By KEN ALEXANDER
Council Minutes
The September County Council meeting is always scheduled immediately following two days of budget hearings at the county. It makes for a very long start to your work week. Unlike agendas in the past, we had several actionable activities which inevitably means a lot of things to go over.
Due to the amount of information and in an effort to reduce the length of these columns, the Reporter and I have agreed to publish a general article covering the meeting and if the content is there, provide a second article later that may discuss in more detail a contentious issue or one that needs more explanation.
This month revolved around budget hearings which set the budget for 2023. Those hearings went well with some minor changes that helped them run more efficiently. Like every family, business, and organization, the county is feeling the impact of inflation. We had some major additions associated with the new court that we were statutorily required to build and staff, and we needed to fund some existing positions that were no longer being paid through grants dollars. With new budget instructions, we moved maintenance and obsolescence strategies inside the different budgets for each department which saw a rise in the budget but will ultimately result in less additional appropriations throughout the year as these items need to be planned for. As part of this, we also uncovered more than $7 million in deferred maintenance needs which we were able to find a creative way to fund.
Ultimately, the county can maintain existing levels of service, fund projects in the pipeline, accommodate the deferred maintenance and adjust salaries to account for the impact of inflation on our staff without impacting our tax rate. In general, everyone was very happy with the outcome, and it is all because of our good financial management throughout the years which allow us to work through downturns without huge impacts like other communities.
As stated previously, we had a lengthy agenda following the budget hearings. The first item was a public hearing on the General Obligation Bonds, Series 2022, which is a consolidation of several projects at and around the existing Hamilton County fairgrounds. Two of the projects impact relocations of existing departments, Household Hazardous Waste and Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District. The remainder of the identified projects include improvements to separate buildings and infrastructure at the existing fairgrounds. As this was the first public hearing, there was no action to take on the bonds.
Part of the discussion included un-tabling two items from the previous month that were related to the fairgrounds work. These two items sparked a debate regarding the funding of design and construction for the fairgrounds. As you may remember from last month, this was a source of contention as the Council mapped out a plan to build all of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the fairgrounds masterplan so long as it was moved. This was presented to the Commissioners and the leadership at the fairgrounds but was ultimately turned down in support of improving the existing site, which the Council through this bond will support up to $15 million in total. This leaves about a $40 million funding gap for Phase 1 and Phase 2. As the bond has a reimbursement clause, these two items can be reimbursed. The Purdue Extension leadership stated that it was their responsibility to fill the void in funding and design work will be done to support only Phase 1 and the work associated.
The next item was an interlocal agreement with Westfield. These are the best way to manage an agreement on project responsibilities with other jurisdictions. They help protect all parties and establish financial and management responsibilities. This one specifically was regarding Bridge No. 59 that currently consists of two metal culverts at the Anna Kendal Regulated Drain. Small structures like this are the county’s responsibility to support financially. The road improvement (widening inclusive of future sidewalks) falls within the responsibility of Westfield. Immediately following we adopted a “Debt Management” policy. This was not a change from any existing policy but merely documented the policy by putting it on paper. I include these two items together because it is good financial planning, strong financial position and a myriad of other management techniques that help us maintain a AAA bond rating.
We had several additional appropriations that impacted 144 amendments – job description and pay revisions. Payroll is one of the largest expenses of the county, just like any business, so we approach these changes very carefully. Most of these changes were job descriptions, duties or maybe adding some additional pay to incentivize people to apply for the open positions. We have dozens of unfilled jobs at the county and inflation is wreaking havoc on our ability to compete in a tight job market. With all the difficulty in not filling these positions, I will begin working with staff in trying to identify opportunities to take advantage of automation. There are definitely some opportunities.
As with every meeting, you can watch recordings or live stream meetings from our YouTube channel.
If items mentioned above are of interest, please reach out to me or any member of the County Council. As always, I am thankful that the Hamilton County Reporter for publishing my Council updates and a special thanks to you, the readers, and residents of Hamilton County, for reading it and being engaged in the discussion. Our county is better because of you all. I welcome your questions at ken.alexander@hamiltoncounty.in.gov.
Ken Alexander is serving in his first term on the Hamilton County Council, representing District 4, which includes Adams and Washington townships, and part of Clay Township. He currently serves as the Vice President of the County Council.