Carroll County Commissioners approve contracts with various county department heads at this time each year. In past years the approvals were done with little or no discussion. Some department heads, who are not elected officials, and some employees are contracted with the county while some are not.

That was not the case this year. The newest commissioner, Pat Clawson, suggested something different at the Monday night commissioners meeting.

“I think we might need to discuss some of these things,” he said after the first two contracts on the list of 10 were approved without discussion. “To sign a contract, I think we need to ask some questions.”

Clawson said he received a copy of the contracts last Friday. He said that was not time enough to call the other commissioners and talk about the appointments nor was it enough time to visit with department heads, review their job description, talk about complaints and make suggestions. He said there was one person whose contract was to be approved which he had never seen or heard about as working for the county.

“I’ve never seen the guy,” Clawson said.

“Is there an actual review process that goes on?” asked county council member Scott Ayres. “I’m completely lost. We are hiring these people to perform a function but do we check to see if they are doing what we want them to do?”

“I don’t have a formal checklist,” Bill Brown replied. “Maybe that would be a good thing to do.”

Brown called the contract approval process a “formality.” He advised that the county has the option to cancel a contract at any time. He said that option had been exercised in the past because employees were not performing their jobs in the best interest of county taxpayers.

“I think it’s great that you question these,” Brown told Clawson.

Clawson commented that he would discuss job performance with several department heads after the first of the year.

Contracts approved for one year were:

• Dianne Brown – Making $26,278 as Carroll Manor assistant superintendent;

• Russell Smith – $26,907 as transfer station operator;

• David McDowell – $35,880 as Emergency Management agency director (approximately one-half of the salary is reimbursed by the state);

• Sheryl Shockley – $28,702 as courthouse custodian;

• Jay Dee Cree – $32,129 as E-911 coordinator;

• Mike Durr – $42,480 as EMS director;

• Dr. Marc Estes – $10,600 as EMS medical director;

• Paul Couts – $58,501 (includes $20,000 reimbursement from the state) as highway engineer/ superintendent; and

• Barry Emerson - $5,113 as drainage board attorney.

In addition, Delphi attorney Kurtis Fouts was named attorney for the board of commissioners for a salary of $9,107. No discussion took place prior to the motion to retain Fouts, which was made by Brown.

“Attorney shall advise and represent the Board of Commissioners of Carroll County, Indiana as to legal matters concerning said Board,” the contract reads.

“The extra services include, but are not limited to, any legal matter involving litigation, whether threatened or filed, which may include easement acquisition, contract disputes, bond issues and actions involving personal injuries. The attorney may charge a reasonable fee for said services,” described extra services included in the contract.

In a Tuesday morning interview, Hylton said Fouts was recommended to the commissioners by long-time commissioners attorney Barry Emerson. Hylton said he spoke with Fouts prior to the appointment, but does not know if the other two commissioners did the same.

Hylton said no other attorneys were considered for the position although it was known approximately six months ago that Emerson would be moving on. Fouts is the attorney of record for the City of Delphi. Hylton said he did not know if Fouts was going to continue in that position.

Additional positions approved to be put under contract in 2010 include the area plan zoning administrator, the veterans services director, the medical director for the health department, the public health nurse, and the county sanitarian. Brown said that contracts with the employees in those positions, with job duties clearly listed in the agreement, is a better management model for the county to adopt.

“These positions should be under contract and should be reviewed,” he concluded.

Carroll Manor

A bid from Gale Insulation of Lafayette for $5,467 to blow insulation into the attic of Carroll Manor was accepted. Clawson said local contractors bowed out of the bidding process to save the county money. He reported that he was referred to the winning bidder because that company cost the least while doing good work.

Courthouse improvements

Bids from Extreme Contractors to repair the walks around the courthouse, rehabilitate the handicapped ramp to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and to repair the driveway for $37,575 was approved. Commissioners noted that all but $200 of the fund approved for all courthouse improvements was utilized in the project.

County chamber

Carroll County Chamber Executive Director Sana Booker gave an end-of-the-year report about 2009 chamber activities. She said that a new county tourism guide is under development, signs announcing the location of tourist attractions are being placed in strategic locations in the county. Booker said the membership has grown 30 percent with 188 members.

In addition, a Web site, www.carrollcountyindiana.com , was developed for additional exposure to the county. Booker said telephone inquiries have increased since the web site went online. According to a Google analysis, the site had an average of 24 hits each day in November for a total of 721 visitors. So far in December, those numbers are slightly lower, however the length of time a visitor looks at each page has increased from just over two minutes to nearly three minutes per page. The web site offers updates, a community calendar, and a list of county organizations.

“We are good at putting people together who need to meet,” Booker told commissioners. “It’s not hard to sell something that’s working.”

“At what point do you think the county chamber will be self-sufficient?” asked Ayres.

He said several chambers that he is aware of are not subsidized by taxpayer money.

“I would hope that would happen in the next few years,” chamber member Dick Bradshaw replied. “However, I have no problem asking the county for money because the services we provide are a great benefit to the county.”

Bret Hanaway explained that self-sufficient chambers do not do as many economic development activities as the local one.

Other business

Clayton Hutson was re-appointed to the Local Alcoholic Beverage Board.

Loren Hylton was appointed to the Northwest Indiana Solid Waste District Board of Directors. Brown was appointed alternate. Joe O’Donnell and George Mears were appointed to the group’s citizens’ advisory committee.

Edward Johnson was appointed to the Common Construction Wage Committee as the commissioners representative for Carroll Consolidated Schools.

Ordinance 2009-13 to establish a fund for EMS donations was amended to include the ability to receive funds from cities and towns, a time period of three years, and to direct disbursement of remaining funds after the three-year period.

The part-time contract for a worker for the highway department was voided.

The commissioners will meet Dec. 29 at 8:30 a.m. for end-of-the-year issues. The next regularly scheduled business meeting will be Jan. 4 at 9 a.m.