Hamilton County Councilman Mark Hall’s November Timesheet

Welcome to the Timesheet. This column is a report of work done on behalf of the people of Hamilton County. It’s to be informative, too – a place to learn about projects and how our county government works.

As your employee, it’s important to me that you know what is being worked on as transparently as possible in government. You hired me as your County Councilman, and my hope is that you’ll choose to be informed by regularly reading this column, getting involved, consider volunteering, and by asking questions. Council meetings are at 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville. Meetings are also available to watch online for those unable to attend in person.

Here is where my time this past month has been spent.

In addition to the County Council public meetings, November work included: a Regional Development Commission meeting, a Board of Commissioners public meeting, a County Council work session, a Cicero Town council meeting, a quarterly Riverview Health review meeting, and a Noblesville Town Council meeting.

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The November personnel committee meeting included five reclassification requests as well as one new position. The reclassifications were evaluated based upon the information provided to our outside consulting firm who scores and ranks the position based on responsibility and difficulty. The personnel committee sent the reclassifications to the full council for review and potential approval. Personnel requests are voted on as they occur – first, in the personnel committee and then at the next regular council meeting using a recommendation from the committee.

The finance committee did not meet in November.

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This month there were three constituent services requests. Requests require research, often with the right county department, securing the correct answer, and then following up with the taxpayer.

One November request was regarding the potential reorganization of Jackson Township with Cicero and Arcadia. A family had received communication from a local government agency that led them to believe the annexation of their property in Arcadia was imminent. Further research revealed that the letter was introducing the potential of reorganization of local governments in Jackson Township. There was no Hamilton County government agency involvement.

A second request addressed concerns over communicating the anticipated operating costs for the Police and Fire Training Center to entities in the northern part of Hamilton County. The expectation is that annual operating costs will be shared by the various agencies throughout the county. The constituent expressed concerns over how the costs would be allocated to the smaller agencies and further how the anticipated costs were not communicated to their local elected officials. Research revealed several prior communications to public safety officials in the area and a follow-up meeting was held to address any remaining questions.

Lastly, this month I received a request expressing dire concern over the impact of the potential Morse Village project on the eagles whose nest presently exists at 206^th Street and Hague Road. This is not a Hamilton County project; however, her request was time sensitive given that the City of Noblesville would be voting on the project over the next few weeks. Working with county staff in discovery, the documentation provided by the developer of this project, were it to be approved, had provisions and plans for the required setbacks and for wetlands restoration that would ensure minimal impact on the eagles that nest in the area.

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Noteworthy items from November included finalizing and confirming the transfer of funds into the rainy-day account as per my October timesheet. Also, after years of debate, the council has agreed to search for a Director of County Council Operations. County Council positions are part-time, and most of the Council work full-time jobs in addition to our responsibilities to you on the Council. The size and scope of our work is such that we need a full-time resource coordinating the information of dozens of departments, briefing the Council on Commissioner’s meetings, and representing the Council in meetings when we are otherwise obligated. I’ll write more about this in future columns.

Until recently I was not in favor of making this move. Even part-time, for me, county business is 25 hours a week on average and is part of what has forced me to change my position. I believe that this investment will produce better results from the council and as such better results for taxpayers.

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It was my honor to represent you this past month at the Purdue Extension Annual Meeting, at the Spotlight on Art fundraiser, at the Humane Society for Hamilton County’s 18^th annual Tinsel & Tails Gala, and at Good Samaritan Network’s 2024 Festival of Trees fundraiser.

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This is my timesheet. This is where my time went during November 2024. This was an especially busy month that included 2025 budget meetings. My job is primarily the financial oversight of the county budget. It is important that I understand the Board of Commissioners’ priorities and balance them with the stewardship of taxpayer dollars. That is the job, and I am excited to do the people’s business.

As a taxpayer myself, and listening to so many of you, our employers, it’s important for the taxpayers to have access to all the information you want. I work for you, and although you may not choose to do a deep dive into what your County Council does, it’s important that you can always do so.

Feel free to contact me at (317) 832-1104 or mark.hall@hamiltoncounty.in.gov with questions, feedback, or if you would like to talk about county business.