Council Agenda Dec 18, 2023

Audio – Council Meeting 20231218

County Council Meeting Notes – Dec 18, 2023

This post at Brown County Matters.

Agenda Items included:  “Allowing” citizens to ask questions and make comments, approving the salary ordinance, Indian Hill RR Crossing, turnover in the sheriff’s office, and hiring a new attorney.

Citizen Comments and Questions.   Similar to comments made by the president of the commissioners (Pittman), the council president Gary Huett, reinforced that they do not have to allow ANY public comments or questions at their meetings.  Citizens can ask to be placed on the agenda and approval of this request is at the discretion of the council president.

Huett’s policy is to allow an individual “2 minutes” for questions/comments at the “start” of the meeting.  The time allowed is arbitrary. This control prevents citizens from asking questions about anything discussed by the council before they vote on a specific issue.  Last fall, the local GOP advocated for the no-question/comment policy but it was ignored at the time.

De-funding the HR Director Position. Several citizens including Commissioner Sanders opposed the decision to de-fund the HR Director position. I reinforced that the commissioners have provided no justification for the decision which increased staffing costs, nor did they vote on this decision at a public meeting. Councilman Rudd stated that the council did not need a justification for increasing the budget and adding to our deficit.

In defense of the changes, Commissioner Wolpert stated that he “feels” the changes would improve efficiency. Commissioner Sanders stated the changes were not needed and are more expensive by around 20K.

The council voted 5 to 2 to approve the salary ordinance that included de-funding the HR Director position and the commissioner’s part-time receptionist/clerical position. They approved adding a second staff position for the commissioners – an assistant to the assistant. Council members Redding and Swift-Powdrill were the No votes.

Indiana Hill RR Crossing. Randy Pflueger of the Knowbstone Hiking Trail Association who has extensively researched the issues, provided an update on the county’s options. Councilman Rudd who has the lead for the county on the re-opening, stated that they will be meeting with INDOT to discuss the way ahead.  INDOT approved the re-opening on Sept 28 given that certain conditions were met.

Sheriff Staffing and Pay.  The sheriff’s office is experiencing turnover due to uncompetitive salaries. Surrounding counties have increased their salaries which can be 10-20K more for some positions.  The county is operating at a deficit.  Options could include hiring freezes and staffing cuts to free up more money to fund higher salaries and benefits

Public Comment Policy.  Not allowing citizens to ask questions is one of those rules that although you can enforce, should you?  The intent of laws like this is to ensure that the government can take care of business during a meeting. We are a small county and addressing questions and comments before a vote on an agenda item has never been a problem. There were probably only 2-3 meetings over the 100 I’ve attended where things got a little heated and a sheriff’s deputy was able to calm things down.   Recently, commissioner Pittman directed a citizen (Sherrie Mitchel) to be removed from a meeting. She was on the agenda and was not allowed her two minutes.

New Legal Representation. The council has been using the same attorneys as the commissioners – Barnes and Thornburg and chose to make a change.

Before their meeting, the council interviewed two attorneys. At the end of their public meeting,  they voted to hire Lorenzo Bevers Braman & Connell from Seymour.  Susan Bevers will be the attorney supporting the county. She has over 15 years of experience supporting county government including representing the various county departments and boards. Should help bring some needed guidance for the council.