Marshall County to repay $1.6 million after historic M.C. Regional Sewer District dissolution , Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at 3:30 AM, By Kathy Bottorff

• • The project drew fierce opposition from residents once they learned of potential costs. While homeowners were initially told monthly costs would be less than $100, county commissioners say that figure climbed closer to $200 after the board failed to secure federal grant funding.On October 31, IDEM determined the district must be dissolved, citing the project as economically unfeasible, unfair, and unreasonable due to project changes, delays, and resident cost concerns.
  • PDF Marshall County to repay $1.6 million after historic M.C. Regional Sewer District dissolution

Fired comptroller’s report critical of Lake County government By MICHELLE L. QUINN  | Post-Tribune | Post-Tribune PUBLISHED: December 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM CST

Clark seeks more accountability for Music Center; Kemp warns against government control
By Courtney Hughett -October 28, 202

• • “Rich Stanley also addressed the council, identifying himself as a candidate for commissioner in 2026 if his federal lawsuit against the Brown County Election Board succeeds. Stanley said the Music Center “is a public asset that only exists due to the taxing authority of the county,” and urged two changes which are to make four of the seven governing board seats elected officials and send 100 percent of the profit back to the county. “Public assets should not be turned over to private business interests,” he said, adding that he opposes selling the venue but wants profits used to offset county costs.”

The council did not support any changes to the current agreements. Councilman Rudd did not commit one way or the other.

Another option: Instead of 4 of the 7 board members being elected officials, these could be direct appointments by the elected officials. 

Background Information on the approval of the project:

• • GUEST OPINION: Time will tell what music center’s impact will be” by TIm Clark
    Brown County Democrat .  May 23, 2019 .
  • BCMC: Brown County Music Center (Maple Leaf): For the Record. (2017-2024)

“Ownership” – Lease to Own.

The State of Indiana allows counties, through a third party, to borrow money to fund buildings such as the Brown County Jail and the Brown County (Maple Leaf) Music Center.   A non-profit is established along with a board to manage the building and the required lease payments.  At the end of the lease, the buidling is transferred to the county.

The required lease payments are included in the county’s annual budget, which is reviewed and approved by the state. For the Music Center, the total amount borrowed was $12.5 million.

• • Brown County Maple Leaf Building Corporation Certificate and Articles of Incorporation – Brown County Maple Leaf Building Corp Certified Copies Attachments

  • FYI  Brown County Jail Bldg Corp CertifiedCopiesAttachments 

Financial Documents

Indiana Gateway Bond-Lease Reports:

• • Bond_Lease Report_ Gateway 3.5 Million
  • Bond_Lease Report_ Gateway 9.0 Million

Bank Documents

• Project Budget approved by the bank: “Schedule of Cost Breakdowns-Hard Costs and Soft Costs:  Maple Leaf Hard and Soft Costs
• Oct 29, 2018. Updated Hard and Soft Costs Maple Leaf Draw 7 part 1 Updated Hard and Soft Costs
• Brown County Maple Leaf Bldg Corp First Mortgage Note Feb 8 2018  $3,500 ,000
• Brown County Maple Leaf Bldg Corp First Mortgage Note Dec 27 2018  $9,000,000

Last updated: Nov 29, 2025

Political Context: The county has a one-party monopoly (R) on political power.   The local party influences who can run for office, be appointed to boards and commissions, and even obtain and keep a county government job. Consequently, loyalty to the party and its agenda can too often take precedence over supporting candidates and policies that could produce better results for the county.

Preview of seats open in the 2026 election. Candidates can begin filing for candidacy in the 2026 Primary Election on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, through Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, until noon. Includes the Auditor position and four (4) council seats.

 2026 Elections

Auditor:  Julia Reeves is finishing two four-year terms and is not running for 3rd term.

• • Expectations for qualifications?  Experience with developing, changing, and managing government (county) budgets. Knowledge of basic accounting to include the difference between cash and accrual, fund accounting, auditing, and managerial accounting.
  • Curious and the desire to learn.  Ability to apply what is learned to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. County finance and accounting differ significantly from private-sector accounting.  There will likely be a learning curve.

Council seats up for election in 2026: Huett, Byrd, Kirby, Kemp

• • District 1. Gary Huett: Appointed to the council in 2019. Elected in 2022-26.
  • District 2. Darren Byrd: elected 2014? 2018, 2022-26.
  • District 3: Joel Kirby: Elected 2022-26
  • District 4: Jim Kemp: Elected 2022-26
  • At-large: Patrick Nielander: 2024-2028
  • At large: Judy-Swift Powdrill: 2024-2028
  • At large: Scott Rudd: elected 2020 (at large) and 2024. (Possibly (?) running for commissioner, District 2 in 2026).
• Commissioner Seats up for election in 2026: District 2 – Ron Sanders
  • District 2: Ron Sanders (2022-2026)
  • District 1: Tim Clark (2024-2028)
  • District 3: Kevin Patrick (2024-2028).

Credit Rating.  Oct 16, 2025. “Brown County, IN Debt Rating Lowered Two Notches To ‘A’ From ‘AA-‘ On Weakened View Of Management”  

• • The two-notch downgrade reflects our view of heightened vulnerability in management following continuous and numerous internal control findings.
  • PDF Copy: Brown County, IN Debt Rating Lowered Two Notches _ S&P Global Ratings

Audit Reports-Sept 16 ,2025 – State Board of Accounts

• • • 15840A FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT REPORT OF BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA  January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
      • Adverse Opinion on U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
        • In our opinion, because of the significance of the matter discussed in the Basis for Adverse and Unmodified Opinions section of our report, the financial statement referred to above does not present fairly, the financial position and results of operations of the County as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
      • Opinion on “Regulatory” Basis of Accounting  (1)
        • In our opinion, the accompanying financial statement referred to above presents fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position and results of operations of the County, as of and for the year
          ended December 31, 2024, in accordance with the financial reporting provisions of the Indiana State Board
          of Accounts described in Note 1.
    • 15840S SUPPLEMENTAL COMPLIANCE REPORT OF BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA
      January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
      • Internal control deficiencies resulted in noncompliance with laws and regulations over the following areas:
         Annual Financial Report
         Reconcilement of the Monthly Financial Statement (Form 61)
         Timely Recording
         Capital Assets
         Overdrawn Cash Balances
         Training on Internal Control Standards

Jonathan Haidt: The Devil’s Plan to Ruin the Next Generation.  I asked ChatGPT how it would destroy America’s youth. Its answers were unsettling—and all too familiar.

I approach spirituality as a social scientist who believes that whether or not God exists, spirituality is a deep part of human nature, shaped by natural selection and cultural evolution, and central to human flourishing and self-transcendence. Our “better angels” call us upward and out of our daily concerns. Our inner demons pull us downward, where we become more selfish and easily tempted.

Interview:  America Is Broken—Walter Isaacson Wants to Fix It

• • At the 12:25 mark — “All men are created equal — a lot to unpack. What do we mean? It’s clear that people are not equal. We vary in talents and traits, but are all equal participants…”

  • No way we can make the changes needed unless we have a common understanding of “variability.” Variation is the gap between the ideal (a more perfect Union) and the actual state of affairs.

  • In a biblical context, perfection means that all needs are met. As more needs are met, less harm is caused to people by unmet needs. Consequently, continuous improvement becomes a moral imperative. The “scientific method” supports determining if a change results in improvement. See also the Taguchi Loss Function.

  • Ironically, the new methods for managing variation were once classified and, although declassified, remain a well-kept secret.

    Welcome

    W. Edwards Deming, whose contributions to teaching about quality methods were recognized by Fortune magazine as being “among the 20 that have shaped the modern world of business” and by U.S. News and World Report as “one of nine turning points in history,” concluded that improvement has all to do with reducing variation.

Article”

“In this era of poisonous and sometimes violent political polarization, when even discussions of our history threaten to divide us, we must find a way to put differences aside and celebrate, with gratitude, who we are. One way to achieve this would be by appreciating anew that sentence, the second of our Declaration of Independence, which may be the greatest ever written by human hand.”

Link:  The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, by Walter Isaacson, The Free Press, 11/23/2025

PDF: Things Worth Remembering_ The Greatest Sentence Ever Written

• • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

“By writing about “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” they helped define what became known as the American Dream, which is that we should be a land of opportunity for all. If you play by the rules, there should be good jobs at good wages, decent schools, safe streets, and—most important—the prospect of an even better life for your children”

What is the purpose of an economy? To increase wealth? Yes, that’s good. Growth? Yes, also good. But the purpose of an economy is also something deeper. Its purpose is also to create a good society. A good, stable society where individuals can be free and flourish and live together in harmony. That requires nurturing the sense that we share common rights, common grounds, common truths, and common aspirations.

“At the signing of the Declaration, John Hancock wrote his name with his famous flourish. “We must all hang together,” he is said to have insisted. Franklin replied, alluding to what would happen to them if their revolution failed, “Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

“As Franklin pointed out, our life-or-death challenge as a nation, whether it be in 1776 or 2026, is this: When there are so many forces dedicated to dividing us, how can we best hang together?”

“One way to do it is by reflecting and giving thanks for our fundamental principles, the ones proclaimed in that sentence worth remembering.”

Some Comments to the Article

• • The more I read through this the more it annoys me. There is so much wrong with this I don’t know where to start. It’s like listening to an unemployed trust-funder liberal activist explain economic principles. The economy has no social purpose; it is not a government program. Industrious people create wealth. Economies are simply an organized measure of that wealth and how it circulates.
  • If we simply stuck to the initial idea that everyone get equal rights under the law, we would do just fine. Unfortunately we have instead tried to equal the playing field so that we have no losers. Now we have entire generations of them.
  • Prosperity and other benefits of our society emerge from individual liberty, not from the designs and manipulations of our betters.
  • Mr Isaacson makes the case for, among other things, stopping willy-nilly immigration and not allowing Muslims into the U.S. As we know, Muslims believe that non-Muslims should be killed, and it is an act worthy of martyrdom to do that to another human being. This barbaric tenet of a religion incompatible with any other puts Muslims outside the lines of the American Dream. What should we do about that?
    • This barbaric tenet of a religion”.  Here is a clue: It is not a religion, it is an ideology of conquest, with a patina of belief in a supreme being, commanding violence by the adherents/. It is incompatible with the very sentence being written about in the article. What should we do? Recognize the the 1st Amendment does not guarantee the practice of ideology, particularly violent ones. Communism in practice, Socialism in practice, Islam in practice.
  • But giving an economy a “purpose” puts the cart before the horse. Society has an economy, not the other way ’round.That may sound like a nitpick, but that one, tiny reversal has huge implications for what kinds of governmental interventions are allowed. Let me elaborate.

    If an economy is what creates society, then the government is authorized to command the economy to produce the kind of society that is desired. Whether that desire is expressed by an authoritarian impulse (China) or a democratic one (USA) matters not, the results are the same.

    OTOH, if society merely has an economy, then government is authorized to command citizens directly, and any effects on the resulting economy are a kind of litmus test of how well that governance is working. In this case, the form of government hugely matters. People can vote out politicians in a democracy, but not in communist countries.

  • The lack of perspective and absence of humility in teaching our children on what it took to arrive at this moment is a crime, an intellectual failing that puts the greatest thinkers of Western Civilization in a box that is wrapped in suggestions of evil intent and oppression. What has happened to us? We are failing the next generation on a massive scale.
  • The Declaration, like the Constitution, was a promise that recognized the rights of the individual over the collective.
  • I was taught early that “all men are created equal” was understood to mean “equal under the law.” None of the founders believed that all men were equal in smarts or inherent abilities.
  • The Smithsonian should feature an exhibit on the woke cultural revolution, which shredded the Declaration and the Constitution while smearing and tearing down statues of the founding fathers: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/smithsonian-woke-exhibit

Last updated: Dec 24,  2025   
This post at Brown County Matters

2026 Elections.   Candidates can begin filing for candidacy in the 2026 Primary Election on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, through Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, until noon. Includes the Auditor position,  four (4) council seats, and one (1) commissioner seat.

Summary

• • Councilman Kemp directed the council’s financial advisor (Reedy Financial Services) to develop and submit the County’s Budget – Unprecedented in the county. Coordinating changes and submitting the budget to the State is the Auditor’s responsibility.  (The current costs for these services, including staff support for the auditor, have now exceeded $112,000.)
  • Prior to the vote to approve the budget, Kemp provided a budget report to each council member but did not inform them of the changes and the fact that these were not communicated or discussed with the Department and Offices, including the Commissioner’s office and the Auditor.
  • The council approved the budget, acknowledging that they did not know its contents. (Ref: Oct 20 Council Meeting)
  • Kemp resigned from all his assigned council appointments and remains on the council.

 Background  Information – Context

Background: New Council Financial Advisor and Committee.  In January 2025, a new financial advisor (Reedy Financial Services) was hired, and a Finance Committee was established. 

• • The need, scope, role, and responsibilities of this committee are being re-evaluated for 2026. The Auditor contracts with its own financial advisor.   

To my knowledge, and until recently, starting in 2024 with the Financial Services Group (FSG), the council did not have a financial advisor.  They relied on the experience of the longer-serving council members (Critser and Redding) and information provided by the Auditor.   The commissioners contracted with Baker-Tilly to develop a Financial Plan to guide development of the Commissioners’ Budget.

The council’s contract with their own attorney starting in 2024 was also a new development. 

The commissioners used a financial consultant (Baker-Tilly)  to provide a financial plan, with the intent to guide development of the Commissioner’s budget.  The plan was rarely referenced by the commissioners or council and sat on the shelf. The report was discontinued.

2026 Budget Priorities – Commissioners.  Document, review, and confirm the changes to the commissioner’s 2025 budget.  In the council meetings starting in 2026, identify the changes that need to be made to the Commissioner’s budget. 

Budget Process.

• • In past years, the budget process was pretty simple and transparent, which helped to prevent a misuse or abuse of power by one or more council members.  Steps included:
    • Council provided budget guidance to offices and departments that then submitted budgets via Form-1s.  
    • Budget hearings are scheduled.  The auditor’s consultant provides budget guidance, including amounts that may exceed state approval limits. 
    • The offices and department present their budget and address any questions.  Changes that are needed can be discussed and implemented with the submitter’s knowledge.   
    • Any final changes submitted by the auditor are reviewed and approved by the State (DLGF).  The new budget is published in January.
    • Adjustments to the submitted budget during the year are advertised in the local paper and reviewed/approved at council meetings. 
    • This year, no presentations by the offices and departments. Council liaisons assigned to the offices and departments were not prepared to answer any questions.  There was consensus that the “liaison” process was ineffective and insistence, including the Finance Committee’s impracticality.
    • Suggestion for 2026.  Document and publish the plan for the 2027 budget process.

2025 Budget Timeline – Generated using ChatGPT.  

 Presentation Baker Tilly Budget Process – plus Roles and Responsibilities

Finance Committee. A finance committee was established in January 2025 to guide the services provided by Reedy Financial Group. This group consisted of Council Members: Kemp (President), Huett, Byrd, and Commissioner Tim Clark. There were only two meetings over the past year. The intent was to provide county officials with the status of the financial plan to share with the public.  The council never agreed on the format for a monthly report, and no regular updates (goals vs actuals) were provided at council or commissioner meetings.

Councilman Kemp’s insistence that the locationof the meetings be held at Reedy Financian in  Seymore, IN) and the decision to keep them closed to the public were controversial. The lack of transparency and accountability led to significant issues referenced below:

• • Dave Stafford: For public servants, intent matters. Brown County Democrat – March 4 article on the Feb 18 meeting. 
  • “But several council members said they didn’t think finance committee meetings consisting of county council members discussing public money should be open to the public. Legally, this is a bit of a gray area. But for decades, good government practice for public governing bodies has been this: When in doubt, err on the side of doing business in the daylight. As public servants, that should be the default setting.”
  • “In the video, council members go back and forth on whether their finance committee meetings should or should not be public. As the discussion progresses — and credit to council member Judith Swift-Powdrill for righting the course — consensus seems to creep in that it would likely be more in line with the intent of the law to make those finance committee meetings public.”
  • “But one council member revealed his intent toward the end of the discussion. Jim Kemp, who had been agitating for those finance committee meetings to be private, said this to his fellow council members: “If you guys are going to do the public thing on the finance committee, I’m done and I don’t want to be on the finance committee. I’m not going to do it.”

  • “OK. Let’s hold him to it.

  • Commissioner Meeting -Feb 19, 2025. Intro to the intent for the Finance Committee and Plan.  Presentation: 2025_02_19 v01 Commissioner Finance and Budget Updatelocation of the meetings be held at Reedy Financial in  Seymore, IN,

Current Events

Dec 4, 2025. Council Working Session.  (YouTube). Council members reinforced they were not aware of the budget changes made by the council’s financial advisor at the direction of Councilman Kemp. Kemp stated that this information was provided in “reports” provided to the council.   

• • Council calls for clearer budgeting process while moving toward new employee pay system, By Courtney Hughett, Brown County Democrat.

    • A few council members noted that the commissioners were not aware of some of the budget reductions the council made earlier this fall, including cuts to health savings account (HSA) contributions and other operational lines. The commissioners learned about those reductions only after the budget was finalized in the state system. Council members agreed that the process needs to change to prevent this from happening.

      Council President Gary Huett said the county needs to be more intentional about involving department heads in discussions before cuts are made. It was noted that the council should not be fixing budget mistakes after the fact.  

• Dec 9, 2025. Commissioners approve contracts, discuss courthouse repairs and budget concerns By Courtney Hughett.  Dec 9, 2025 Brown County Democrat.  Reporting on the Dec 3 commissioner meeting.
  • Budget process concerns were brought up late in the meeting, with Commissioner Clark summarizing what he called a “dynamic” and confusing process this year. He said commissioners spent weeks “unpacking years of incremental tampering” in the budget and said the county appeared to be operating under two sets of budget books – the numbers the commissioners submitted and the numbers later updated by the council’s financial advisor at the direction of one council member. “This caused problems for the auditor that contributed to the county being over budgeted by $360,000,” he said. He added that the state resolved the issue by cutting the budget, but the commissioners still do not know where the cuts were made. He said they are working with the auditor to improve the budget process in the future.

Dec 3, 2025 Commissioner Meeting. Statement regarding the 2026 budget process

• • 2025_12_03 Clark Statement at Commissioner Meeting
  • Meeting on YouTube

Nov 25, 2025.  Fixing the damage.  Special Meeting with the county’s Financial Advisors – Reedy Financial Group in  Seymore, IN.   County officials in attendance: Council: Gary Huett, Darren Byrd, Patrick Niedlander; Auditor Julia Reeves; Commissioners Office: Tim Clark, Therese Cobian

Commissioners Budget. 

• • This year, the council assigned “liaisons” to the departments instead of allowing the offices and department to present their budgets. Kemp served as the liaison to the commissioner’s office but never met with them to address any questions or suggested changes.  The auditor, in consultation with the respective office, typically submits any changes to the State (DLGF).  
  • However, changes were made to the submitted budgets  by the county council’s financial advisor at the direction of Councilman Kemp.  A few of these changes were discussed during the meeting, and many, if not most, will be reversed starting in  January.  
    • Note: The Commissioner’s Office spent weeks questioning and analyzing past budgets and making needed changes in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.  The changes also have additional negative impacts that will take time to address. Unnecessary re-work.
    • • Salaray Ordinance. The salary ordinance is prepared by the Auditor. This year, it was prepared by Councilman Kemp with the support of Reedy and the Council attorney.
      • Over Budget – Two sets of books?  Councilman Kemp’s recommendation to the County Council to contract with Reedy Financial Group was approved by the Council in January of 2025.  The estimated initial budget was around $30K. Expenses as of 11/27/2025  to include staff support for the auditor, are approximately $112,000. The original intent for the service was for Financial Planning.  They were then asked to provide staff augmentation in the auditor’s office, and Councilman Kemp also directed them to support budget changes and updates. In essence, the county was being guided by two sets of budget books. This created a conflict with the Auditor, the Council, and the “Finance Committee”  over the submitted budget and subsequent changes. 
      • Resignation.  Effective Nov 19, 2025, Councilman Kemp has resigned from his council committee assignments that include:  Finance Committee,  Personnel Advisory Committee, WIS Factor Evaluation System Committee, and Salary Ordinance Committee.

• Nov 26, 2025. Advisor:  No deficit projected. Tells county council that budget concerns are overstated, by Courtney Huett. Reporting on the Nov 17, 2025 council meeting.

• • The county has been guided by two sets of budget books. The AUDITOR  is responsible for submitting the budget and any changes to the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF).  Reedy Financial Services was allowed to enter changes into the system without the Auditor’s review and approval.   
• Nov 17, 2025 Council Meeting.
  • Transcript Nov17, 2025 Council Meeting
  • 10:55 – Hickman:    … Um, the next couple reports just quickly shows, you guys have seen these before, the surplus deficit and it’s based off of the October 3rd versus  what’s in Gateway now and what was adopted. The only changes were obviously in the general fund. So, not substantial 
  • 28:45: Cobain: “You’ve taken a lot out of the commissioner budget” … 105K, 120K HSA, Detention, EMA Position – Change? ” – not coordinated with Commissioners. 
  • 29:57 Commissioner Administrative Assistant questions changes to the budget – Kemp shuts down the discussion and redirects the conversation.  …. 
  • 38:25 Salary Ordinance – Kemp – Reeves  … Hickman discussion on coordination …
  • 45:53 … Parks and Rec

Nov 11, 2025. Tensions rise as council confronts budget shortfalls and spending oversight, By Courtney Hughett.  Article references the Nov 6 council meeting.

• • “Kemp answered. He added that he did not appreciate what he said the auditor had done to the council at the last meeting, referencing the recently discovered $360,000 budget shortfall caused by errors on the state’s Gateway system.   Reeves stood up and leaned across the table toward Kemp, saying, “I’m going to tell you one thing right now, you are not the auditor, and you need to stop acting like it.” Kemp then stood and told Reeves to sit down. Reeves told him to back down, and Kemp said he would not. Council member Joel Kirby stood up between them, and Council President Gary Huett told both to stop.”

 Oct 28, 2025. County council adopts 2026 budget despite $360,000 shortfall By  Courtney Hughett .  The Council Meeting was on Oct 20, 2025, video and transcript available at Brown County, Indiana Government Meetings.

• • “Council member Jim Kemp voiced his own frustration. He said he felt “backed into a corner” and didn’t like learning about these issues so late in the process. “I don’t have time for this,” he said. “If you want to get with Reedy and sort it out, go ahead, but I have a full schedule.” He said it was unfair for the council to be put in a position to approve or fix a budget just days before the state’s Nov. 1 deadline.”

  • “Clements explained that the errors came from Reedy Financial, which had entered figures incorrectly in the state’s Gateway system. “We had to fix that,” she said. The council was left with two choices, which were to pass the budget now and let the state trim it or formally recess and come back within the next week to make corrections before adoption.”

    • The council opted to pass the budget, and per the Auditor, the state did trim the budget.

Timeline in the Meeting:  Transcript from the Video – County Council Meeting Oct 20, 2025

• • 14:27 Vote to Approve Budget – Required by Nov 1
    • $360K over levy. State will reduce the budget (cash operating balance) in order to balance.
    • “Pass now, deal with it later” (Kemp)
  • 30:51 – Why is Reedy (consultant) allowed to enter data in  Gateway? – The process of changing/uploading the budget
  • 34:54 – Julia, We do not know what is in it. Rudd, – Anyone review the changes – do we know what has been changed?  So there is a multitude or changes …? Has anyone reviewed it? 
  • Discussion Paused.
  • 3:04:52  Discussion – re-convened Julia Reeves …. Budget was balanced, then Reedy made changes – no permission, no minutes, Julia fixed ….  Still 360k over levy
  • 3:07:45 – Jackie – Clements – Mismatch of what was previously approved on Oct 1.
  • 3:12:52 Rudd – states he will be voting No.  Before deadline, budget should be double-checked. Reedy will not be involved (per Reeves … this was stupid ….). 
  • the deadline, the 3:19:05 Motion to Pass – 6 Yes, 1 No.

Oct 28, 2025 County Council Meeting on Oct 21, 2025.   Clark seeks more accountability for Music Center; Kemp warns against government control By Courtney Hughett .  

• • 1:59:12  Discussion.  Kemp advocates for the status quo – 75% of excess revenue from the Music Center for the Foundation, 25% to the county. 

  • Council Work Session – November 6, 2025 – 9:00am – Follow-on discussion on the distribution of excess revenue from the Music Center and board representation.  Council members support the status quo (75/25 split), Rudd is Non-committal. 

    • 1:55:36 – Discussion on 50/50 vs 75/25 split, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT at 65k), 
    • 2:10:08 back to the 50/50 split … 
    • 2:15:52 – Kemp – the dollar amount (50k) you are talking about is peanuts … It’s really It’s who cares? Pretty much insignificant.
    • 2:19:38 .. 75/25 Split  ” Leave alone. About leaving alone. Well, you got Darren and Jim to agree to leave alone. How about the others? ” discussuon through  2:23:40
    • Council members Kemp, Hughett, Byrd, Kirby, Nielander, and Swift-Powdrill support the status quo 75/25 split and PILOT payment. Rudd non-committal.

Oct 14, 2025. County Council debates public notice, advances 2026 budget
By Courtney Hughett -October 14, 2025

• • “The Brown County Council held a four-hour meeting on Friday, Oct. 3,” originally labeled as a work session; however, the council took action on several items.”
  • “The meeting opened with confusion over how, and how broadly, the work session had been advertised to the public. Council member Scott Rudd pointed out that the public calendar showed the meeting for the wrong day, and there were no postings on the door, on the council’s website, or in the newspaper. No members of the public were present for what was labeled a “public hearing”. 

Note: The state’s timeline for budget submission is very clear.  The council should never be surprised  by what the county must do and when to meet state guidance.

Oct 14, 2025 Credit Rating and Sept 16, 2025 Audit Reports. – Credit rating lowered two levels as a result of the findings from the Sept 16, 2025 Audit Reports. 

• • “The two-notch downgrade reflects our view of heightened vulnerability in management following continuous and numerous internal control findings.” 

 March 4, 2025.  Dave Stafford: For public servants, intent matters.

• • “Here’s what attorney Susan Bevers told her client, the county council, in this public meeting: “Take this as just my observation, OK. As council personnel, I think that there’s a lot about county finances that you don’t understand, but that’s the education that’s going to come out in some of these finance committee meetings” with a financial consultant the council hired. ”You don’t know what your max levy is. You don’t know what funds are in your max levy. You don’t know where you can spend dollars and where you can’t spend dollars …”

  • “The attorney went on, but you get the idea. When you don’t know all that, it’s no wonder those meetings last for three-plus grueling hours.”

Sep 24, 2025. Per Councilman Huett,  he, Kemp, and Bryd met with Reedy Financial in Seymore to go through the budget line by line to verify its accuracy.  No strategy or planning was going on.”

• Sep 9, 2025.  Council clash over visitor tax, seniors and spending,  By Courtney Hughett.

  • Kemp said the county has too many employees. He said the county has 180 employees costing $8.2 million, with $1.1 million in defined benefits and $2.7 million in accrued medical, with the county paying 97 percent of health insurance costs. Using himself as an example, Kemp said as a council member he pays $340 a year for insurance, receives $1,000 a year in health savings account contributions and gets free prescriptions. “That’s a hell of a deal. I make money off the group medical,” he said. Before joining county insurance, he was paying $18,000 a year with a $4,000 deductible. “It’s too much, we can’t afford it,” Kemp said of labor costs.  He added, “It’s the reason I put so much time and energy into being a county council member,” noting he earns $26,000 a year on the council.”

  • Changes to health insurance benefits – part-timers.  The commissioners can approve (without a public meeting) health insurance for part-time employees and elected officials, including the commissioners, council, surveyor, and coroner.   This benefit for part-time employees has been eliminated, and the benefit for the part-time elected official will be eliminated starting in 2027. A new ordinance is being drafted that will require a public meeting to restore the benefit.
    • The county pays from 93-97% percent of health insurance premiums for employees. The yearly county share for single coverage is $12,602; for Employee plus One is $24,845 and Family is $36,488 for an average of  $25,000 per employee.

Jan 14, 2025. Feuding council faces money crunch,  By Staff Reports, Brown County Democrat

The Brown County Council patched up end-of-2024 county government shortfalls Thursday, but there was no shortfall of personal grudges on public display. 

• • Special Meeting was on Thursday, Jan 9, 2025, from 9 to noon.
  • Regular Meeting was on Jan 24, 2024, from 5:30-7:00.  Gary Huett was unanimously re-elected as President of the Council.

Toward the end of an acrimonious three-hour meeting, council member Joel Kirby, who had spoken little during the meeting, bluntly summarized his view when he was asked to speak:“Most of our meetings are pissing matches,” Kirby said.

“This is the most egotistical bunch of people I ever tried to work with in my life.”

And while the council took some steps toward getting on the same page about reconciling the county’s troubled financial picture, council members also revealed deep divisions and trouble communicating.

The council approved additional appropriations totaling $628,719 for shortfalls in the 2024 budget and forecast the potential of drastic cuts in 2025 and beyond without an improved financial outlook. Some council members suggested those cuts could include county employees and/or benefits.

Kemp also challenged Council President Gary Huett’s leadership.

“He’s been the council president, and as the council president, should focus specifically only on county council’s fiscal responsibilities, that’s it,” Kemp said.

“What does that look like?” Heutt asked.

Kemp replied, “… What it doesn’t look like is for you to go off and work with the (Brown County) Community Foundation to get the grant, OK, and then for you to go on and put together a steering committee, for you then to begin to move forward on the comprehensive plan, to me, while I commend you, if that’s what you want to do, great, maybe you should be on the (redevelopment commission) and not on the council. …

“My experience is … your focus is not on county council fiscal policy issues, your priority is on doing these other things,” Kemp said to Huett.

Huett said he’s worked with county commissioners and others so they could be on the same page, which he said is beneficial and also has led to new sources of revenue, such as money the county receives from housing prisoners from other counties in the Brown County Jail.

“He brought it together,” Councilman Patrick Nielander said of that deal, in defense of Huett.

“Why are we crucifying Gary here?” Councilwoman Judy Swift-Powdrill asked. “What is this about?”

But Kemp also again offered his services to lead the council, disclosed a details about a personnel issue involving a former department head, and drew some unsolicited critiques from fellow council members.

“Jim, if you were elected president, what would it look like? Would you be president or dictator?” Kirby asked.

“It’s going back to the conversation about consensus,” Nielander said. “… At this seven-member board, you don’t have consensus because you don’t have four votes. … You’re pissed off … you don’t want to hear anybody but you. … ”

“Do you understand the financial situation that we’re in?” Kemp asked Nielander.

“It’s pretty simple, Jim, yes,” Neilander replied.

“OK, explain it to me,” Kemp said.

“No, I don’t have to explain crap to you, Jim. I understand it. It’s not that I’m an imbecile, I don’t have to do anything to your satisfaction. And that’s the problem we have here. You expect us to do to your satisfaction. And government doesn’t work like that,” Nielander said.