When Marcus Speer attends his first Bartholomew County Council meeting as a member Monday, he‘ll be coming aboard at the beginning of the council’s busiest time of the year.
At the end of Monday’s 3 p.m. meeting, Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor will provide the seven-member council with early facts and figures regarding the 2025 county budget. However, financial information available in early August is often revised by state figures before a final vote on the budget is taken in mid-October, council president Jorge Morales said.
The council will begin their budget talks with department heads on Monday, Aug. 19, Morales said. Talks will continue each afternoon that week from 1 to 5 p.m. If all goes as expected, the talks will conclude on Friday, Aug. 23.
“From a financial point of view, we’re sitting in a very nice position,” the council president said. Morales is one of several county officials who say the more than $16 million received through the “American Rescue Plan” has left healthy amounts in the county’s general and reserve funds.
Morales said he’s heard that some county departments are expected to ask for personnel increases for next year. While the council president said each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis, “they would have to give us a tremendously good reason why we need to increase manpower.”
Traditionally, the council discourages hiring additional employees because increasing the payroll create ongoing costs that rises every year with raises and benefits.
While the council has already asked department head to ask for a 3% increase in salaries, Morales said the matter will be reviewed as more financial information is provided.
“We’ve also asked everyone to come in with the same level of expenditures that we did last year,” the council president said. “However, we are fully aware that, in certain areas, that will not be possible.”
For example, the council has already been informed that the amount of money placed in pension plans for the sheriff’s office will have to be increased, Morales said.
In mid-June, both the council and the Bartholomew County commissioners agreed to a contract with Quality Correctional Care (QCC) of Carmel to provide 24/7 medical and health care for jail inmates.
Morales is aware the $996,476 that the council will need to appropriate for round-the-clock nurses through 2025 is substantially higher than what taxpayers now pay for limited weekday service. But since 24/7 care is expected to reduce the threat of lawsuits against the county, Morales said he believes QCC will be more cost-effective in the long run.
In addition, the county will be paying a Florida-base company, Trinity Service Group, about $550,000 to buy food and prepare meals for inmates, as well as handle labor and benefits for kitchen personnel. Jail administrators anticipate the contract with Trinity will save taxpayers $50,000 annually when the cost of food, salaries, benefits, maintenance and other factors are considered.
There may be discussions during the budget talks regarding how many miles of rural roads can be paved in the annual overlay program, Morales said.
“That’s something that is very volatile because a lot of it has to do with asphalt (and other materials),” the council president said. ” We figure that (amount) may have some increases.”
Speer, 50, of County Road 300S was chosen in mid-July by a caucus of more than 30 GOP Central Committee members to fill out the remaining five months in the term of Evelyn Pence, who stepped down early for what she described as health concerns.
While he’ll run as an incumbent, Speer is one of six candidates seeking three at-large seats this November.
