the $22,000. What are you going to do with that $22,000? Just let it accumulate or what?

Mr. Douglas, Well, hopefully, it would be nice to save, and accumulate it. Right now, we wouldn’t be accumulating. We are still losing. Whatever this costs, we’re losing more, we are decreasing more than that. In the last two years, will you give me just a second.

Mr. Steele, Sure.

Mr. Douglas, We lost approximately, two years ago, we lost, went down the beginning of the year to the end of the year, we lost about 150,000, $200,000, $150,000, I think.

Mr. Steele, Is this for the receptionist up in Portage that you are talking about?

Mr. Douglas, It is for the, yes, it is for the person that does the receptionist business, pulls all the files, talks with the, communications with the clients.

Mr. Burge, The overall thought of this, I think, is along the same lines with what we did with the sheriff. That during the dark days of the bankruptcy and that, a lot of these folks were moved into these special funds as a creative way of financing that was needed at the time. But right now it creates a false sense of, that we have a lot of money in the general fund, that really is a house of cards. Until we start bringing these people back in, and put them back in, so they would truly be counted for, otherwise, if any one of these funds, be it the prosecutor’s, the sheriff’s, or any other department that has a special fund, if it dries up or if its eliminated at the stroke of a pen in Indianapolis or Washington DC, then all these people, instantly are on the general fund to get paid for.

Mr. Poparad, They wouldn’t do that to us, would they.

Mr. Burge, Well…

Mrs. Stevenson, As a rule…

Mr. Douglas, Or they are terminated.

Mr. Burge, So I would agree with what the Prosecutor is proposing now.

Mrs. Stevenson, And that’s fine. But as a rule, we have been saying when anybody wants to do something like that, bring it up at budget time. That’s when it needs to be addressed.

Mr. Douglas, I agree. I guess I’m alerting you. I think it’s a good thing to do now, specifically, for this person, because I want to get this person insurance that she doesn’t have now. All the other employees, I have four other employees that came on the insurance. Okay. This one is not getting the insurance, and I want to move this person over. I want that done one way or another, and I intend to come to the Council next June, I guess, or August, or whatever, and start, add another person gradually in, do the same thing, if the Council will.

Mr. Steele, Why hasn’t this person been given the insurance if they are working full-time, and you’ve given it to the others? What was the discrimination?

Mr. Douglas, Originally, way back when, that person didn’t need it. She was covered by another, husband or something. She didn’t need it, and then, when the budget crunch and everything else, you wanted me to not try and spend more money. But it is, the point is, it is a full-time position, and has been for the last number of years.

Mr. Burge moved to amend the 144 Form for 2006 submitted by Prosecutor 01.08, Receptionist/Secretary from $0 to $22,199.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got a motion to approve the 144. Is there a second?

Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any more discussion? Any questions for Mr. Douglas? Call the roll, please.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, We have a little dilemma; we need five for a 144.

Ms. Noll, Four.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Okay, I thought we needed five. I’m sorry. We have an additional of $6,095 to Data Processing. Is this for?

Mr. Gensel, Jalan.

Mr. Douglas, This is for data processing, which last year at the budget time, they allocated among the various recipients…

Mr. Poparad, Right, your share.

Mr. Douglas, Yes, and we, and I said, fine that’s our share, we’ll put it into the 2006 budget. When we got the bill, it’s from July 1st to the end of June, so they’re giving us a bill this year for it. So I mean, that’s.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Prosecutor 01.08, $6,095 to 4510 Data Processing Equipment. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

PROSECUTOR DEFERRAL 12.08
Additional Appropriation
$14,000 to 3150 Institutions

Mr. Poparad, Prosecutor 12.08, $14,000 to Institutions.

Mr. Douglas, This is the same account where we just took out the part-time person. What I’m asking for here is a, really it’s for the purpose of the Indiana State Police. Some history is probably necessary. This fund pays each police department a fee for every ticket that goes through the program, and that was done because before there was a ticket issue, and a conviction was entered, and police departments got a, I don’t know, a $5 or $6 fee. When we set up the program, we didn’t want to harm the police departments, so we provide for every $10 ticket. Which is fine. Everybody is generally happy with that.
The Indiana State Police, for whatever reason, when this program was started, would not, didn’t want any money. They wouldn’t submit a claim for any tickets they wrote, and that was a statewide deal. So we budgeted accordingly. Starting this year, they have not only started submitting the claims, which has caused a shortfall, we are out of money in Institutions. I think we are a little behind. But they’ve also submitted statements to us for all the prior years when they didn’t do it. And we’ve negotiated with them--if you will--and discussed it with them. So we said, fine, send them to us from 2003 on, and that’s going to amount to about 12,000-bucks. I think 15 is the total we are asking for. At any rate, that’s the purpose of it.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Prosecutor Deferral 12.08, $14,000 to 3156 Institutions. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

PROSECUTOR IV-D 182
Additional Appropriation
$10,000 to 3950 Contractual Services - Request denied

Mr. Poparad, Prosecutor IV-D 182, we have an additional of $10,000 to Contractual Services.

Mr. Douglas, Correct. I wrote everybody on this issue, and I briefly summarized it. I’m sure you all remember, I suspect you all remember, in the budget business, I had asked that Mr. Dumas be moved from a contract employee to a regular employee, and the Council didn’t want to do that. You said, keep him as a contract employee. And they also, you also said, well, he shouldn’t, because he’s a contract employee, he shouldn’t get a raise. I know Mrs. Stevenson said there was other money or you had a different kind of fund, you know, you can come back or something. So that’s essentially what I’m doing.
I’m requesting then, the $10,000 be paid for two reasons, both of which were set out. But briefly, $7,000 of it is because that’s what I contracted for him to actually get, because I, and that’s the business of whether he’s getting taxed as an employee or not getting taxed. Apparently, I made a mistake on what the bottom line was going to be. And the Council didn’t want to change it, as far as making him a regular employee--so be it. I still think he should be, I should live up to my end of the bargain--if you will--for that $7,000.
The other $3,000 is what I want, what I believe he’s entitled to for the--if you will--efficiency with which that office has been run since he’s been there. And just a couple of things on that, and I know you’ve got other business. But to date, the State’s total collections, around the state, is up about 10%. Porter County is up 12.5, substantially better than the rest of people. With regards to the counties near our size, from 100 to 200,000 dollars, we’re the third, we have the highest increase, third highest increase, so I think we’re doing very well along those lines.
And one other thing, and I know you’re tired of this. Two things, the 182 account is in a non-taxpayer account, and that is funded 100% through incentive money that comes through the collection of IV-D money, and it must be spent for IV-D purposes. By law, it cannot be spent for anything else. I can use it and try to pay a prosecutor--a criminal prosecutor--but you just can’t do that. So it’s earmarked for that. I’ll review something with you that I have before in the past. The county government actually makes money on this, a substantial amount of money from the IV-D office. And I think I gave you the memo last time, but the 2005 budget is $414,000 and a few hundred bucks. The County received, actually, direct cash payments of $635,000 back from the State. So the money should, I don’t believe money should be quote, a factor, as far as that’s concerned. And I know I’ve talked longer than I should. If anybody has got any questions, I’d be happy to try to answer them.

Mr. Whitten, So basically you want us to pay his taxes, and give him a bonus.
Mr. Douglas, I want to, one, I rephrase that.

Mr. Whitten, Okay.

Mr. Douglas, I would like to pay him what I thought I was paying him before, what I think was an appropriate agreement at that time. And 3,000 of it is a bonus, yes.

Mr. Poparad, What’s that number? What was the first year when he came back, what was his pay?

Mr. Douglas, $40,000, by contract.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. That was his first year, and that’s what we did the second year.

Mr. Douglas, Correct.

Mr. Poparad, Which is now ’06.

Mr. Douglas, Which is 2006.

Mr. Gensel, The difference is, Uncle Sam is taxing him as an independent contractor, not as an employee, and that’s a 70,000…

Mr. Poparad, But that’s what he was the first year here. He was an independent contractor.

Mr. Gensel, Right, and that’s when we found out, uh oh.

Mr. Poparad, Well I think everybody who is up here knew that when he signed on.

Mr. Gensel, I didn’t. He, and Mr. Dumas was told…

Mr. Poparad, I mean I’ve got to be honest. I mean somebody has to pay the taxes here, whether it be us or Dumas. I mean…

Mr. Douglas, I’m not saying it was the smartest thing in the world. I’m saying that was my understanding, and that was Mr. Dumas’ understanding when we agreed upon the salary, and that was incorrect. That’s all.

Mr. Steele, Jim, he’s an attorney, he knows independent contractors pay their own way.

Mr. Gensel, It’s not like this.

Mr. Steele, Unless the contractor is…

Mr. Douglas, Just a second. Even assuming you are correct, I’m asking you for the money for the reasons that I’ve submitted.

Mrs. Stevenson, He’s part-time, correct?

Mr. Douglas, Yes.

Mrs. Stevenson, Which is, how many hours a week?

Mr. Douglas, He’s working approximately four days a week, three and a half to four days a week. And he’s not receiving benefits for health insurance and all that stuff.

Mrs. Stevenson, Did you, is this a contract that you made with him?

Mr. Douglas, It’s not a written contract, no. It’s an agreement where I, we talked about it, and we came up with a number that I agreed upon. And I didn’t, I’m probably giving you more information than you asked for. I didn’t sit down and say, okay, taxes are going to x, and so on, and so forth. He told me he didn’t think about it.

Mrs. Stevenson, Okay, but…

Mr. Douglas, He mentioned the thing about the taxes, and I said, fine, good, but this is the number for that.

Mrs. Stevenson, Okay, this last year you already tried bringing him in…

Mr. Douglas, Yes, I did.

Mrs. Stevenson, From a contracted employee into a regular employee.

Mr. Douglas, Right.

Mrs. Stevenson, Okay, you’ve already let us know that eventually all your employees that are, that you are going to try to bring into the general fund, you’ve already let us know that, one at a time. And now, you want us to raise his salary up to $50,000, and at some point you are going to get a council that is going to be willing to put them in the general, put him in from a contractual employee into a regular employee at $50,000. Because you don’t ever go backwards with the salary. If we raise it to $50,000 then he’s going to be in the general fund for $50,000, eventually.

Mr. Douglas, It may not be a satisfactory answer, but I guess my answer is, I’ve kind of accepted the fact that the Council wants to keep him contractual, so that’s the way I’ve acted.

Mrs. Stevenson, But that doesn’t seem to stop you on other things when you know how the council see things.

Mr. Douglas, I’m not sure which…

Mrs. Stevenson, You keep coming back, and you keep trying to get your way, and eventually you do.

Mr. Poparad, Can’t blame him for trying.

Mr. Burge, Jim, I’ve got a question for you. Obviously, you feel that Mr. Dumas is, he brings a lot of value to your office. On a scale of one to ten…

Mr. Douglas, That’s correct.

Mr. Burge, On a scale of one to ten, where would you place him, in your subjective values for the office?

Mr. Douglas, As far as running the IV-D, I’d have to put him right at the top.

Mr. Burge, At a ten. Okay.

Mr. Burge moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Prosecutor IV-D 182, $10,000 to 3950 Contractual Services.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got a motion to approve, and we need a second so we can have some more discussion.

Motion died for the lack of a second.

Mr. Poparad, The motion dies for the lack of a second. Let’s have some more talk. I probably would have a problem with the 7,000, if you hadn’t of throw the 3,000 out as a bonus. I mean I’ve got nothing against rewarding employees, but if you want to give Mr. Dumas $3,000, at our next meeting, we are going to have a whole room full of people saying, I mean Dale is going to have some outstanding clerk to give 2,000 to. I mean I could agree, I could somewhat agree with the raise maybe, because of the whole situation, but a bonus, it’s like, I thought continued employment would be a nice reward for doing your job.

Mr. Gensel, Well, it is, I’ll grant you that.

Mr. Poparad, Well, I mean, you know, if we are going to have to start rewarding these people for doing their job, which it appears he’s pretty well paid, because if he’s part-time, he’s well in the $40 an hour range. That’s not a bad salary even in 2005. With that being said, you know, I’m not…
Mr. Douglas, I understand.

Mr. Poparad, I’m not, at least inclined at all to give this guy a bonus because he does a nice job, I mean I’ll buy him lunch then or whatever.

Mr. Douglas, I submitted what I thought was appropriate. I understand what the Council’s position is. That being the case, I would, I don’t know if you would ordinarily remove this, I move to take off this $3,000.

Mr. Poparad, Well we don’t even have a motion on anything yet, so. That’s just my thoughts.

Mr. Douglas, Alright.

Mr. Carmichael, Bob, I have a question.

Mr. Poparad, Yes.

Mr. Carmichael, The talk about a contractual employee, is that what we are talking about?

Mr. Poparad, Correct.

Mr. Carmichael, Has the commissioners signed a contract to that effect?

Mr. Poparad, Well that’s an interesting question, because that came up earlier.

Mrs. Stevenson, No.

Mr. Carmichael, Because in order for a contract to be valid, it has to go through the county commissioners.

Mr. Douglas, I have to test my memory on that. I think we submitted it, and they said, no you didn’t have to. I’m not positive.

Mr. Poparad, They’re gone now, aren’t they.

Mr. Douglas, Where’s Bob?

Mr. Poparad, They’re gone.

Mr. Carmichael, You didn’t have to?

Mr. Douglas, No, but I have in the past where I’ve had a contract employee, the commissioners signed off, and I think that’s the way we prepared it, then they didn’t do it. I may not be correct, but that might be…

Mr. Carmichael, I think you have to have a contract signed by the county commissioners if you’ve got a contractual employee that you are wanting to have hired.

Mr. Douglas, I don’t disagree with you.

Mr. Whitten, For me it’s not a question, and I understand, and I agree with Bill’s concerns. I have the same the question. I don’t have a problem about the kind of work that Mr. Dumas does. I think he does do a fine job. The problem that I have is that we have two lawyers that negotiated a contract that nobody put into writing, and no one seems to understand that we’ve got to pay taxes on the money, and now we are being asked to pay taxes, and give him a bonus. No disrespect to anybody, these things happen, but come on.

Mr. Douglas, The contract is valid.

Mr. Whitten, Well, I’ve got to tell you something. We’re going to give, we’re going to pay the taxes of everybody we contract with?

Mr. Poparad, Well…

Mr. Whitten, I charge a lot of money as a lawyer, and I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never been able to go to a client and say, we’ve got to kick it up another 30%, I’ve got to pay taxes on this money. I mean that’s just not the way it’s done. We’re not even at budget time, and we’re looking for bonuses, and this, that, and the other, I just...

Mr. Poparad, Anybody want to make a motion?

Mr. Whitten moved to deny the request for additional appropriations submitted by Prosecutor IV-D 182, $10,000 to 3950 Contractual Services. Mrs. Stevenson and Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries, the request is denied.

PROSECUTOR PRETRIAL 38.08
144 Form (2006)
Domestic Violence Prosecutor Spence-Bonczyk from $5,500 to $3,500

Mr. Poparad, Prosecutor Pretrial 38.08, 144, Domestic Violence Prosecutor is being taken from $5,500 to $3,500.

Mr. Douglas, Correct. That is a, this is, again, a non-taxpayer account.

Mr. Poparad, We’re going backwards?

Mr. Douglas, Yep, and this is the result of a change in position. This person was the--if you will--deputy, and is now the senior, she’s getting a higher salary from the grant, and this is to…

Mr. Poparad, Oh, okay.

Mr. Douglas, I guess to balance out everything.

Mr. Carmichael moved to amend the 144 Form submitted by Prosecutor Pretrial 38.08, Domestic Violence Prosecutor Spence-Bonczyk from $5,500 to $3,500. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries, thank you.

Mr. Douglas, Thanks very much.

VOTER REGISTRATION 01.21
Additional Appropriation
$2,000 to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles - Amended to $2,000 from
1120 Hourly to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles

Mr. Poparad, Voter Registration.

Mr. Carmichael, Bob, did you get that letter from Ann Baas?

Mr. Poparad, Did I? I’m sorry.

Mr. Carmichael, Al, do you have it?

Mr. Poparad, He might.

Mr. Steele, I’ve got it, Bill.

Mr. Carmichael, You might let Al make a presentation, and let these kids go home.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, when we get done with Dale, we’ll get them up. She won’t be, well, maybe she will, nah, she won’t be long. The additional has been changed to a transfer.

Ms. Brewer, Correct.

Mr. Poparad, $2,000 from Hourly to Equipment other than Vehicles.

Ms. Brewer, Uh huh, this is the Voter Registration budget.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Anybody got any questions on the transfer? It’s not an additional.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Voter Registration 01.21, $2,000 from 1120 Hourly to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Carmichael, But I have a question for Dale.

Mr. Poparad, Go ahead.

Mr. Carmichael, On that voter registration, they’re talking about consolidating a lot of these precincts into one polling place.

Ms. Brewer, That may be some where down the line. The law has to change. It would be called a vote center, that’s when I went with the Secretary of State up to Colorado.

Mr. Carmichael, Okay.

Ms. Brewer, But it’s nothing yet set into law. If it is, we will probably be a site.

Mr. Carmichael, I was going to say, how will that affect the number of machines that you need?

Mr. Poparad, What we just bought?

Ms. Brewer, I can still use those machines. I’ve already put in for the reimbursements. What it does is, it gives the voter actually any place to go in the county to vote.

Mr. Carmichael, Oh, you…

Ms. Brewer, That’s the whole intent of it. You can go to any site to vote.

Mr. Carmichael, So you won’t know until after the first time you do it if it’s done.

Ms. Brewer, Well we could probably maybe use the machines or write back for something else. That’s what my plan would be.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, enough on the voting machines. Bill, you made the motion.

Mr. Carmichael, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Mr. Whitten seconded it on this transfer.

Mr. Whitten, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Are we all on the same page? All in favor, say aye.

Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

CLERK 01.01
Transfer
$4,202 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly
$3,000 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 1120 Hourly
$807 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 4410 Office Equipment
over $100

Mr. Poparad, Clerk 01.01 transfer, $4,202 from Salaries to Hourly; $3,000 from Maintenance to Hourly; $807 from Maintenance Agreements to Office Equipment over $100.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Clerk 01.01, $4,202 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly, $3,000 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 1120 Hourly, and $807 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 4410 Office Equipment over $100. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Transfer carries. Thank you, Dale.

Ms. Brewer, Thanks, have a good evening.

FAMILY & YOUTH SERVICE BUREAU PRESENTATION

Mr. Poparad, Ann.

Mr. Steele, I’ll make a little presentation.

Mr. Poparad, Yes, that’s what I want.

Mr. Steele, Ann Baas from the Family & Youth Service Bureau is here tonight with two, four, six, seven of the people that they counsel. And Bill Carmichael and I have spent the last three Mondays with three of these people that are here tonight. I know that Kyle is here, and Nick and Simone. Would you stand up, please.

Mr. Poparad, You can come on down if you want.

Mr. Steele, No, stay right there. And Bill and I were in this kind of psycho-therapy thing with them, and what came out is most important, is that I really understand Bill Carmichael much better now, so it was well worth the three hours. And thank you very much for coming down, and taking an interest in government. I just want to say too, the Family & Youth Bureau services do so much for these kids in their heart. Their heart is really in it, money doesn’t seem to make any difference in it. So thank you very much for coming down, and thanks for sitting with Bill and I. It was fun.

At this time, the Council gave a round of applause to the FYSB.

Mr. Poparad, And you are going to stay for the rest of the meeting, aren’t you.

Mr. Steele, You don’t have to; you can go now if you want.

Mr. Carmichael, They probably got pizza, Al.

Mr. Poparad, They got pizza.

Mr. Steele, Oh, that’s right, we had pizza every night.

Mr. Poparad, You didn’t bring any for us. Alright…

Mr. Steele, Thanks Ann.

Ann Baas, Thank you.

Mr. Steele, Okay.

CORONER 01.07
Transfer
$43 from 3330 Photo & Blueprint to 3130 Training & Education
$3,000 from 3140 Medical & Hospital to 3120 Consultants

Mr. Poparad, Coroner 01.07, we have a transfer of, is he even here?

Doris Ameling, No, he...

Mr. Poparad, You don’t look like Roger.

Ms. Ameling, He’s working.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got a transfer of $43 from Photo & Blueprint to Training & Education; and $3,000 from Medical & Hospital to Consultants.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Coroner 01.07, $43 from 3330 Photo & Blueprint to 3130 Training & Education and $3,000 from 3140 Medical & Hospital to 3120 Consultants. Mr. Burge and Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, The transfer carries. Thank you.

EXTENSION OFFICE 01.23
Transfer
$80 from 3210 Travel to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles
$158 from 3210 Travel to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions
$774 from 3210 Travel to 2250 Other Supplies

Mr. Poparad, Extension Office. We have a transfer $80 from Travel to Equipment other than Vehicles; $158 from Travel to Dues & Subscriptions; $774 from Travel to Other Supplies.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Extension 01.23, $80 from 3210 Travel to 3630 Equipment other than Vehicles, $158 from 3210 Travel to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions, and $774 from 3210 Travel to 2250 Other Supplies. Mr. Steele seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

At this time, Mr. Whitten left the meeting.

JAIL 217
144 Forms (2006)
Corporal, four at $1,000 each to six at $1,000 each
Sergeant, seven at $1,500 each to nine at $1,500 each

Mr. Poparad, Jail 217, come on up. I’ve got a 144 for the Corporal rank, we’ve got to go from four to six at $1,000; and Sergeant supplements from seven to nine at $1,500. This was an oversight during…

Chief Deputy Dave Lain, Yes, actually…

Mr. Poparad, During budgets.

Chief Deputy Lain, The second item, the second item, Mr. President, really is not, is not a change monetarily at all. It’s, it’s essentially to correct a typo. There were actually nine of those sergeant positions, and it turned up seven on the form.

Mr. Carmichael moved to amend the 144 Forms for 2006 submitted by Jail 217, Corporal, four at $1,000 each to six at $1,000 each, and Sergeant, seven at $1,500 each to nine at $1,500 each. Mr. Steele seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Any discussion?

Mr. Burge, Are you going to wait for Dan?

Mr. Poparad, Yes.

Mrs. Stevenson, He’ll be right back, he’s getting some water.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. No, I’m going to wait until he’s here.

Mr. Burge, This wasn’t done at budget hearings?

Mr. Poparad, It was, but it was the wrong number.

Mr. Burge, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, They had seven instead of nine.

Mr. Burge, This is an error on our end or an error on the sheriff’s end?

Mr. Poparad, I think…
Deb Harlow, My end.

Mr. Poparad, It’s her end, blame her; she’s over there in the corner; we’ve got to blame somebody.

Chief Deputy Lain, Hey, I’m here. That’s why I’m here.

Mr. Poparad, Alright, we’ll; what did he do, go smoke.

Mrs. Stevenson, No.

Mr. Burge, This is basically $6,000 then for the first one, total?

Mr. Poparad, No.

Chief Deputy Lain, No, $2,000.

Mr. Burge, $2,000.

Chief Deputy Lain, $2,000 total for the first, and zero for the second.

At this time, Mr. Whitten returned to the meeting.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, we have a motion and a second on the 144. We need to call the roll as soon as Mr. Whitten sits down.

Mr. Whitten, Go ahead.

Mr. Poparad, Go ahead, call the roll.

Motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

Chief Deputy Lain, Could I bring up a philosophical point of question to the Council?

Mr. Poparad, Go ahead.

Chief Deputy Lain, I know the sheriff…

Mr. Poparad, Now sometimes, you know, don’t ask the question if you don’t want to hear the answer.

Chief Deputy Lain, Well I really need, I really want to get the, I want to get the Council’s mind on something that I, that I realize you cannot come to a decision to this evening. But, it’s just recently come up. We have an opportunity to hire someone with, with a great of amount of experience in public safety to fill one of the, one of the court security positions next year. But, it may indeed hinge on what that, what that base salary is. And I understand that it would not be setting a precedent by waiving the probationary year salary, and starting that employee at the baseline one-year salary figure. And I’d really would like to get the Council’s mind on, on that, in theory so that I can continue trying to lure this person into the position, because I think he’d bring a tremendous amount of experience to court security.

Mr. Carmichael, Bob, I think we’ve always considered the experience of an employee when hiring an employee for certain positions, any position. Sounds to me like this particular, is it a safety officer?

Chief Deputy Lain, Well I can tell you, the person, I’m not going to mention any names, but yes, he’s a former fire chief. He’s a former sheriff’s officer. He’s a former city police officer. EMT.

Mr. Poparad, Can’t hold a job.

Chief Deputy Lain, Pardon?

Mr. Poparad, Can’t hold a job, can he; I just had to say that.
Chief Deputy Lain, Well he’s almost as old as Al, so he’s, he’s had a lot of time to accumulate that experience.

Mr. Carmichael, Al’s younger than I am.

Mr. Poparad, I thought the only ones that could waive that would be the commissioners. I didn’t know that was our purview.

Mr. Steele, Dave, why don’t you give us the little form we usually ask for on the salaries, that they have now, and a little more on this person, and so forth, and present that to us.

Chief Deputy Lain, Well I fully intend to, but, and I realize it’s probably not fair even for me to bring it up, but. But quite literally, I’m in the process of, of trying to help him make this decision and, and the difference of the, it would mean a difference of about $2,700 in salary, and…

Mr. Poparad, Is that the difference between the probationary and what it would be if he was full-time or whatever it is?

Chief Deputy Lain, Right.

Mr. Whitten, Well certainly I think we should always be receptive to looking at experience to try to attract the most qualified candidates for jobs. I think that, in theory, I’m with that. Dave, if you would give us some more information.

Chief Deputy Lain, Yes. Well thanks, and I don’t expect to, I don’t expect to hold anyone to a decision this evening. But I did, as I said, want to get your mind on it, so that I can, so I can go back to him and say, it looks, it looks very promising, can’t promise you anything.

Mr. Burge, Yes, I would agree that we are always looking for people with the best qualifications, and certainly as far as any kind of substantial increase, you know, positions such as a detective or if somebody has forensic experience that would greatly aid in crime investigation would be one thing. Security, if we are in a high-crime area or we have a lot of people trying to bust out of custody during the court system, that would be one thing, I would be reluctant, but I would be more than willing to see what you have to offer.

Chief Deputy Lain, Alright.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Chief Deputy Lain, Thanks very much.

JUVENILE DETENTION 01.80
144 Form (2006)
Detention Officer II from five to four at $30,775 to Detention Officer II/Case Manager one at $32,474
Transfer
$4,000 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly
$200 from 1110 Salaries to 3220 Telephone
$600 from 1110 Salaries to 4510 Data Processing Equipment
$500 from 1110 Salaries to 4410 Office Equipment over $100
$100 from 1110 Salaries to 2120 Office Fixtures under $100

Mr. Poparad, Juvenile Detention 01.80. We have a 144, we are taking a Detention Officer II from five to four at $30,775 to Detention Officer II/Case Manager, one at $32,474. Okay.

Ken Perkins, This was actually brought up at budget time, and my understanding of what happened, and then what I was later told happened were different. And so I contacted the council office for clarification, and I’m not sure what all was involved, but I was eventually advised to come back and actually ask the Council to clarify it.

Mr. Whitten, What are the two possibilities?

Mr. Poparad, Yes, I’m wondering what did we do here. I mean if we did something wrong, oh well. You know, I mean if we took somebody backward, you reduced from five to four, so we are eliminating one position of a Detention Officer II.

Mr. Perkins, The, one of the Detention Officer II positions would be half the time doing that function, and half the time doing case manager functions.

Mr. Poparad, Are we creating a new position with the Detention Officer II/Case Manager?

Mr. Perkins, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, And that’s $32,474. And we didn’t do this at budget because?

Mr. Perkins, Well I thought you did approve it at budget. Jan’s got a comment.

Mr. Steele, Did you check the minutes?

Mr. Poparad, Go ahead.

Ms. Noll, Can I say something?

Mr. Poparad, You can say something now.

Ms. Noll, Okay, when he had his first reading at budget hearings, you guys were all in agreement, yes we will. He wanted to take this Detention Officer II and make it a Detention Officer II/Case Manager. The first round you guys approved, the budget was approved with the additions. When it came down to the final reading it just got skipped over. It was never addressed, you guys just read…

Mr. Poparad, So we made a mistake.

Mr. Carmichael moved to amend the 144 Form for 2006 submitted by Juvenile Detention 01.80, Detention Officer II from five to four at $30,775 to Detention Officer II/Case Manager one at $32,474. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, It’s 4 to 2, the motion carries. We have a transfer of $4,000 from Salaries to Hourly; $200 from Salaries to Telephone; $600 from Salaries to Data; $500 from Salaries to Office Equipment over $100; and $100 from Salaries to Office Fixtures over $100.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Juvenile Detention 01.80, $4,000 from 1110 Salaries to 1120 Hourly, $200 from 1110 Salaries to 3220 Telephone, $600 from 1110 Salaries to 4510 Data Processing Equipment, $500 from 1110 Salaries to 4410 Office Equipment over $100, and $100 from 1110 Salaries to 2120 Office Fixtures under $100. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, The transfer carries. Thank you.

Mr. Perkins, Thank you.

ANTABUSE 27
Additional Appropriation
$5,000 to 1120 Hourly
$18,000 to 2410 Medical & Dental

Mr. Poparad, Antabuse 27, we have an additional of $5,000 to Hourly; and $18,000 to Medical & Dental. You’re on, Neil.

Neil Hannon, Judge Thode is going to be joining us this evening as well.

Mr. Poparad, Well come on up.

Mr. Hannon, He is the liaison now for Adult Probation.

Mr. Steele, Neil, does this have anything to do with that Antabuse bill we owe PMH or that…

Mr. Hannon, That’s exactly what it is.

Mr. Poparad, That never got paid?

Mr. Hannon, It has not, Bob, been paid yet, no. We’ve researched it, and we found two more errors where that they had billed us, and they, they were, we had canceled checks for it. This legitimately is what we owe yet.

Mr. Steele, Legitimately or…

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Steele, By their figures or?

Mr. Hannon, No, by both of our figures from 2002 and 2003. So it is, what had happened was, and I think I shared with you before…

Mr. Steele, Keep it real short, because I would like my mind to be refreshed on this.

Mr. Hannon, Yes, they had, when the money was sent in from Porter County, the hospital under Porter Memorial Hospital had credited the wrong account. They credited, the Town of Porter got credit for the County of Porter. So the Town of Porter got the credit, and then it showed that we didn’t pay. Then we had to track down internally where the money was, and they were doing the same thing. Then we showed that we had canceled checks, and that’s been an ongoing process, and so we finally have figured it out we do owe them actually, and we have a remedy in place so that as we pick up Antabuse from the pharmacy, we actually are able then to code it so that when its paid, they then receipt it in so the account will always mesh from here on out, so they are not paying the wrong party.

Mr. Steele, When they sold off all their bad debts, was this one of the debts they sold off or don’t you know that?

Mr. Hannon, I’m not certain of that. I know that they had turned this over to a collection agency, and we didn’t know about for almost two years after the fact that it was actually owed. That’s when we received notice of it.

Mr. Poparad, There’s no interest or penalty in this?

Mr. Hannon, No, and we were not able to pay any, we’ve always argued that, and so we now are able to, we have the funds, we have approximately $100,000 in the Antabuse account. Those are the funds that are paid for by the clients.

Mr. Steele, So what if you told PMH no? What are they going to do, sue you?

Mr. Hannon, Perhaps. I mean I don’t know what their action plan would be.

Mr. Steele, It’s kind of double-dipping if they sold off their accounts or something for that, then they want you to pay them this.

Mr. Poparad, Well yes, I’ve got to be honest, when you made that statement, I don’t understand why we are even talking to PMH. You should be talking to a collection agency.

Mr. Steele, Right.

Mr. Hannon, I have talked to the collection agency.

Mr. Poparad, But if they sold the debt off for $.50 on a dollar.

Mr. Hannon, But they did not, they cannot handle this account.

Mr. Poparad, I’m not saying that. If PMH sold this debt off at $.50 on a dollar to Dan Whitten’s collection agency…

Mr. Whitten, Hey.

Mr. Poparad, Then you should be talking to Dan Whitten, because he bought it.

Judge Jeffrey Thode, Did he have a written contract.

Mr. Hannon, Ultimately, my concern is, I know that we owe this, and…

Mr. Poparad, And I don’t disagree we owe it, I guess my question is, in light of what Al said is, who do we owe it to?

Mr. Hannon, And they told me it was to Porter Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Steele, You know what.

Mr. Poparad, It’s only three years old, right?

Mr. Steele, This is…

Mr. Hannon, Yes, and I don’t…

Mr. Poparad, Maybe that’s why they had a cash flow problem; ho, did I say that.

Mrs. Stevenson, How did it go two years without, if it’s in collection, and you didn’t even know about it.

Mr. Hannon, No, we did not.

Mrs. Stevenson, How could that of happened?

Mr. Hannon, It beats the heck out of me. I don’t know, I’ve tried to figure that out.

Mrs. Stevenson, It’s tagging us that we’re in debt this kind of money, and we’re oblivious to it.

Mr. Hannon, Yes, this was something that, and I’m not sure how it, there were bills that were sent back and forth to the, there’s actually an arrangement between adult probation who collects from the clients, and then the Health Department who actually administers the Antabuse, and picks up the Antabuse from the pharmacy. So they would be getting billed, but we would not get notification of that. And so, there were just several things that just became almost a comedy of errors at the hospital, and the Antabuse was not paid for by the health department, nor did they notify us, the hospital nor the health department, and then after about two years, they finally realized this money is still owed.
I’ve spent probably three hours a week since this spring tracking things, being on the phone, getting copies, getting certified copies, doing a lot of stuff. We do owe this, and we are still getting the Antabuse from the hospital. It’s the cheapest place that we are able to by the disulfiram or Antabuse from the pharmacy, and I don’t want to jeopardize that. We do, legitimately, we have been over billed several times, and we are not paying any of those. We got all those corrected, but these are the ones that are legitimate.

Mr. Steele, Neil, it seems like to me you’re here doing the bidding for PMH, and they put you, I think, in the middle. People owe them millions and millions and millions of dollars, and this is just $5,000 out of that. This is really their fault, and not yours. And I think if this doesn’t go through, I think the next time you should bring one of the reps from PMH, and let them settle this. I would say I would give you the money if that were the case. I’m going to vote no on this if it comes to a vote, simply because they put you in the middle. It’s their fault, not yours, and I still think you’ll get your money, and if you don’t, I’ll go take your hand, and we’ll go down and talk to them.

Mr. Poparad, Alright, I’ve got a question. The $18,000 is for the Antabuse, Medical & Dental?

At this point, Mr. Hollenbeck joined the meeting.
Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, What’s the $5,000 Hourly for?

Mr. Hannon, That’s to pay the registered nurse--nurses at both the Portage and Valpo sites--and the security at both of those sites that work three days a week--morning and evening--at those sites.

Mr. Poparad, Is that for this year or are we talking about next year?

Mr. Hannon, No, for the rest of this year. For the balance of this year. We’re actually 300, and I think Becky knows, $385 shorter in payment of being able to pay the staff right now for the…

Mr. Poparad, Was not enough budgeted or what happened?

Mr. Hannon, It was not enough. We, ever since the Antabuse budget started, we have never increased any line item, for approximately ten years. So that’s why, we just should increase it each budget hearing, but we have not. So that’s the reason we’re short. And I believe that we can resolve all of this, and put it behind us by paying what we legitimately do owe, and I’ve been working on it since this spring--since March--when you instructed me to do it, in that regard. I followed up in detail, and I can present to you, you know, all of the information, if that would satisfy your curiosity. I’m not sure how else to do it other than pay them, and keep, now that we don’t have anymore mix-ups, and we’ve got a foolproof system in there, that the Town of Porter is not getting the, you know, benefit of it, we’re in good shape.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Antabuse 27, $5,000 to 1120 Hourly, and $18,000 to 2410 Medical & Dental. Mrs. Stevenson seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

ADULT PROBATION 01.43
Additional Appropriation
$365 to 3610 Maintenance Agreements
144 Form (2006)
PO Koutelas from $11,399 to $25,977

Mr. Poparad, We have a 144, and an additional from Adult Probation 01.43, $365 to Maintenance Agreements.

Mr. Hannon, That’s a separate, what happened was the, under the Jalan software system, the county commissioners asked for each department to put their portion of the maintenance agreement for 2005 into the individual departments’ budgets.

Mr. Poparad, For ’06.

Mr. Hannon, No, for 2005. So we did it, we did it for 2006, also.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, right.

Mr. Hannon, But we did it the first of the year for 2005. So I put in the $5,000, which I was instructed to do, then we got a bill here just recently for $365 more than that. So we put in for $5,000 for ’06 also, so we are going to run into the same situation again, because we don’t have anyway of knowing what their maintenance is going to be for ’06 until the fall.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Adult Probation 01.43, $365 to 3610 Maintenance Agreements. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, I’ve got a question. We’ve got a motion and a second. The 01.43, that’s adult probation general fund, you don’t have $365 left to transfer? You have to ask for an additional? Becky, we don’t have $365 left this late in the year?

Mr. Hannon, All of our, all our operating budget comes out of the 48. That’s salaries that…

Mr. Poparad, This is the general fund, isn’t it?
Mr. Hannon, Come out of the 01.43.

Ms. Phillips, Not with just salaries, they really don’t.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, call the roll.

Motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. We have a 144. I cannot pronounce this last name, because I don’t want to screw it up, and that’s what I’ll do.

Mr. Hannon, Coot-tel-lis.

Mr. Poparad, We are going to, there’s a lot of discussion about this. We want to take her from $11,399 to $25,977 in the 01.43 general fund budget.

Mr. Hannon, This is a correction the, from the 2005, for the 2006 budget, because that night when we had it, total amounts were read in. In 2005, there was $25,977, and then, for 2006, rather than putting in the same amount of the county general fund, $11,399 was read in.

Mr. Poparad, Well that’s what you submitted.

Mr. Hannon, That, that was a type, that was an error, yes.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Hannon, Yes, I’ll take credit for whatever is wrong.

Mr. Poparad, That’s alright. What was the logic, why did you reduce her?

Mr. Hannon, The reason that we reduced that was we were trying to take some out of user fees.

Mr. Poparad, Right.

Mr. Hannon, The 48, and some out of the 01.43, and each year we were trying to go back to the point of having the employees, the probation officer being paid their base salary out of 43, which the law requires it. So that was what we were attempting to do, and rather than not completing that task, we just read into the record the same amounts that were in error.

Mr. Poparad, What is this person’s salary?

Mr. Hannon, The total salary combined is $37,376. They get $25,977 out of 43, and they get $11,399, which is a 2% increase out of 48.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, and this is for ’06.

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, What were they getting paid this year?

Mr. Hannon, It was 2% less than that of the total.

Mr. Poparad, So in ’05, the year we’re in, she’s getting 25,000-and-change out of the general fund.

Mr. Hannon, Correct, and she’s getting the balance of 10,000-whatever…

Mr. Poparad, Whatever…

Mr. Hannon, Out of the 48.

Mr. Poparad, Was coming out of…

Mr. Hannon, Correct.

Mr. Poparad, But $11,399 got read in at the budget hearings, and passed out of the general fund.

Mr. Hannon, Correct.

Mr. Poparad, And was the balance of her salary read in the record out 48?

Mr. Hannon, No.

Mr. Poparad, So we have, let’s say if nothing happened, she’s going to be grossly underpaid.

Mr. Hannon, She would be making $22,000 next year, 11,000 out of each one. In other words, 11,399, 11,399. So what I was doing is trying to correct by putting the 25,977 back in that was paid out of the 01.

Mr. Poparad, Why don’t we put the $25,977 out of the user fees?

Mr. Hannon, Well, only because, we’d almost, for two reasons, one, is that it’s the responsibility for the council to pay the base salary, and we’re not even paying two-thirds of that. Secondly, we’re exhausting all of our user fees now.

Mr. Poparad, Well that’s, that’s because you guys got them big raises, no disrespect intended.

Mr. Hannon, But, that’s where we’re at.

Mr. Poparad, Well I mean, you’re burning, you guys, you know, you lobby the legislators, and you all got healthy raises, and now you’re burning up your fund. So I guess my rhetorical question to you is: If we move this lady to the general fund for her base salary, and you burn up all of your 48 Fund, are you going to come in here, and want the bonus paid out of the general fund? Because you can’t have it both ways in my book. If you want us to, in my opinion, if you want us to pay her base salary out of the general fund, that’s great. But this extra money that you guys got the legislators to approve paid out of user fees, when that runs dry, what are you going to do?

Mr. Hannon, And I don’t…

Mr. Poparad, No, you’ll come in here. I’ll tell you what you are going to do. You are going to come in here and say, the law says they make x-amount of money, and we are going to have to pay for it out of the general fund.

Mr. Hannon, Here’s what happened though, historically, I think puts a perspective that needs to be shed. Years ago when we had money in our probation user fees that were, actually were a reserve, there had been 200,000 or 300,000 in reserve. It was looked upon, during the lean years, by the council, that this is good place to start taking money out of. We had already been paying all of our operating expenses out of Fund 48, and then we started putting additional salaries in there so it would be less of a burden on the council out of the 43 account.

Mr. Poparad, Is that bad?

Mr. Hannon, And that has continued to be done.

Mr. Poparad, Is that bad?

Mr. Hannon, No, I’m not saying it’s bad.

Mr. Poparad, Well I mean you’re the second person that sat up here, and I’ve been pretty silent, because I’m supposed to be like quiet here tonight. You’re the second person that sat here and said, these user fees…

Mr. Whitten, Who told you that.

Mr. Poparad, Well I’m not supposed to, I’m supposed to just like, you know, steer. Well, you’re the second person that sat here and said these user fees are not supposed to help the general fund, and I personally take offense at that, because you are sitting--not you--but the people sitting at that table sit on this pot of gold and think its theirs.
Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, How much is in user fees, Becky, right now?

Ms. Phillips, $483,554.

Mr. Poparad, And you want to move this, and we’ve got to hit the general fund, because you think you’re going to run out of money in user fees.

Mr. Hannon, We will spend more than what we have collected right now, Bob.

Mr. Poparad, Well, and I don’t disagree with that.

Mr. Hannon, And I don’t want to, I agree that the user fees are to help with…

Mr. Poparad, Well no, Neil, I’ve got to be honest here.

Mr. Hannon, With the burden. I’m not trying to say…

Mr. Poparad, And I love everybody in this building, but you want to use the user fees when it’s to your benefit to pay your big bonus. But when we want to use your user fees to help offset the general fund, and pay some salaries, the red flags go up. You can’t have it both ways.

Mr. Hannon, No, we are already spending over 400,000 out of user fees.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Hannon, And that’s all we collect a year.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Hannon, That’s what I’m saying, we’re at the max. We’re at the max, I don’t know how else to do it.

Mr. Poparad, You’ve got $400,000 this late in the year?

Ms. Phillips, $483,000.

Mr. Hannon, Because it revolves. It’s a revolving little…

Mr. Poparad, Well I guess my point, what’s the intent of the user fees then? To help the general fund.

Mr. Hannon, There’s a statute for enhancements of the probation office, and there’s a statute that clearly defines all of that. And I’d love to show it to you.

Mr. Poparad, No, I’m sure its very well written in your favor. No, I’m serious…

Mr. Whitten, Geez, Bob, I don’t know about this being quiet and steering thing, I got to tell you.

Mr. Poparad, Well, no, I mean. I’m done.

Judge Thode, You are exactly right, Mr. Poparad, it is expressly written in favor for the probation department. But they didn’t write it.

Mr. Poparad, No, I’m sure, I know they didn’t write…

Judge Thode, They lobbied for it, but they didn’t write it.

Mr. Poparad, But they lobbied real hard.

Mr. Burge, Any department with a fund like that could reprioritize. You could eliminate something else that we are going to pay for, put this person in there. You have that latitude.

Mr. Hannon, And we’re paying several salaries out of it right now, in addition to, all of our operating costs, and we have paid all of our operating costs.

Mrs. Stevenson, You know this…

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mrs. Stevenson, This is where I have a problem, because we need to be consistent down the whole road here. When Mr. Douglas came before us, we weren’t consistent. I voted against it, but you guys decided to put it into the general fund, and let him loosen up his money. Now all of a sudden Neil’s doing the same thing, and he’s being criticized for the same thing you just allowed Mr. Douglas to do.

Mr. Whitten, Is that a motion to approve.

Mr. Poparad, Well I’ve got to be honest though, Rita. I’ll respond to that. These guys want to use the user fees when it’s their big bonus.

Mrs. Stevenson, So did they.

Mr. Poparad, No, Douglas doesn’t, isn’t handing a bonus out of his fund, he’s just paying a person. These guys don’t want to pay a person, but they want the bonus money.

Mr. Whitten, Yes, but he’s, Rita’s right.

Mrs. Stevenson, Yes.

Mr. Whitten, Come on, Jim came here, and it was the old shell game to move somebody from one place to another to get them benefits.

Mrs. Stevenson, It’s a play on words.

Mr. Whitten, Alright, so, she’s right. Whether we agree with her or not, she’s right.

Mr. Poparad, Well, whatever you guys want to do.

Mr. Hannon, And this is just to resurrect what we was in error during the…

Mrs. Stevenson, Thank you.

Mr. Whitten, You’re welcome.

Mr. Hollenbeck, Somebody make a motion.

Mr. Whitten, I’ll move to approve this.

Mr. Poparad, Which one? Are we doing the first additional, I mean the first 144 where we are going to take the probation officer from 11,000 to 25,000 in the general fund.

Mr. Whitten, That’s the one I’m moving.

Mr. Whitten moved to amend the 144 Form for 2006 submitted by Adult Probation 01.43, PO Koutelas from $11,399 to $25,977.

Mr. Whitten, You better speak up.

Mrs. Stevenson, I’m being…

Mr. Whitten, You mean I went out on a limb for you, and you’re not going to second my motion.

Mrs. Stevenson, I’m being consistent; what did I do with Mr. Douglas.

Mr. Whitten, I take back what I said about you.

Mrs. Stevenson, I’ll second it.

Mrs. Stevenson seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Alright, there’s a motion and a second to increase from $11,399 to $26,977 in the general fund. Any questions?

Mr. Whitten, It’s never going to pass.

Mr. Poparad, Any questions.

Mr. Carmichael, You know, Bob, there’s one alternative to this.

Mr. Poparad, Go ahead, we’re still in discussion.

Mr. Carmichael, Probation officers come and go, perhaps this is the opportunity to reduce that staff by one probation officer, with the first vacancy available.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Carmichael, We’re at the maximum now, we have 25 now? Where are we?

Mr. Hannon, Probation officers?

Mr. Carmichael, Yes.

Mr. Hannon, There’s 17, 18 probation officers in the adult area, if you count the home detention officers.

Mr. Carmichael, Are you a probation officer?

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Carmichael, There’s 18, and where does your salary kick in? We had this discussion before.

Mr. Hannon, Where does my salary kick in?

Mr. Carmichael, Yes, the next highest level.

Mr. Hannon, Well, I’m at the maximum that I can receive after 20 years of salary, I mean service, right now. So in other words, it goes on years of service, and then if you have 16 or more employees.

Mr. Carmichael, It’s 16.

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mr. Carmichael, That’ll reduce, if you’ve got 17 now, that will put it back to 16.

Mr. Hannon, Yes, all we are trying to do is put the same amount in that was in it for 2005. In 2005 there was an error with the auditor’s office, and we caught it the day that the budgets were done, and we were just asked to bring it back.

Mr. Whitten, Mr. Chairman, I call for the question.

Mr. Hannon, That’s why we are here.

Mr. Poparad, Call the roll.


Motion incomplete on the following roll call vote:

Stevenson -

Mrs. Stevenson, What you’re actually asking is for…

Mr. Poparad, You need to vote. The questions are over.

Mr. Whitten, I was interested in what you had to say, Rita.

Mrs. Stevenson, All you are doing is asking for the difference, correct?

Mr. Hannon, Yes.

Mrs. Stevenson, Out of the general fund.

Mr. Hannon, We are asking the same amount be put back in that line item…

Mrs. Stevenson, That you had for 2005.

Mr. Hannon, That was in 2005, and the raise for that probation of 2% goes in the Fund 48. It’s all…

Mrs. Stevenson, Yes.

Mr. Hannon, It’s a typographical error, and we are just trying to correct the typographical error.

Mrs. Stevenson, I say yes.

Mr. Hannon, I appreciate it.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries.

ADULT PROBATION USER FEES 48
144 Form
PO Koutelas from $10,667 to $11,399
Secretary from $0 to $17,772

Mr. Poparad, We have another 144, Adult Probation, where we take this PO from $10,667 to $11,399. This is a 2% increase that Neil, evidently got overlooked.

Mr. Hannon, Correct.

Mr. Whitten, What’s this secretary one?

Mr. Poparad, We’re not, well do you want to do them together, or do you want to do them…

Mr. Whitten, Yes, I’d like them done together.

Mr. Poparad, Okay, then the other one is a Secretary from $0 to $17,772.

Mr. Whitten, Was that another…

Mr. Steele, Another employee, Neil?

Mr. Whitten, Are you adding an employee or was that just…

Mr. Hannon, No, just trying, what happened was, we were trying to go through and have certain funds come out of 01.43, and then we put in less in the 48, and we were, actually, if you would go back on the record, we had been instructed to do that by the Council--the previous councils--and we were attempting to do that.

Mr. Whitten, Okay.

Mr. Whitten moved to amend the 144 Forms for 2006 submitted by Adult Probation User Fees 48, PO Koutelas from $10,667 to $11,399; and Secretary from $0 to $17,772. Mrs. Stevenson seconded.

Mr. Poparad, Discussion? The remainder of her salary will come out of the general fund. The secretary’s is, $6,584. Is that correct, in the general fund?

Mr. Hannon, Correct.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Any more questions? Call the roll.

Motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

PARKS OPERATING 127
Additional Appropriation
$1,000 to 1120 Hourly
$70 to 1210 FICA
$500 to 2250 Other Supplies
$1,070 to 3340 Advertising
$900 to 3950 Contractual Services
$1,400 to 3980 Event Expenses

Mr. Poparad, Parks Operating, we have an additional of $1,000 to Hourly.

Mrs. Stevenson, Thank you, Judge Thode, for coming.

Judge Thode, Do you need me for my $160 transfer later in the evening?

Mr. Poparad, No.

Mr. Steele, We’ll handle it.

Mr. Carmichael, We’ll take care of it.

Mr. Whitten, We’ll deny it.

Mr. Carmichael, Don’t worry, we’ll see it makes it for you. A friend of mine is, you’ll read it.

Judge Thode, Okay.

Mr. Poparad, No sidebars, let’s go. We’ve got $1,000 to Hourly; $70 to FICA; $500 to Other Supplies; of which $1,070 goes to Advertising; $900 to Contractual; $1,400 to 3980 Event Expenses. This is an additional.

Ed Melendez, Yes. This is in the 127, this is the grants.

Mr. Poparad, Tourism money.

Mr. Melendez, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mr. Steele moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Parks Operating 127, $1,000 to 1120 Hourly, $70 to 1210 FICA, $500 to 2250 Other Supplies, $1,070 to 3340 Advertising, $900 to 3950 Contractual Services, and $1,400 to 3980 Event Expenses. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.
Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

Mr. Melendez, Thank you.

EXPO CENTER 146
Transfer
$1,500 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 2330 Household & Bedding
$700 from 3230 Postage to 2350 Building Maintenance
$3,000 from 3520 Water & Sewage to 3620 Building & Structures
$1,000 from 3220 Telephone to 2330 Household & Bedding
$5,000 from 3510 Power to 3130 Training & Education
$500 from 3130 Training & Education to 2330 Household & Bedding

Mr. Poparad, Expo Center, we have a transfer of $1,000 from Telephone to Household & Bedding; $5,000 from Power to Training & Education; $500 from Training & Education to Household & Bedding; $1,500 from Dues & Subscriptions to Household & Bedding; $700 from Postage to Building Maintenance; $3,000 from Water & Sewage to Building & Structures.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Expo Center 146, $1,500 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 2330 Household & Bedding, $700 from 3230 Postage to 2350 Building Maintenance, $3,000 from 3520 Water & Sewage to 3620 Building & Structures, $1,000 from 3220 Telephone to 2330 Household & Bedding, $5,000 from 3510 Power to 3130 Training & Education, and $500 from 3130 Training & Education to 2330 Household & Bedding. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got a motion and a second. Any more questions or comments? What is Household & Bedding? Are we feeding the animals or?

Liz Culp, No, not exactly.

Mr. Poparad, Should we just go past that.

Ms. Culp, It’s like supplies.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Ms. Culp, Okay.

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

Motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, The transfer carries. Thank you.

Ms. Culp, Thank you.

AUDITOR 01.02
Additional Appropriation
$10,000 to 1120 Hourly

Mr. Poparad, The Auditor has a $10,000 additional to Hourly. Is there anybody from the Auditor’s office that wants to speak?

Ms. Phillips, Well we transferred $6,000 back in September, and that money is gone. We’ve got a ton of part-timers helping us to catch up, because we did lose three employees. So now we have part-timers to make up for it.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for additional appropriations submitted by Auditor 01.02, $10,000 to 1120 Hourly. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. Thank you.

SUPERIOR COURT 3 - JENT 01.38
Transfer
$200 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 2110 Office Supplies
$200 from 3170 Interpreters to 2110 Office Supplies

Mr. Poparad, Superior Court 3, we have a transfer of $200 from Maintenance Agreements to Office Supplies; and $200 from Interpreters to Office Supplies.

Mr. Steele moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Superior Court 3, 01.38, $200 from 3610 Maintenance Agreements to 2110 Office Supplies, and $200 from 3170 Interpreters to 2110 Office Supplies. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

SUPERIOR COURT 6 - THODE 01.39
Transfer
$160 from 3170 Interpreters to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions

Mr. Poparad, Superior Court 6, a transfer of $160 from Interpreters to Dues & Subscriptions.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Superior Court 6, 01.39, $160 from 3170 Interpreters to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

CENTER TOWNSHIP 01.10
Transfer
$386 from 3950 Contractual Services to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions
$10 from 3130 Training & Education to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions

Mr. Poparad, Center Township, $386 from Contractual to Dues & Subscriptions; $10 from Training & Education to Dues & Subscriptions.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Center Township 01.10, $386 from 3950 Contractual Services to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions, and $10 from 3130 Training & Education to 3930 Dues & Subscriptions. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP 01.52
Transfer
$300 from 3130 Training & Education to 1120 Hourly
$200 from 3130 Training & Education to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures
over $100
Amended to:
$500 from 3130 Training & Education to 1120 Hourly
$100 from 3210 Travel to 1120 Hourly
$100 from 3230 Postage to 1120 Hourly

Mr. Poparad, Jackson Township, a transfer of $300 from Training & Education to Hourly; $200 from Training & Education to Furniture & Fixtures over $100.

Mr. Burge moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Jackson Township 01.52, $300 from 3130 Training & Education to 1120 Hourly, and $200 from 3130 Training & Education to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100. Mr. Whitten seconded.

Jan Meyers, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Poparad, Yes.

Mrs. Meyers, Before a motion is made…

Mr. Poparad, Well, yeah, come on up. I don’t think anybody’s here except for us and the Parks.

Mrs. Meyers, It’s always fun to listen to what’s going on. I had originally requested an additional appropriation, and between Point A and Point B…

Mr. Poparad, It didn’t get advertised.

Mrs. Meyers, It did not get advertised. So I would like to change my transfer request to, I’d like to, I had encumbered some funds. The $500, Training & Education, that I was requesting $300 in Hourly, and $200 for Office Equipment over $100, I’d like to put that all into 1120 Hourly.
Mr. Poparad, You want $500.

Mrs. Meyers, Transferred.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mrs. Meyers, To the whole, Hourly.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mrs. Meyers, I should have $100, I hope left, if not, for me, but whatever, in mileage, which is 3210 that I encumbered, and I would like that $100 to go to 1120 Hourly.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mrs. Meyers, And I have $100 in Postage that, now that they are going to change the Postage rates anyway, I don’t want to be sitting on the wrong stamps. So I would like that $100 transferred to 1120 Hourly.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

Mrs. Meyers, And then that’s not really going to take me to the end of the year for the work that we have, but it will help.

Mr. Poparad, Okay. Is the motion okay with that?

Mr. Burge, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Is the second okay?

Mr. Whitten, Certainly.

Mr. Burge moved to amend the request submitted by Jackson Township 01.52,
$500 from 3130 Training & Education to 1120 Hourly, $100 from 3210 Travel to 1120 Hourly, and $100 from 3230 Postage to 1120 Hourly. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, The transfer carries. You guys got the details on what she wanted to do?

Ms. Phillips, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, Okay.

PORTAGE TOWNSHIP 01.11
Transfer
$79.50 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3210 Travel
$236.30 from 3950 Contractual Services to 3210 Travel

Mr. Poparad, Portage Township, transfer of $79.50 from Dues to Travel; $236.30 from Contractual to Travel.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Portage Township 01.11, $79.50 from 3930 Dues & Subscriptions to 3210 Travel, and $236.30 from 3950 Contractual Services to 3210 Travel. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

PORTER TOWNSHIP 01.57
Transfer
$370 from 3220 Telephone to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100

Mr. Poparad, Porter Township wants to move $370 from Telephone to Furniture & Fixtures over $100.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Porter Township, $370 from 3220 Telephone to 4440 Furniture & Fixtures over $100. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

WEIGHTS & MEASURES 01.28
Transfer
$425 from 3210 Travel to 2310 Tires & Tubes

Mr. Poparad, Weights & Measures has a transfer of $425 from Travel to Tires & Tubes.

Mr. Carmichael moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Weights & Measures 01.28, $425 from 3210 Travel to 2310 Tires & Tubes. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

WESTCHESTER TOWNSHIP 01.12
Transfer
$60 from 2110 Office Supplies to 2120 Office Equipment over $100

Mr. Poparad, Westchester Township, $60 from Office Supplies to Office Equipment over $100.

Mr. Whitten moved to grant the request for transfer of funds submitted by Westchester Township 01.12, $60 from 2110 Office Supplies to 2120 Office Equipment over $100. Mr. Burge seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

CITIZEN APPOINTMENTS

Mr. Poparad, We have appointments coming up for Alcohol & Beverage--Bill, you’re not on that board--Park Board and Tourism. If you want to submit letters, would you guys get something in the paper, please, about that.

REORGANIZATION MEETING

Mr. Poparad, Our reorganization meeting is scheduled for January?

Ms. Noll, The 4th.

Mr. Poparad, January 4th, at?

Ms. Noll, At 6:00.

Mr. Poparad, At 6:00. That time seemed to be a moving target, the 6:00 was halfway in between. Is that okay with you, because I didn’t know.

Mr. Hollenbeck, That’s fine.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT
Surveyor’s Contract
Sheriff’s Contract

Mr. Poparad, Alright, Mr. Attorney, do you have a brief report?

Mr. Hollenbeck, Yes, very quickly, two housekeeping matters, both involving your salary ordinance. The county surveyor’s salary that you establish every year, and this has been true since 1999, the surveyor gets the salary he gets in return for foregoing his option under the statute of only being a part-time surveyor, and agreeing not to take on any other employment, and to engage his activities full-time in the county’s surveying work. That requires, the agreement needs to be in writing pursuant to the State Board of Accounts, and I would ask this evening that you authorize your president to execute that annual agreement for 2006. It’s identical to previous years, the only change being, you assigned Kevin for the ’06 salary, $59,250. I’d ask for a motion and a second authorizing your president to sign that agreement.

Mr. Carmichael moved to authorize President Poparad to sign the Surveyor’s Contract for 2006. Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.

Mr. Hollenbeck, In a similar vein, another housekeeping matter, the salary you assigned to the sheriff every year is also conditioned upon his foregoing certain statutory revenue sources that the law would allow him to have. Pursuant to the State Board of Accounts, that agreement needs to be approved in writing by the County Council, and also approved by the Board of County Commissioners. I’ve got the agreement, it’s identical to previous years except for the change in what you assigned for the sheriff next year for a salary. Again, I’d like the authority to have your president sign the agreement, and then I’ll take it to the Board of County Commissioners.

Mr. Carmichael moved to authorize President Poparad to sign the Sheriff’s Contract for 2006.

Mr. Steele, Dave, what’s the increase in the salary?

Mr. Hollenbeck, You’re going to authorize a sheriff’s salary next year of $110,500, and when I said something about that today, Jan refreshed my recollection that that was to correlate with what the…

Mr. Poparad, The judges.

Mr. Hollenbeck, The judges, and I think what the prosecuting attorney is paid. So I need a similar motion from the body on that, so I can get Bob to sign this, and take it to the Board of County Commissioners.

Mr. Poparad, Bill made the motion. We have a motion. Anybody want to second?

Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on the following roll call vote:

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

Mr. Poparad, Anything else, Mr. Hollenbeck?

Mr. Hollenbeck, Only to wish you all a most joyous holiday season, and a good new year.

Mr. Carmichael, How about a Merry Christmas, Dave.

Mr. Hollenbeck, And a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE RDA

Mr. Poparad, I have one issue. Mr. Olympidis, our joint appointment to the RDA has submitted a report--a progress report--just to bring us up to speed on what’s going on. I’d like that put into the record so the public can view it at any time.

Mr. Steele moved to insert the RDA progress report from Gus Olympidis into the minutes.

Mr. Poparad, I got a motion for that. Oh, okay.

Mr. Whitten seconded, motion carried on a unanimous voice vote.

Mr. Poparad, Motion carries. This will go into the record.

Mr. Carmichael, We didn’t need to take a vote.

Mr. Poparad, That’s alright, there’s a copy; it will be in the record. Anybody got anything else?

Mr. Whitten, No.

PROGRESS REPORT ON THE RDA
November 7, 2005

The following report is meant to apprise you regarding the Regional Development Authority. I intent to report to you from time to time in an attempt to keep you apprised of important developments regarding the RDA, to answer your questions, stimulate new questions and seek your counsel and advice. In the spirit of transparency I request that this report and subsequent reports are made a part of the record at the next regularly scheduled county council meeting. The recipients of my periodic reports will be the elected officials who have appointing authority over the RDA in Porter County (County Council, County Commissioners, and the Mayors of Portage and Valparaiso.)
The RDA Values and Vision: At its October 25th board meeting the RDA ratified its values and vision. The ratified values are to be bold, collaborative, transparent, non-partisan, efficient and accountable. These values will become the guiding compass for the agency moving forward. All twelve elected officials in Porter County with appointing authority over the RDA contributed in the development of these values by advocating their importance early in the process and thus have permanently and positively impacted the course of the agency. Because of your early support, the people of Porter County and Northwest Indiana can be proud of your leadership. Currently the RDA is in the process of crafting its by-laws so that they will be consistent with its ratified values.
The RDA Ethics Policy: At the October 25th meeting, the RDA ratified a substantive ethics policy for its board and its employees. This policy mirrors somewhat the state ethics policy only because the state ethics policy was deemed to be the better policy among the ones reviewed by a sub-committee of the RDA board which was entrusted with this task. In the opinion of the Attorney General of the State of Indiana Steve Carter, and the State Ethics Director Mary Lee Comer, the RDA falls under the jurisdiction of the state ethics commission. Though opinions vary within the RDA board regarding this matter, I support the state ethics commission’s jurisdiction of the RDA. It is the opinion of the RDA’s legal counsel that subjecting the agency to the jurisdiction of the state ethics commission does not necessarily mean that the RDA is a state agency itself.
The RDA Legal Counsel: At the October 25th meeting, the RDA board agreed to retain both state and legal counsel. In the case of the state legal counsel, it was agreed that the Attorney General of the State of Indiana will represent the agency. In my judgment this is a very positive development on account of the AG’s expertise in handling procurement contracts in a transparent and competitive fashion and because of the credibility that his office brings in terms of avoiding and combating public corruption. It was also agreed that Attorney Dave Hollenbeck of Blachly, Tabor, Bozik & Hartman will be the agency’s local counsel. Mr. Hollenbeck had been doing pro bono work for the RDA since before the composition of the board had been completed and he brings expertise in government law to the relationship. The Attorney General relationship was consummated for a two-year period and the relationship with Attorney Hollenbeck is for a six-month period and subject to disclosure of existing clients in order to determine if there is a material conflict. This arrangement offers the RDA an extraordinary range of legal expertise that it will need moving forward.
The RDA Staff: At the October 25th board meeting the RDA formally accepted Chairman Clark’s recommendation and retained Tim Sanders as its Executive Director. Mr. Sanders had functioned in a caretaking capacity for the RDA at Mr. Clarks’ request. During the interim period, Mr. Sanders was employed by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and compensated by the State of Indiana. Mr. Sanders’ compensation package was essentially matched ($75K) and it was agreed that at a later date his salary would be adjusted after a compensation analysis is conducted by an independent professional firm. Mr. Sanders underwent extensive pre-employment screening, which included criminal background and credit reports. It is my recommendation to the RDA board that all future employees of the agency are subjected to the same pre-employment screening as well. Though I personally did not know Mr. Sanders well, a quick survey of his person from both sides of the political aisle revealed a lifetime of respectful engagement and decency. It is my hope that the bi-partisan respect that Tim Sanders has earned at the local, state and federal level will manifest itself into a material advantage for the RDA moving forward.
At this time the RDA has not retained anyone else though a staff will eventually evolve. It is my sense that consistent with the agency’s stated value of “efficiency” there will not be a large staff as existing regional and state resources are utilized to the extent possible as opposed to creating a new bureaucracy.
Generally, I conclude that the RDA is well under way in organizing itself in a fashion which will allow it to operate in good stewardship of public resources and in a results-oriented culture. In the next few months the board will be challenged with the task of pursuing the RDA’s vision of creating a robust world class economy for Northwest Indiana by developing a plan which will deliver it.
I appreciate your ongoing engagement and counsel.
Sincerely, Gus Olympidis.
Submitted to : Porter County Council, Porter County Commissioners, Mayors Olson and Costas, Various Stakeholders
Enclosures: RDA Values and Mission, RDA Ethics Policy, Opinion by Judge Mary Lee Comer

RDA VISION
The RDA will be a catalyst for transformation of the Northwest Indiana economy to robust world class status.
RDA VALUES
Bold
The RDA will set high goals and a bold and intrepid vision in order to stimulate a significant economic rebirth in Northwest Indiana.

Collaboration
The RDA will seek to undertake projects with state and federal agencies; it will support public-private partnerships in the furtherance of its vision. The RDA will collaborate with agencies and individuals to help assure that development attends to the needs of our environment and social equity.
Transparent
Transparency will instill public confidence. The RDA will project differentiation and in so doing, help to gain, maintain and expand the support of the public officials and the community at large.
Non-Partisan
The RDA will seek to work with individuals and government agencies without regard to political affiliation. Our vision for Northwest Indiana will be inclusive and capable of being embraced by all.
Efficient
Efficiency will direct the RDA to secure existing resources and preserve finances for the creation of private sector jobs. The RDA will require applicants to implement “best practices” in order to qualify for funding.
Accountability
Accountability will increase prudent allocation of the RDA’s resources and enhance public confidence. The RDA decision making process shall maximize the calibration of its investments and efforts at creation of desirable jobs.
COMMITMENT TO PRINCIPLES OF CONDUCT
For: Establishing the ethical rules of conduct for the appointees to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.
Whereas the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority was established by the Indiana State Legislature and enacted by the Governor;
Whereas the members of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority have been appointed respectively by the Governor, Mayors and County Officials;
Whereas the members of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has been charged to “assist a commuter transportation district, an airport authority, a shoreline development commission, and a regional bus authority in coordinating regional transportation and economic development efforts,’ and has been entrusted with the right to expend public funds;
Whereas the members of Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority have freely and voluntarily accepted their appointments to this body;
Whereas the authority vested in this body establishes a public trust and creates a high standard of responsibility to act with unwavering integrity; therefore,
The members of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority do now adopt the following rules in the conduct of the business of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.
1. No member or employee of the NWIRDA shall solicit or accept personal gifts, favors, services, entertainment, food or drink
in any amount from a person who has, or proposes to have, a
business relationship with the NWIRDA. In the event of a
question regarding the propriety of behavior with respect to
this provision, it is the responsibility of the member or
employee of the NWIRDA to disclose the matter to the board.
2. Members and employees of the NWIRDA shall not solicit
political contributions on behalf of any candidate for public
office, unless that individual is a candidate for public office
himself or herself.
3. Because membership on the NWIRDA is uncompensated
voluntary service, members of the NWIRDA are understood
to hold other compensated employment. However, members
of the NWIRDA must resolve possible instances where the
responsibilities of that employment are, or appear,
inherently incompatible with decisions or actions
taken by the NWIRDA. In the case of a potential
indirect benefit to the NWIRDA member (or to a family
member, employer, business associate or personal
friend) by virtue of employment, the member is
expected to fully disclose actual or potential
incompatibilities. The responsibility of determining
whether the member should refrain from voting on
an issue that raises these questions rests with the
board.
5. Members of the NWIRDA will not use their positions
to promote the employment of the member, the
employee, an immediate relation, a business
associate, or a contractual partner of the member
or the employee.
6. A member or employee of the NWIRDA may not
knowingly have a direct or indirect financial interest
in a contract made by the NWIRDA, except as follows:
a. The contract is made after public
notice or through competitive
bidding.
b. The member files full disclosure
all related financial interests
with the NWIRDA; an
c. The contract can be performed
without compromising the
responsibilities of the member.
7. Members of the NWIRDA agree that they will not accept
compensated employment as a lobbyist, lobbying the
NWIRDA for one year after completions of their
Appointments.
8. Members of the NWIRDA agree to abide by State of
Indiana regulations regarding the awards of contracts.
9. These rules shall be construed as the minimum ethical
precepts incumbent on the members and employees of
the NWIRDA. Subsequent experience may show the
need for additional ethical rules. The Board may, from
time to time, review these rules in order to make
additions or changes.


Mr. Poparad, Come on up; be quick.

Harold Erwin, I’ll be quick and brief, I know it’s getting late. On behalf of the Porter County Board of Parks & Recreation, and the Porter County Park Department, I would like to invite you all out to Sunset Hill Farm Park, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from now until New Year, between 5:00 and 9:00 to see our fabulous light display that we have this year. We have made a lot of improvements to it. It is really a great thing, we even have fireworks that go off on into the field, so I would like to invite you all to come out. That’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 9:00. It’s a drive through, just drive through the park at your leisure. This weekend on Saturday, we’re even expecting a visit from Santa Claus. So bring your kids and grandkids out. Thank you.

Mr. Carmichael, Thank you.

Mr. Poparad, Anybody got anything.

Mrs. Stevenson, Thank you.

Mr. Poparad, The Press will get something in about the appointments that are up. You can get a list from Jan.

Vicki Urbanik, Yes.

Mr. Poparad, We’ve got the Park Board, I think, the liquor board, whatever.

Ms. Urbanik, The BZA?

Ms. Noll, Not the BZA, I made a mistake.

Mr. Poparad, No, we not doing the BZA. Did we do second reading?

Mr. Hollenbeck, No.

SECOND READING

Mr. Whitten moved to approve second reading. Mr. Carmichael seconded, motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote.
Mr. Poparad, Does anybody got anything else? I want to wish everybody a safe and happy holiday. Maybe at our January meeting, Laura will be here with something bouncing on her knee. On that vein, I will take a motion to adjourn.

There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:00 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