Audio of the Meeting

Agenda Commissioner Mtg Dec 15, 2023

This post at Brown County Matters.

Commissioner and Working  Session Meeting  Notes Dec 15, 2023.

Working Session

Working Session – Commissioners and Council. Salary Ordinance.  I attended the working session today from 9-12.  Council members approved eliminating the funding for the HR Director position and funding a second and new position for the commissioner’s office.  The funding decision by the council is not final until it is approved via a vote at a public council meeting which is scheduled for Dec 18, 2023 at 6:30.  Funding for positions  are identified in the salary ordinance and the budget.

Working Session – Other Topics.  A lot of firefighting on recurring issues without addressing the root causes of the problem. A non-systemic approach to improvement typically results in 95% of changes resulting in no improvement.

Misc. In response to an idea about contracting for a study, Commissions Pittman pushed back and stated that the county has spent “millions” ( a little hyperbolic) on studies that sit on a shelf.  He was referring to studies from over 10 years ago or longer.   Typically, contracting for studies that are determined to be of little value are the result of incomplete or vague requirements and oversight.

Transparency. It was acknowledged that a better process is needed for publicizing the schedule of these working sessions. These meeting are about the only time the public has an opportunity to listen to discussions that support the decisions made at public meetings.    At a minimum, notice of the these meetings are supposed to be posted at the location 48 hours in advance .

Common cause or special? Another insight from these “working meetings” is gaining insight on process problems. There are  generally only two categories of “problems” – is the issue recurring /common (the majority) or does it represent an outlier/special ? On eliminating recurring issues, this requires a fundamental change to the process.

Commissioner Meeting

Courthouse Project – Change Order.  DLZ made an error on the plans that resulted in additional costs of around 24K.  They offered to provide services in lieu of paying for the additional costs.  Options are being considered.

Commissioner Staffing.  Council members did not request to see any analysis that justified the commissioner staffing changes.  Note last fall the council and commissioners decided a full-time commissioner assistant position was not needed. They developed a new HR Director position and a part-time receptionist clerk position.  This year, they decided the HR Director position was not needed and approved two new positions for the commissioners.  No analysis was ever provided by the commissioners or requested by the council.

Additional Commissioner Position.  Commissioners Pittman and Wolpert approved the new position; Sanders  voted No. Commissioner Sanders also asked for a legal clarification from the county attorney regarding  the defunding of the HR Director position. No vote was taken by the commissioners on the decision to defund the position. Commissioner Pittman stated a vote was not needed.

De-Funding the HR Director Position – An unethical and immoral process.  The HR Director first learned that the commissioners wanted to defund her position at a public meeting on Nov 6. 2023. No advance warning, or discussion They claimed at the time that the council had approved their decision which was not true.  Nov 6 Commissioner meeting notes provided at the following:  https://independentvotersofbrowncountyin.com/2023/11/07/commissioner-meeting-notes-part-1-nov-6-2023/