Council approves request to meet state requirements

Clark County

Discussion

April 10, 2012

Council approves request to meet state requirements

Request made by Clark County judges denied

By BRADEN LAMMERS braden.lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Tue Apr 10, 2012, 08:21 PM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — To avoid penalties from one unfunded mandate, the Clark County Council approved a request of nearly $50,000 Monday night. But the denial of another request could potentially lead to another mandate from the Clark County Courts.

The Clark County Council agreed to a request of $47,500 in order to stay in compliance with Indiana’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS-4, program. The request was made by the Clark County Commissioners, who approved a contract with Brian Dixon, an engineering consultant for Clark County, at a previous meeting.

Dixon explained that Clark County has not updated its stormwater program since 2003 and a recent investigation by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management prompted the need to bring the program up-to-date.

He said the county has not kept up-to-date on the MS-4 requirements because it was seeking a waiver to be removed from the state program. He explained the county was seeking the waiver because of area municipalities annexing most of what was classified as Clark County’s MS-4 system. Dixon added no word had come from the state on whether or not the waiver was accepted, until the recent investigation by IDEM.

“To do what IDEM is asking us to do, between now and the end of the year ... it’s going to run about $47,500 just to get the program up to snuff,” Dixon said.

But bringing the program into compliance will not be the end of the costs for the county.

Clark County Councilman Chuck Moore asked Dixon how much the program will cost moving forward. Dixon said he was uncertain what Clark County’s costs would be but offered that Floyd County pays between $500,000 and $600,000 annually for its MS-4 program.

“It’s going to be six figures,” he said.

Dixon said Floyd County pays for its program through a fee added to the property tax bills that does not affect the property tax caps. Although the county is likely to continue to pursue a waiver for the MS-4 program, if it does not meet the IDEM compliance requirements, it could face fines of up to $10,000 per violation, per day, Dixon said.

“I don’t see that we can’t approve this,” said County Council President Barbara Hollis.

The council approved the appropriation to pay for the contract, totaling $47,500, with Dixon out of the county’s Riverboat Fund.

Additional employees denied

Clark County Clerk Barbara Bratcher-Haas attended Monday’s council meeting to make a request on behalf of the Clark County judges to add six employees to the clerk’s office.

“The judges have expressed they would like to see clerks up in their offices,” she said.

The request made was for $168,000, which would add one clerk for each judge, who would work in their respective offices. In addition to the four Circuit Court judges, there are two magistrate judges in Clark County.

Bratcher-Haas said the six employees requested would restore the clerk’s office to the number of employees it had before it was forced to make budget cuts. But some council members questioned why the request is being made now.

“I’m not saying you don’t need them, I’m just wondering why they didn’t think about that at budget time?” asked County Councilman Kevin Vissing.

Haas said they were requested in her budget, but that she was told by the council her annual expenses needed to be reduced.

According to the council’s approved budget for 2012, Bratcher-Haas requested $436,749 and was approved for $418,103. In 2011, she requested $572,633, but received $360,745.

She added that because her office is operating with fewer employees, the office has fallen behind in filing court documents. As of Monday, the office was inputting information from March 26.

“You’re getting behind now and now you realize something’s got to be done,” Vissing said.

“Well, I realized that last year in June or July, but there was nothing I could do about it,” Bratcher-Haas said. “That was the dollar amount this board gave me.”

The council voted unanimously to deny the request to add six employees.

In light of a recent State Board of Accounts report citing violations in the usage of Clark County Circuit Court No. 3 — formerly Clark Superior Court No. 3 — drug and alcohol fee fund, Bratcher-Haas notified the council her office may be using its perpetuation fund improperly.

She said, because there was no line item in her budget for supplies, she has been using the clerk’s perpetuation fund to cover those expenses. She added that the fund is intended to be used for imaging and microfilming documents.

“I feel like I am in violation of the parameters of that fund,” Bratcher-Haas said. “I just want to get it on the record that I made you aware of that.”