The exterior of Bartholomew County Courthouse in Columbus, Ind., pictured, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Mike Wolanin | The Republic
The Bartholomew County Council took a step Tuesday toward adopting a $67.58 million budget for county government in 2024.
The council voted 6-1 to advance the proposed budget to a second and final reading, which is expected to take place on Oct. 10. Council member Matt Miller cast the lone no vote.
Some council members characterized the proposed budget as a compromise, recognizing their were aspects of it they liked and didn’t like.
“It is more than I wanted to spend,” said council member Bill Lentz. “We’re up from previous years, but unfortunately, it’s the nature of the beast with inflation. …If everybody votes against (it because) they didn’t get what they wanted, it would never pass.”
The proposed budget, which is $8.07 million more than this year’s spending plan, includes a $70,000 annual minimum wage for new Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies that would cost taxpayers $453,560, as well as a 4% raise for county workers who aren’t on a starting probationary status or paid through a matrix system.
Advocates say higher wages are needed to compete with the private sector after the county lost 25% of its workforce last year. They also argue the minimum $70,000 annual wage for new deputies doesn’t quite match the wage hike and signing bonus approved for new Indiana State Police troopers by the General Assembly.
The Bartholomew County Health Department also will have more money to work with next year due to a new statewide initiative created through legislation passed this past legislative session and seeks to overhaul public health funding in Indiana.
In 2024, proposed spending for the local health department would be $2.99 million, including $988,011 from the initiative, called Health First Indiana. By comparison, the health department’s 2023 budget was slightly more than $2 million.
The department’s nursing division anticipates using the funds to focus on tobacco prevention and cessation efforts, chronic disease prevention, trauma and injury prevention, tuberculosis prevention, immunizations, maternal and child health, infectious disease surveillance, among other services, said Amanda Organist, the division’s director.
The department’s environmental health division plans to use the funds to focus on minimum housing inspections, full onsite wastewater system inspections for property transfers, assessments for childhood blood lead contamination, among other efforts, according to the division’s organizational 2023 planning document.
In addition, the proposed budget includes salary hikes for six elected officials next year, ranging from 15.2% to 85.4%, according to figures provided by the Bartholomew County Auditor’s Office.
Under the proposed spending plan, County Surveyor E.R. Gray III’s salary would increase 85.4% to $75,000, County Auditor Pia O’Connor’s salary would increase 23.7% to $80,000, County Clerk Shari Lentz’s salary would increase 21.3% to $76,000, County Assessor Ginny Whipple’s salary would increase 18.5% to $74,000, County Recorder Tami Hines would rise 17.9% to $70,000 and County Treasurer Barb Hackman’s salary would increase 15.2% to $72,000.
The argument for the pay hikes is two-fold: One is that elected administrators have to consistently learn new technical skills. The other is that higher salaries are necessary to convince qualified individuals to run for office.
Miller said the overall increase in spending and the pay increases for elected officials were his main objections to the proposed budget, citing his votes during the budget sessions against the individual budgets of several departments “for the mere fact of the raises going to the elected officials.”
“I’m not going to let my political allegiance get ahead of the public, and in my opinion, that is what has happened with elected officials’ pay,” Miller said. “…I think everybody on the county council agrees (that) we want to take could care of our employees, we want people to make careers out of working for Bartholomew County … but to enrich elected officials who are already currently in office, I’m not going to do it, and I’m not going to be a part of it.”
Miller said he plans to vote against the proposed budget again during the second reading next month.
