Council scrutinizes transfers
By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

It has been the rule of thumb for department heads to make budget line item corrections for end-of-the-year spending during the latter part of the year. And those transfers were accepted with few questions from council members.

However, it is a different climate in Carroll County now that a crisis in the finances was discovered. County council members take nothing for granted and the host of transfers presented to them at the Tuesday morning meeting was no exception. Council members were not of the same mind for each vote as well.

A transfer for additional overtime money by the custodians was denied. One from outgoing Carroll County Emergency Management Agency Director Justin Darling to be paid for vacation days was tabled while one for fuel was approved. Although a transfer request by sheriff Tony Burns to pay outgoing animal control officer Ed England for vacation time he will not use before the end of the year was approved, approval was not unanimous.

Highway department superintendent Ron Francis submitted 31 transfer requests, mostly for additional fuel, which were all approved. Francis said the money was needed for fuel already purchased. He said if he was forced to purchase more before the end of the year he would request an additional appropriation.

Steve Ashby noted that Francis budgeted the same amount of money for 2008 as in 2007, which is depleted.

"This is going to kill us," Ashby said.

"We have to become better managers for transfers," Ron Slavens said.

Nancy Cripe expressed a need to re-visit the county policy about when highway trucks are sent out in light of rising fuel costs and dwindling county finances.

"I think they are out when they don't need to be," she said.

Auditor's report

Auditor Beth Myers reported that she requested an early draw on the property tax settlement, which went into the general fund for a positive balance.

She said the property tax rebate amounts will be computed by the end of December for distribution in early January. She predicted the county would end the year with a positive balance in the general fund of between $200,000 to $250,000.

Slavens said the property tax rebate funds should be taken out of county general and put into a separate account to accrue interest. He said county general was showing a positive balance because of the rebate money and explained that was not an accurate picture of the state of that fund.

"Hopefully some people will get the picture of where we are at," he explained.

Myers said she would not be able to move the money from county general by Christmas. She said other counties have followed the same pattern of keeping the funds in county general.

Slavens said he intended to continue the discussion about the property tax rebate money at the next council meeting.

Myers reported that Emergency Medical Services has nearly doubled last year's income collections in 2007.

Transfers Approved

County general:

• Animal control - $2,000 from professional services to vacation time;

• Jail - $3,000 from utilities to cooks and $2,500 from utilities to part-time dispatch/jail and civil process;

• EMA - $500 from emergency equipment to motor supplies gas and oil;

• Carroll Manor - $250 from cleaning supplies to miscellaneous, $1,000 from plaster repair to utilities and $49 from plaster repair to fire alarm system:

• Coroner - $200 from morgue maintenance Christmas with to utilities; and

• E-911 - $1,700 from Teleco charge/database maintenance and $700 from repairs and maintenance, both to liability insurance. A request for $1,500 from full-time communications to part-time communications was tabled.

Highway department:

• $2,700 - from overtime mechanics/signs to overtime drivers/operator;

• $1,305 - from bridge repair operators to overtime drivers/operator;

• $19 - from paint to signs; • $2,900 - from social security to retirement;

• $392 - from grader blades to repair parts;

• $3,700 - from road equipment to repair parts;

• $3,550 - from tires/tubes to repair parts;

• $450 - from tires/tubes to motor supplies batteries;

• $9,710 - from group insurance to liability and casualty;

• $8,893 - from workman's comp to liability and casualty;

• $90 - training and education to fuel; • $500 - from calcium chloride to fuel; • $311 - from bituminous hot/cold to fuel; • $3,100 from utilities to fuel; • $80 - from printing to fuel;

• $200 - from advertising to fuel;

• $130 - from telephone and telegraph to fuel;

• $267 - from supervisor to fuel; • $875 - from bridge/structural steel to fuel;

• $100 - from paint to fuel;

• $890 - from bridge repair operators to fuel;

• $1,200 - from truck drivers to fuel; • $350 - from summer help to fuel;

• $390 - from group insurance to fuel;

• $2,349 from garage and mechanics help to fuel;

• $2,239 from sign man to fuel;

• $3,840 - from social security to fuel; • $800 - from contractual service and machines to fuel;

• $375 - from custodian to fuel; and

• $590 - from uniforms and testing to fuel.

Other business

Janet Smith was appointed to the Delphi Public Library board.

The next council meeting will be Dec. 27 at 8 a.m. A January meeting was scheduled for Jan. 4 at 8 a.m.

Council members will meet in joint session with commissioners Dec. 20 at 6 p.m.