Day 2 of county budget hearing
Day 2 of the county budget hearing didn’t start quite as smoothly as the previous day.
On Tuesday, Hamilton County Council members deadlocked in a 3-3 vote to provide funding for three advocates for the Youth Assistance Program (YAP). The advocates were to be used for a large case load in the communities of Fishers, Westfield and Carmel. The county already provides funding for the YAP programs in Sheridan and the Hamilton Heights area.
Because of Tuesday’s vote, council members on Wednesday could not revisit funding the three YAP advocates, so on Wednesday, Councilman Steve Schwartz unexpectedly made a motion to provide the organization with $240,000 in cash. Schwartz’s motion was seconded by Councilman Jeff Hern. Hern was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.
Schwartz’s motion sparked a debate among council members.
Councilman Rick McKinney questioned the legalities of providing the organization with money they had not specifically requested.
President Brad Beaver conducted a vote on Schwartz’s motion. Fred Glynn and Rick McKinney voted not to support Schwartz’s plan. Council members Amy Massillamany, Brad Beaver, Steve Schwartz, Ken Alexander and Jeff Hern each voted to support the motion.
“It passes. We are going to give them $240K in cash,” said Beaver.
Glynn, who voted on Tuesday not to fund the three advocates, asked council members, “Anybody else we want to divvy money out to?”
Glynn’s question prompted a sharp reply from Beaver. “That’s why we are here.”
Beaver told council members, “This is the day where the tough votes are. Everyone gets all mad at each other, it doesn’t matter. This is what we get paid for.”
Later in the day, council members voted on requests from other nonprofits. Below is a table of organizations, the amount each requested and the amount agreed upon by the council.
Council members also agreed to provide Hamilton County Judicial Services $280,000 to be used for pauper attorney contracts.
A public hearing on the budget will be conducted at 7 p.m. on Sept. 4 at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center. Council members will vote to adopt the nearly $100 million budget at 9 a.m. on Sept. 16.