The Bartholomew County Council unanimously approved next year’s $67.8 million budget Tuesday night.
In comparison, this year’s spending plan was at $57.5 million when approved last fall.
Next year’s spending plan includes $34.97 million from the property tax-supported county general fund. There is also $32.8 million from home-ruled funds generated by local income tax (LIT) revenue, grants, fees and other miscellaneous forms of income.
A separate budget of $4.01 million for the Bartholomew County Solid Waste Management District also received unanimous final approval. That’s down from $4.55 million this year. The council also provided the SWMD with an additional $11,500 to make a part-time position full-time for the rest of this year.
While some of the county’s nearly 400 employees are paid based on experience and skill levels, next year’s financial plan will include a 4% pay hike for most full-time workers, as well as a $70,000 annual minimum wage for new sheriff deputies.
Most employees have received a 6.5% increase since the beginning of the year. A 3.5% raise was approved last October. Four months later, another 3% was approved and made retroactive to the beginning of the year.
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 is still below the wage hike and signing bonus approved for new Indiana State Police troopers.
The most significant change from September’s preliminary budget was the reduction of an entire line item involving drug treatment for jail inmates. The county will save $118,947 when the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress takes over an existing program at the jail next year. ASAP officials say they believe they can pay for the program with existing funds next year, Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor said.
Another change since September involves the elimination of an accounting assistant position in O’Connor’s office. Following an extensive amount of cross-training, the former employee’s responsibilities will be delegated to other staff members, the auditor said. The eliminated job had belonged to a person who left to accept another position, O’Connor said.
By eliminating the accounting assistant position, the county will have enough money to immediately increase the salary of O’Connor’s finance director to $55,000 annually. The second deputies in the real estate and deduction divisions of the auditor’s office will both see their paychecks rise to $46,698 next year.
But when all of the former employee’s benefits are considered, the auditors office will have saved $5,000 for the remainder of this year and $61,120 next year – even when the approved raises are factored in, O’Connor said.
