Updated – Sep 7, 2023. 

County GOP Leadership – Precincts. The direction of the county is heavily influenced by just a few people.  Six of 11 precinct chairs (a majority) and their like-minded co-chairs can elect a new GOP chair.    All 11 precincts will be on the 2024 ballot.

Sept 7, 2023. IPR 2024 Budget Hearings; Public Meeting Reqs.  Development and management of the budget is the core task of the county council.  Our closed (monopoly) of government is not capable of producing the quality of results all citizens should expect.

Aug 28, 2023 – Updated. Post 2.  Council Meeting – Sept 5, 2023, – NEW commissioner assistant position or a “4th commissioner”?     County GOP wanting more control …

Aug 15, 2022. Post 1. Vote County Interests in the 2024 Republican Primary – Cross-over Votes Needed 

Non-partisan – Local Elections. This will be the first in a series of posts that are intended to engage voters in the 2024 primary election in supporting a more deliberate strategy to improve the quality of county government. This strategy can be supported by Democrats as well as Republicans that can choose to support a non-partisan county platform in the May 2024 Republican primary.

A platform could include what a candidate identifies as specific goals, objectives, and feedback indicators. A platform could also be developed for a slate of preferred candidates. An example of a 2024 County Election – Non-Partisan Platform – WIP. Another example:Nonpartisan Political Platform.   For the 2020 election,  the Democrat candidates for Commissioner and Council developed their platform (positions). Republican candidates did not.

Monopoly on Power. Brown County has a one-party monopoly on political power which is never a good thing. A monopoly represents a closed system that is the least effective in producing the best results for everyone. Centralization of power always corrupts and a closed system can lead to the moral corruption of those that work within the system. Consequently, among the responsibilities of citizens is to prevent corruption. Among the best antidotes is transparency that at a minimum, includes the publication of government meeting agendas, minutes, and audio.

Precincts. The primary election determines the winners in the November county elections. Next year’s primary ballot will also include the election of the 11 precinct chairs.  The precinct chairs, who appoint their vice chairs, elect the party chair and other officers including Vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer.   The Party Chair does not have to be a precinct chair or vice chair (?)

• • The majority (7) of the precinct chairs and vice chairs elect the party chair.  Only Precinct chairs can elect candidates to fill a vacancy for an elected office. More Information:  Brown County (GOP) – Organization, Governance, Precincts

History – Cross-Overs. Reportedly, the county has always had a one-party monopoly on political power that transitioned from Democrat to Republican. Many candidates who at one time voted as Democrats, have crossed over to the Republican party in order to get elected  The school board elections are non-partisan as are the Nashville town council elections.  In the 2022 county elections. Ron Sanders was not the preferred GOP commissioner candidate and the cross-over vote in the primary helped him get the votes needed to win. His opponent was running for an unprecedented 3^rd consecutive term.  Are voluntary term limits a good thing?

Top Management. In America by law (see Constitution), We the People are “top management.”  We can hold elected and appointed officials “accountable” for actions supporting desired changes but we always retain responsibility for the outcomes. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights were designed with checks and balances on power to enable us to work towards “a more perfect Union” and county.  This requires us to identify what we define as more perfect and identify the feedback needed to assess results. We also need a method for determining what change results in improvement.   The Brown County Leader Network supports this strategy.

• •  A short presentation and overview of the BCLN concept

The BC Democrat is owned by AIM Media Indiana. Per Wikipedia, AIM Media Management is a media company based in Dallas, Texas. Through its subsidiaries AIM Media Indiana, AIM Media Midwest (also known as Digital AIM Media), and AIM Media Texas, it publishes dozens of daily and weekly newspapers in Indiana, Ohio, and Texas, respectively. The company was founded by Jeremy Halbreich in 2012 to acquire Freedom Communications holdings and later acquired additional newspapers.^[1]

Aug 9, 2023.  A “NEW” addition (watchdog of government) to the local paper – Brown County Democrat. “In the coming weeks and months, we also plan on sharing some of the exact requirements and obligations the state imposes on local governmental groups for transparency.”   This post at Brown County Matters.

• • The County invested over 6 figures in a new website to make it easier for offices and departments to keep citizens informed on their contributions. Commissioners (meet two times a month) have not been posting meeting agendas, minutes, or audio. The council meets monthly – they do not post minutes or audio. Will be interested to see if or how soon this fact changes.
  • As of Aug 8, 2023 – Snapshot Website Agenda Center. 20230810 Agenda Center – Brown County IN – CivicEngage
  • Note:  After the resignation of the last editor of the BC Democrat, no reporters from the paper have been attending commissioners and council meetings
  • On the Aim Media/BC Democrat “watchdog” role, this is interesting. In what other papers are they doing this?   And, they stopped publishing the calendar of government meetings on June 28.  They do not even send a reporter to cover commissioner and council meetings. Former Editor Sara Clifford always reinforced the open meeting laws – this emphasis went away with her. ^]

Commissioner Meeting Notes – July 19, 2023,  6-8 pm.“Interesting” meeting and very contentious at times.    The AUDIO 

Note: Commissioner Sanders was elected by the voters over the local GOP’s preferred candidate. The animosity and lack of support by the GOP faithful have been quite evident at meetings.  This continued lack of respect may help prompt voters from both parties, to take a harder look at precinct elections in order to have more of a direct impact on the quality of representation. Brown County Republican Party (GOP) – Organization and Governance

Summary of the key issue – New full-time commissioner assistant.  This topic was “introduced”  at the July 5, 2023  commissioner meeting. Commissioner Pittman did not disclose that it was decided that a new full-time position was needed and a consultant was used to provide advice regarding the job description. Wolpert stated he knew nothing about it.  It was also not disclosed that the request for approval and funding for the position would be made at the county council’s  July 17 meeting by Commissioners Pittman and Wolpert. Commissioner Sanders was not included in the decision-making process.  When 2 of the 3 commissioners make a decision in the absence of a public meeting, it may represent a violation of open meeting laws and result in vacating the decision.

 Commissioners Assistant Position.  Commissioner Pittman (elected) and  Commissioner Wolpert (appointed) at Monday’s council meeting, pleaded with the council to immediately approve and fund a full-time commissioner assistant position at a grade 14 (42K).  Commissioner Pittman said he/they had been working on the job description for a month and had had contractor support. The argument from the commissioners appeared desperate indicating a vital need.  Link to the July 17 council meeting notes and audio

• • Note the council’s policy regarding a new air upgraded position is for the need to be identified before the end of June at a council meeting.

They would not take no for an answer nor compromise on the grade.  They believed they would be lucky to find anyone that would do the work at that pay grade although several employees have expressed interest in applying.  The discussion lasted for about 90 minutes and the council voted 4 to 3 to approve. The legality of the vote by Councilman Rudd who attended via Zoom, was questioned at last night’s meeting by Sanders, and the county attorney was asked to provide an opinion.

The Commissioners never had a vote on adding the position and I expected this to occur during last night’s meeting. Given the Pittman/Wolpert argument made at the council meeting, I asked Sanders if a vote was going to be added to the agenda and I told him I would accept the position on a volunteer basis at no pay.  After the discussion at the council meeting, I was curious to learn more about why the position was suddenly needed,  the operations of the commissioner’s office, the workload, and the distribution of the workload among the commissioners. I was also curious to learn more about the culture and working conditions within the building.  At a special meeting of county employees and elected officials on July 19, many significant issues were discussed which makes me interested in learning more about county operations and supporting improvements.  I will be posting my notes on this meeting today or tomorrow.

Note that a volunteer basis provides more flexibility for both parties as opposed to a paid position.  In fact, posting the need and opportunity may lead to even more volunteers that are interested in learning more about and improving the quality of government services.

Sanders questioned the decision “not to have” a vote and mentioned that someone might offer to do it at no pay on a volunteer basis.  Wolpert immediately replied that this would not happen.  I then re-stated my offer to the commissioners to accept the position at no pay on a volunteer basis and asked the county attorney what might be needed.  Pittman stated the commissioners did not have to vote on adding the position, and Wolpert said it was a done deal and “gone over a million times.”

As a precedent, Pittman referenced the work by the council on the restructuring and approval of the HR director position and the part-time commissioner assistant position with no vote by  the commissioners at a public meeting.  The fact that the commissioners now want a change indicates the problem with a lack of transparency and public input.  The agreement also included a supervisory role of a council rep and auditor over a position that is a commissioner’s responsibility that cannot be delegated.  What is the harm of the commissioners discussing this type of action (new position) at their meeting and going on record with their acceptance via a vote?

The new position is posted on the county website. A county employee questioned the detail in the job description and was dismissed. https://www.browncounty-in.gov/Jobs.aspx

I requested that the county attorney provide a written opinion on this issue, e.g.,  that  No vote was required. It may not be legally required but what would be the harm of defending the argument at the commissioner’s meeting?  Especially, when Pittman/Wolpert did not mention at their July 5 meeting that they made the decision (not in a public meeting)  and intended to request the council to approve. This may be in violation of open meeting laws – they decided on a course of action outside of a public meeting.  The audio discussion starts at the 1:14 mark

The meeting was “contentious ” at times.  Allegations have also been made that the new position has been pre-selected which may lead to a formal complaint and investigation depending on the person selected for the position.  The “fast-track” process for this position by the commissioners without the opportunity for public discussion, can undermine the legitimacy of the position and the person selected.

Part 2 – Other items.

Overlook and Shelter.  Commissioners approved transferring the overlook from the county to Parks and Rec with the caveat the Parks and Rec board would accept the transfer.

Salt Creek Trail. A committee has been formed – $2 million in grant money may be available and will require county matching funds.  This only will cover the construction of the trail from the Red Barn to the YMCA. DOES NOT INCLUDE land acquisition which falls under the State/DNR.  Salt Creek Trail and Bridges – For The Record

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The Bean Blossom Overlook was on INDOT property. INDOT removed the Shelter due to safety concerns.  The county now owns the property and a new shelter can be built.

Aug 4, 2023. The Parks and Rec board agreed to take the lead in building a new Shelter at the site. It is hoped that grants, and donations, including material and time will help keep the cost low. The County will continue to mow grass and provide insurance. Transferring the property from the county to Park and Rec was not needed.

July 19, 2023. Commissioners Pittman, and Wolpert, approved transferring the overlook property from the county to Parks and Rec with the caveat that the Parks and Rec Board would accept the property and would be interested in building a new shelter.  The assumption being grants and donations would fund the project.

Aug 19, 2022.  BRIGHT SPOT: Realtors build new picnic tables at overlook Staff Reports – August 19, 2022 

Oct 28, 2020.  Overlook shelterhouse to be torn down, rebuilt by Suzannah Couch

July 11, 2018, Nostalgic view: Bean Blossom Overlook brought back to original vision by Suzannah Couch – 

July 7, 2023. Website -State Board of Accounts, Audit Reports for Year 2022. 

• B61793 SBOA Supplemental Compliance Report – Audit Reports and Contents by area: Provides a description of the problems (non-compliance).

B61791 Financial Statement Audit Report

• • Report on the Audit of the Financial Statement – Adverse and Unmodified Opinions
    
    We have audited the accompanying financial statement of Brown County (County), which comprises the financial position and results of operations as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes to the financial statement as listed in the Table of Contents.

    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, 2022, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

    Opinion on Regulatory Basis of Accounting

    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, 2022, in accordance with the financial reporting provisions of the Indiana State Board of Accounts described in Note 1.

•  B61792 Federal Compliance Audit Report

Purpose of This Report

The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and
compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the County’s internal control or on compliance. This report is an integral part of an audit performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards in considering the County’s internal control and compliance. Accordingly, this communication is not suitable for any other purpose.

•  B61793 SBOA Supplemental Compliance Report

Audit Reports and Contents

Updated July 11, 2023

Deadline. The Public Hearing was a required step in the process.  The deadline for final comments is July 14, 2023. You can send any comments to BrownCountyRSD@gmail.com or HelmsburgRSD@gmail.com

This post at Brown County Matters

No Vote at this time – Eastern Corridor. Phase 1 of the project includes a Western Corridor (Helmsburg to Lake Lemon) and an Eastern Corridor (Helmsburg to Bean Blossom to Woodland Lake.). I’ve been following this issue since 2016, routinely attend the BCRSD Board Meetings and have reviewed all of the supporting documentation.

The presentation confirms my previous assessments – the Eastern Corridor should be put on “pause” until the need is validated and there is evidence that the scope of the investment and strategy justifies the expense. It is also important to confirm community-wide support.  

In contrast, the Western Corridor has validated the need and has obtained community-wide support.

Public Hearing – Presentations:

• • Agenda – 2023_07_08 Agenda Public Hearing Sewer Expansion HRSD BCRSD
  • Audio – Part 1 Presentation (1 hr. 11 minutes)
    • Despite comments by the BCRSD Board members to the contrary:
      • “Soils” in Brown County are suitable for septic systems.  Soils are tested before a permit is issued.
      • Impaired “waterways” are not primarily due to waste from failing or inadequate septic systems. Per BCRSDs Watershed Study (pg.63), only 5 of the 22 water samples identified the majority of E.coli as being of human origin.  “…pastureland loads more E.coli to Brown County steams than other sources under all modeled septic failure modeling scenarios.  Only if 100% of documented septic systems are failing do they contribute a significant volume of E.coli to the entirety of Brown County.”  (Watershed study, pg. 69-70)
  • Audio Part 2  – Comments and Questions. Citizens were limited to 2 minutes.

Community Support?  The BCRSD Prelimary Engineer Reports (PER) includes information derived from a taxpayer-funded wastewater strategic plan and watershed study. The plan and study provide the basic premise for the justification of need. The cost of the grant-funded project was $118,000. It required a 10-percent match — $11,800 — which came from the County.

BCRSD Board members refused to hold a public meeting to present their plan. This would have provided them with the opportunity to defend their arguments and conclusions, address questions and concerns and build community support if possible. This should have happened before moving forward with the development of the PER and the Public Hearing. (PER – Read Aheads).    

For the Record. I will be asking copies for of all the information submitted by approving officials and will post on Brown County Matters to help ensure responses to all submitted comments and questions were addressed.

Citizenship. American Citizens (top management) have a responsibility to be informed voters and to hold elected and appointed officials (and their contractors) accountable. We also have a responsibility for serving in the role of Jurists to ensure that decisions are based on both sides of an argument.  Brown County taxpayers have contributed over a million dollars in support of this project.

Balanced Argument.  The presentation at the Public Hearing represents a one-sided closing argument “by the prosecution.”  Citizens have the opportunity to provide their input by July 14, 2023.  The process requires that responses to be provided by the project sponsors – BCRSD and HRRSD.  Approving officials have an obligation to review all the information presented before making a decision.  By federal and state statutes, Citizens (unbeknownst to many) do have the right to question or appeal any final decision which should involve a review by subject matter experts that are independent, objective, and represents citizen interests as opposed to those advocating and benefiting from this project.  Information from this phase also becomes part of the record.

Additional Information

• • BCRSD Sewer Expansion Project on “Trial” – For The Record

  • County Wastewater Strategic Plan and Water Quality Study

  • Public Hearing – Read Aheads – Sewer Expansion

Updated Oct 17, 2023. 

Oct 16, 2023.  County Council Meeting – Budget Approval.

• • Post at Brown County Matters
  • Meeting Notes

Sep 18, 2023.  County Council Meeting – Budget Submissions

Sep 7, 2023. IPR 2024 Budget Hearings; Public Meeting Reqs

The County Council determines the amount of property taxes that will be needed in order to fund the county government. 2024 Budget Hearings:   August 15,16, 17 at 5:00 p.m.

Aug 17, 2023, Meeting 3 of 3. Budget Hearings – 2024.  All the proposed budgets from the department have been submitted. Council has a lot of work to do to complete the 2024 budget. The final county budget hearing is scheduled for Sept 18, 2023. It is due to the State by Oct 31.

Convention Visitors Commission (CVC). I routinely challenge the CVC budget and lack of oversight by the council.  The CVC manages the revenue from the innkeeper’s tax.  The revenue is a county asset. Revenue from the tax was pledged as collateral for the loan to build the BC Music Center (BCMC). It is also shared with the Convention Visitors Bureau (CVB) which is responsible for tourism-related marketing and promotion.  The revenue from the tax can be spent on just about anything that promotes tourism.

Similar to the Jail, a separate building corp was established to manage the building. A  management group was established to manage the venue.  This management group includes a representative from the council (Darren Byrd) and the board of commissioners (Jerry Pittman).

The purpose of creating a separate building corp was so that the debt could be associated with the building corp and not constrain the amount of money a county can borrow. The county still has responsibility for the venue.

The BCMC Admin agreement states that 75% of any excess profits (“if legal”) will be donated to the Community Foundation and 25% to the county taxpayer. Why shouldn’t  100% of any excess profits be returned to the county? This could be used to fund infrastructure-related needs such as roads and bridges.

Is the 75/25 arrangement legal? Was this agreement voted on at a council and commissioner meeting? I do not recall a formal vote on the topic.

By statute, the county council is responsible for reviewing and approving the CVC budget.  The expected amount of revenue in 2024 is estimated at 1.3. million. The budget includes 3 line items.  Is a 3 line budget sufficient to ensure the revenue from the innkeeper’s tax is leveraged to achieve the greatest benefit to county taxpayers?   2024 CVC Budget

Aug 16, 2023 – Meeting 2 – Budget Hearing – 2024.  This was the second of three meetings. The last one is tonight, Aug 17, with the final budget hearing scheduled for the Sept 18^th Council meeting. The final budget is due to be submitted to the State by Oct 31. Interesting that if this deadline is not met, the prior year’s budget is used. A small team will be working to resolve the budget challenges within the next few weeks.

• • Key Document – Budget Worksheet: 2024 Budget Worksheet Jacque Clements
• Consultants. The council has the responsibility for the county budget. The county uses three consultants – Jacque Clements, Association of Indiana Counties (Council), Baker-Tilly (Commissioners) and Melissa Stinson on contract this year to help commissioners put together their budget. Stinson gets support from both Jacque and Baker-Tilly.
• Budget Worksheet. Jacque provides a budget worksheet that is the starting point for developing the budget. This year, it is a “Draft” due to incomplete information. It identifies a shortfall of $54,310 which is not accurate. Councilman Kemp pointed out the likely shortfall in Health Insurance costs at $1.1 million which reinforced the need for budget cuts. Also not included are costs to repair/replace needed infrastructure – such as one or more air conditioning units at the jail at a total cost of 640K plus.
• The overall budget system/processes? Pretty sad. Good people working in a bad system that have opted to remain in firefighting mode that has become the status quo – “the way we always do things around here.” This includes a short-term perspective with the priority being just getting next years budget submitted and dealing with the challenges one fire at a time.
• Rainy Day Fund. (County savings account). Interesting that Jacque mentioned she works with a county that has 9 million in the rainy day fund. She also mentioned that Brown County has had years with only a few hundred budgeted in the rainy day fund.
• Crisis yet? Changing systems like this typically requires a crisis. This could include a situation where expenses exceed available revenue to the point the county has to take out a loan to pay the bills. Further, one can’t have a good budget without a viable strategy and plan.
  • Contributing to the problem is our one-party monopoly on political power where preserving the status quo takes precedence over effectiveness and efficiency.
• Planning – a dirty word? For some reason, the Brown County culture has perceived a plan as a virus to be avoided. A simple thing like a capital improvement plan and budget has been avoided at all costs. Thankfully, new commissioner Ron Sander has taken on this task. He started with getting a list of the properties that the county is insuring. This provides a starting inventory for helping to identify expected repair and maintenance costs. For instance, the prosecutor’s office has been on the “talked-about” list for a replacement for years. Replacement may be a priority for the next capital improvement loan in 2025. We only have 75K left on the current loan.
• Finance and Budget Information. The State does not make it easy for any citizen (and elected official) to learn about State/County finance and budgeting. Consequently, this leads to the need to rely on consultants. It also requires a longer learning curves for government officials. And, you have to have a desire to learn a foreign language and few may be willing to put in the time needed to overcome the learning curve.  The Budget Worksheet illustrates the point.
  • 2024 Budget Worksheet Jacque Clements

Aug 15, 2023.  Meeting 1 Budget hearing – 2024.  This was the first of 3 initial budget hearings.

Tax Increases. The county’s budget consultant was not at this meeting. The consultant identifies the projected deficit and the percent/amount of property taxes the council can choose to raise via a growth quotient. The growth quotient is 4% this year or around 200k. The council must vote to accept or reject the increase.  The council routinely votes to accept. Council has also routinely approved a 3% cost of living raise for employees. In the past, the 3% was estimated to cost around 130K which leaves 70K of “new” revenue.

Balanced Budget?  The projected “net new revenue” is not enough to fund the county. In order to balance the budget, we routinely understate expenses. What we do not do and should do is identify what we know to be unfunded liabilities. This lack of due diligence caught up to this year when the council and commissioners had to scramble to find funding for both health insurance costs and funding a new addition to the courthouse.

On tax policy, the county opted to rely on revenue from income taxes vs property taxes. We maxed out on income tax increases and shifted to relying on the growth quotient from assessed property values

Property taxes can also be raised to fiancé debt. We routinely have been borrowing money to fund infrastructure costs. The recurring debt from a loan increased from 2 million to 3 million and there is only about 75K remaining on the last loan that expires in 2024. Over 600K has been identified as being needed to replace air conditioning units at the jail.

Longer-Term planning?  The county’s budget process is typically focused on the short-term, e.g., the next year. No long-term goals for savings, investments, and spending priorities.  On spending priorities, a capital improvement plan and budget is finally starting to be developed.  The lack of a plan was a repeat finding by the State Board of Accounts that was routinely ignored by county officials.

Financial Plan and Strategy?  We have had a Financial Plan that was not integrated into an overall finance and budget plan and strategy. A published financial plan reportedly helps the county to obtain a lower-interest loan. A recommended goal for counties is to maintain at least a  15% balance in major fund accounts. Should not be too difficult to track the status of such a basic goal.

Supporting Information:

• • BC Government Proposed 2024 Budget 08.10.2023 – developed by Councilman Jim Kemp
  • Notes: 2023 Budget Hearings
  • DLGF – Budgets
  • Citizens Guide to Property Tax — Assessment, Budget Process, Property Tax Bills

Description: The county receives an estimate of revenue for 2024. This includes what will be allowed as a tax increase if approved by the council.

Departments – using their prior year histories as a baseline, identify expenses.  A review is conducted to balance revenue and expenses. State reviews and approves the budget and publishes the budget order in January.

Surprises. The area of surprise is the renewal of contracts and the unfunded requirement for repairs and replacement of infrastructure.

What’s Missing?  At least an annual review of budget performance which would include actual expenses vs planned and planned savings vs projected savings would be helpful.  The goal is a minimum of a 15% fund balance. Some counties have savings in a Rainy Day Fund that will cover a year’s worth of expenses.

Contract Support

1. Jacque Clements, Association of Indiana Counties.
2. Services to be provided by Melissa Stinson – former commissioner admin assistant. (RFI submitted on July 6, 2023, for a copy of the contract)
3. Caitlin Cheek, BakerTilly

Additional Information – FYI

Outline – Baker-Tilly – Proposal – Scope of Work – Budget Support – Overall Context

A. Annual Budget Assistance and Analysis (Consulting Services)

1. Meet with the Client to discuss the budget process and collect data for budget preparation.
2. Develop or analyze the budget calendar for consideration by the legislative body.
3. Assist with Client prepared budget estimates.
4. Compute state-distributed revenues based on formula sheets, certifications, and other information provided by the Department of Local Government Finance (“DLGF”) and the Auditor of State.
5. Compute miscellaneous revenues based on historical information provided by the Client.
6.  Compute the estimated maximum levy.
7. Compute the estimated tax rate and levy by fund.
8. Assist with the preparation of prescribed forms related to the annual budget.
9. Assist the Client with entering budget data into the Indiana Gateway program.
10. Monitor the completion of the required steps of the budget process with the Client.
11. Attend public meetings at the discretion of the Client to present budget information to the legislative body.
12. Analyze the 1782 Budget Notice on behalf of the Client to ensure accuracy and completeness.
13. Provide periodic budget management assistance through telephone, remote and on-site support.

B. Levy Appeals (Consulting Services) (as necessary)

1. Assist the Client with determining its eligibility to apply for a property tax levy appeal with the DLGF.
2. Assist with the preparation of the State appeal application and supporting documentation for levy appeals.
3. Submit the levy appeal petition and application to the DLGF.
4. Monitor the completion of the required steps of the levy appeal process with the Client.

C. Additional Appropriations (Consulting Services)

1. Develop a timeline for the steps required to request approval of an additional appropriation from the DLGF.
2. Analyze estimated receipts and cash on hand to determine ability to fund requested additional appropriation.
3. Assist with State prescribed additional appropriation documents.
4. Assist the Client to monitor completion of the required steps of the additional appropriation process.

D. Reestablishment of Cumulative Fund Rate

1. Develop a timeline for the steps required to reestablish the rate on the Client’s cumulative fund.
2. Preparation of State required documents.
3. Preparation of the notice to taxpayers and establishing ordinance for local counsel review.
4. Attend a public meeting, as requested, to discuss the establishing process and the estimated revenues to be generated from the tax rate.
5. Additional meetings are covered under Section E below.
6. Assist the Client to monitor completion of required steps of the process.

E. Other Accounting and Required Support Services (Consulting Services)

1. Analyze historical financial information and develop estimated financial reports and analysis.
2. Attend other meetings not covered under the Scope Appendix above.
3. Provide other required accounting support services.  

Commissioner Meeting Notes – July 5, 2023. – Staffing, Budget-Related Challenges

Audio of the Meeting.     New position was introduced at the 1:14 mark.

Meeting Changes. Commissioner meeting; Aug 16 meeting will be at  2:00 vs 6:00. (conflict with budget hearings). Wed Aug 2 meeting time changed to Fri Aug 6 at 2:00.

• • Council Meeting. Per a legal notice in the Democrat, the council will be having a meeting this Friday, July 7, from 2-4.

Budget Hearings – 2024 Elections. Hearings scheduled for Aug 15,16, 17 at 5:00 p.m. Suggest all candidates for office in 2024 attend ALL of the meetings.

Salt Creek Trail. The section from the State Park to the Red Barn may be paved within the next few weeks – weather permitting. There is no longer a financial commitment from the Feds/State on funding to connect the trail from the YMCA to the Red Barn. And, an easement to cross the property crossing the Red Barn / Hesitation Point Pottery is needed.

Interesting Commissioner Dynamics.  Ron Sanders brings some needed perspectives and challenges to how “this is the way we always do things around here” which leads to some friction.  Challenges to any status quo are predictably unwelcome in most cases. Sanders defeated the local party’s preferred candidate in the primaries which has most likely contributed to unwarranted friction including from party officials and loyalists serving as trolls at meetings.  Sanders was elected with over 3,000 citizens and any perceived disrespect shown to Sanders also indicates contempt for his voters that may not be aware or happy with what may be going on.

One noticeable improvement is that Sanders reads the contracts and ensures that the legal council reviews them before the vote to approve. This prevents the county from being liable for unnecessary costs and risks.  He also reinforced that some claims need to be provided to the commissioner five days in advance to include verification of required documentation. This requires the cooperation of ALL departments including the commissioner’s office. He also pointed out the need for a review of minutes by ALL the commissioners in addition to the auditor’s office.

Note: I personally haven’t agreed with a few of Sander’s votes. He identifies his rationale and is open to challenges and changing his mind.   Welcome to America – where people can still respectively disagree. And Kudo’s to Commissioner Pittman for always keeping a calm demeanor, reinforcing the need for cooperation, and admitting to mistakes – rare qualities.  We also have amicably shared disagreements on a few decisions.

Political Culture and Risk to Citizens. We have a one-party monopoly on political power which almost never produces the best behavior, decisions, and results. In a political monopoly, good people get caught up in a bad system that undermines their potential, character, talents, contributions, and sense of morality.  Monopolies’ desire to centralize power contributes to a culture that can lead to no competition on ideas and no debate or analysis regarding proposed solutions. Note that Citizens are responsible for serving in the role of “Jurists” to ensure both sides of the argument are debated and analyzed before a decision is made.  Decisions should be supported with documentation that supports the aim of a balanced argument.

NEW Commissioner Administrative Assistant. Well, this was interesting and included references to the psychic hotline – a first. Ron Sanders asked about a  job posting for a full-time commissioner admin assistant on the county website.  Appears two (?) commissioners (in the absence of the required public meeting), may have agreed to a new position that was posted to the county website.  If a new position is a SOLUTION what is the PROBLEM?   Historically, commissioners just had ONE administrative assistant.  Commissioner Pittman acknowledged posting the announcement was a mistake and Commissioner Wolpert (recently appointed) stated he knew nothing about it and commented that the allegation was a psychic delusion.  This caught my attention. I reinforced that the announcement was on the county website and I shared it on Matters. It was removed before the meeting.  In the spirit of satire, I did check – no reference on the website or a toll-free number regarding psychic advice.

In the more drama category, the council needs to approve any new job and provide funding. Neither of these steps was done. Further, the council last year (post-election?), with no pushback from commissioners, changed the original job description of the admin assistant to an HR Director and approved a part-time commissioner assistant. Plus, the council attempted to insert themselves into a supervisory role over the HR director contrary to state law.

As Ron Sanders pointed out with the confirmation by legal, supervisory, and related responsibilities is a commissioner – not a council, responsibility. AND, like this is not enough, the context for identifying a desire and then posting a new position ”creates the perception”  that the new position may represent a favor for a political loyalist.  Commissioner Pittman reinforced that if/when funded, the required steps will be followed to ensure the best candidate is selected. Commissioner Pittman’s 2^nd term ends in 2024.

However, before a new position may be created, a good case needs to be made that an additional position is actually needed. For instance, the former commissioner alleged that she was the first full-time commissioner in county history. This infers that it required her to spend full time on part-time responsibilities and/or, the other commissioners were not contributing to the workload and/or the overall commissioner workload has increased significantly beyond historical norms. An analysis of the need for a new and full-time admin assistant should include identifying tasks, outputs, and responsibilities and perhaps benchmarking with other counties.

In context for the potential of moral and political corruption, the worse case for citizens is to have a full-time administrator (or executive)  beholden to the direction determined by party officials. This along with expecting that some elected and appointed officials perform as expected and everyone else should get on board is not a good thing for a republic. Preventing the potential for this level of corruption requires the due diligence of citizens and candidates for office that will serve everyone and not just the few that are too easily addicted to power and froth at the mouth when they can wield power in making decisions that can affect thousands of people.

Budget Support Contract. The contract with the former commissioner admin assistant – Melissa Stinson, was approved. This had the support of Pittman and the advocacy of Wolpert.  Sanders voted No and suggested using Baker-Tilly. I’ve requested a copy of the contract and will be asking for expense reports (public information). This information may be useful as a benchmark in preparing the budget for 2025.  On budget preparation, in the past, former commissioner Biddle prepared the commissioner’s budget. The overall process underreports costs such as health benefits and unfunded requirements related to infrastructure repairs and replacements.  Note to balance the budget, a former long-term council member stated that revenue and expenses were generally underreported every very year but things tended to work out. This practice caught up to us when our recurring loan had to be increased from 2 million to 3 to cover expenses.

Currently, we have an unfunded requirement to replace air conditioning units in the jail at around a total cost of 600K. (11 units at 55K per, not counting shipping and installation). This expense was identified in a commissioner meeting in “March 2022.”  Budget challenges this year required the help of Baker-Tilly to find (over a million) of needed revenue.  At last year’s budget hearing, over a million was identified as a shortfall. HINT: This indicates a need for a “systemic” improvement in our budget process.

After inspecting the building (jail) roof and air conditioner units, Sanders identified that more routine maintenance is needed to help keep the units operating at efficiently as possible.

In the quality management area, it is generally understood that systems and processes determine most if not all of the results.   A systemic approach to improvement is included in the information provided at the Brown County Leader Network.  I have and do plan on volunteering support for budget-related improvements.

Image by Gary Varvel at GaryVarvel.com

Our second President John Adams said, “It (July 4th) ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. “It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

The Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, required a Revolution to achieve and led to the development and ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. The Constitution created our system of government – a  Republic with “top management” being defined as the citizenry – We the People. (Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution).

The design of our system was influenced by the works of the great philosophers including the Judeo- Christian philosophies that integrated a deep insight into human nature and its tendency to self-destruct. The design included the needed checks and balances on power at all levels of government that have been eroded over time contributing to the divisiveness in America.

Thie divisiveness has been described as spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare represents the conflict regarding the basis for determining right and wrong – who or what serves as the moral authority?  Should it be the modern man that believes that self-government is a quaint concept and should be replaced by experts or elites through more centralization of power?  This aim is supported by dividing people by race, gender, age, and culture with a belief that despite the lessons from history, the change will eventually lead to their vision of utopia?  Or, do we go “Back to the Future” to re-discover and restore our foundational beliefs and principles that are integrated into the original design of our Constitution?

Power Corrupts. Note that at the local level, Brown County has a monopoly on political power where a few can dictate what they believe is best for the many.  Power always corrupts and this centralization of power can never produce the best results.  This can also lead to the moral corruption (usually unbeknownst to them) of those that work within this system.  Transparency is the best counter-strategy and can start as simply posting Agendas, Minutes, and Audio of county government meetings.  The “Minutes” identify what is or has been accomplished.  Accomplishments should be the basis for assessing the performance of elected and appointed officials.

• • Current example – Abuse of Power – Sewer Expansion.  A county wastewater strategic plan was contracted for development by “appointed officials” to the Brown County Regional Sewer District (BCRSD) Board without any guidance or input provided by elected officials at a public meeting.  The plan was also approved without any public meetings and is supporting an application for “Phase 1″ of a $50.5 million dollar project.  The required (by the State) Public Hearing is July 8, 2023.
  • The County Comprehensive Plan which is the responsibility of the commissioners, is the legal document that should identify what the citizens want and do not want in terms of quality of life, infrastructure, and development. Development of this plan DOES require input from citizens at public meetings.
  • Indiana – Regional Sewer Districts (RSD) – Indiana Dept of Environmental Management (IDEM).

The aim of our system as identified in the Preamble to the Constitution, is to work towards “a more perfect Union.” The concept of “perfect” is biblically based with perfect described as “all” human needs being met.  The underlying belief is that action motivated by love leads to outcomes where everyone can benefit, or at least, not be any worse off. As legendary coach Vince Lombardi, reinforced, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

How do we catch excellence? The secular quality profession has validated through the Taguchi Loss Function, that the closer any action such as the production of a product or service, gets to the ideal of more perfect, the higher the quality and the lower the cost to the individual and society.

Why is continuous improvement a moral imperative?  When an action results in more needs being met, there is less harm to some when their needs are not being met.  In other words, continually reducing crime leads to fewer victims. Improvement and increased access to health care can lead to less sickness and death.

The basics of continuous improvement?  When proposing an improvement, identify everyone (all stakeholders) in the near, mid, and long term that will be affected by the change. This includes identifying their needs, what will be provided, their expectations, and the feedback they need to determine if the change resulted in improvement.  Think of citizens as members of a “jury” that needs to see both sides of the argument before making a decision and will be following up to learn if the change produced the desired results

A Way Ahead.  The methods and tools supporting continuous improvement towards that more perfect Union (and county) supported by the citizenry have not found its way into government – yet.  The basic principles of the approach have been introduced by the Brown County Leader Network.

Brown County author, historian, and cultural commentator Hank Swain (1918-2014) commented that a good idea in Brown County can take about 8 years to catch on. Quality improvement-related strategies tend to take a little longer.  Needed improvements at the local level can have regional and national-level impacts.

Additional Information: Brown County Leader Network (BCLN)

Overall Strategic Concept

Self-Help – Support Guide

Who is in the Network?  Community Connections 

The required Legal Notice for the Public Hearing was published in the June 21 issue of the Democrat. Questions and comments will be addressed at the July 8 Hearing, starting at 10am, at the 4H Fairgrounds.

Written comments and questions can also be provided through July 14, 2023. Email is BrownCounty RSD@gmail.com.

BCRSD BOARD MEMBERS: Mike Leggins (President), Clint Studabaker (Vice President), Phil LeBlanc ( Treasurer), Richard Hall ( Secretary), Matt Hanlon (At large).

Public Hearing Read-Aheads: