[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6472869,"mediaKeyId","5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b","parentId",5770454,"title","Council approves prosecutor's request for criminal intelligence analyst and victim advocate positions","audioSeconds",946,"startMs",2895000,"endMs",3841000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b&start=2895&end=3841","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b/thumbnail_2895000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6472869/Elkhart-County/Indiana/Council-approves-prosecutors-request-for-criminal-intelligence-analyst-and-victim-advocate-positions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472869-95d968bd37458b8a0537265e29ec7398/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071958&Signature=juaB3p6yXzDEWBsxrNg8LRmqMZs2bqSEITPQU4iC8nl2j1jVikzSMXfuHT8MDE9LXcZLnGvygNhL3tpqwKxv0JoER-SboZuvWQhxi7ZrYaAaLzrIshkoBS8bbekDKEmuH4s5DmoptGY9omRwdcxcXwwtFyHbTa300OiadyUF6B5zlIELiKTCXsDJAi6VKjMvpb-Yuq-N50OGpMWwW2-CP3Mfcu-0Ty-fVcU9Z1Tv0upWMSuuOs~bZkzThnAiBs7X8Om5BIqcp9Km6646P18hLN2qqG8kAhJJkJHGaBTxvLfbgfgzw1yuT1DMFCkwC-DciibO~9fzyHd6o-29NKVw2A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Elkhart County, IN","date","2025-09-13T06:12:36Z","article","The Elkhart County Council voted to approve two personnel additions requested by Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Becker: a criminal intelligence analyst and an additional victim advocate.

Becker told the council the analyst performs forensic downloads and analysis of cell phones and other digital media and that the position has been pivotal in prosecuting serious cases, including recent homicide investigations. \"These analysts are able to actually find [data] when it's been tried to be destroyed,\" Becker said, describing recovered video and cell‑phone evidence that aided prosecutions.

Becker said victim advocates are required by statute to notify victims about meaningful hearings, plea negotiations and the status of cases; the prosecutor's office uses trained advocates for those duties and is requesting an additional trial‑division advocate to handle caseload and victim communications.

On workload, Becker described heavy demand: analysts can work many hours on a single download (\"7, 8, 9, 10 hours\"), and major incidents can generate dozens of phones to process — she cited recent events with as many as 11 phones in a homicide and around 25 phones after a Father's Day mass shooting. She told the council the analysts are used sparingly for the \"worst of the worst\" cases because of limited staffing and equipment, but that demand would increase if staffing was expanded.

Council discussion noted alternatives such as contracting forensic services or relying on regional or state resources, but Becker said private contracts are substantially more expensive than in‑house staffing and that outsourcing can raise chain‑of‑custody and capacity issues. She offered to provide fuller annual statistics to the council going forward.

The council voted by roll call to approve both positions on a single motion; recorded roll call in the transcript shows the motion carried 4–3. Becker thanked the council following the vote.

The prosecutor's office provided a written request as part of the budget packet. The transcript included dollar figures that were unclear; the amounts for salary and benefits as read aloud in the meeting were ambiguous in the audio transcript and are recorded here as not specified. Becker indicated the office had been unable to fill attorney vacancies and that support staff helps prevent lawyers from taking on victim‑service duties.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Elkhart County Live Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Elkhart County Council approved two positions requested by Prosecuting Attorney Vicki Becker: a criminal intelligence analyst to support forensic phone downloads and a victim advocate position required by state statute; votes were recorded by roll call (4–3).","taxTitle","Elkhart County, Indiana","taxId",5801,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6472874,"Elkhart County council approves IT staffing plan, flags app consolidation and cybersecurity needs",1214,1620000,2834000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b&start=1620&end=2834","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b/thumbnail_1620000.jpg","/articles/6472874/Elkhart-County/Indiana/Elkhart-County-council-approves-IT-staffing-plan-flags-app-consolidation-and-cybersecurity-needs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472874-c22ccde84793f6c864bd99e6ab96b79e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071958&Signature=FdMg~Bb83YWdBnK4rw0o0FuX3Unrcbu8oVtmx45p31YJpmC8fmgR~5XLvf1GpPt8tr35S3LzYGR8SOcii8l5lN1PFn8WmSVTSBDTRiXq7QP8YAJtUO3pb-FOnhk1WeeyUHtmDbVp0WZdgH2qpzvL~7vfr3rkWy-WDQn12mZekplyUFt6ZJJ7YjXTLtHLaz6VXj8Wsg-dhp1SKRgrRoW2KbfNh-poKJXWhgOK88vFwJPmDPp78Qt~sMfYuI79hna-jApXR63f262Km-kjb8hMN5fIV8kz-sxLAPGzkapP-7k6-VByT94hWleOO8CoJKMVu1wUpZLNAp305dJzoF-T8Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Elkhart County Council voted to approve an IT staffing plan and a package of items (numbered 1–10 in the county packet) intended to bolster cybersecurity, stabilize operations and begin consolidation of the county's technology footprint.

Jeff Taylor, county administrator, and Jeff Spires, Motion Consulting acting CIO, presented the staffing plan and an inventory of county technology that Taylor described as \"200 plus applications, a 101 servers and SAN cores, 47 switch stacks\" and numerous devices across 30 departments. Spires said the plan represents what the consultants consider a minimum, adequate staffing level to maintain the county's infrastructure and secure systems.

The staffing request covers seven positions in the broader plan; four of those roles were previously funded through contracts and the net new headcount is three, according to presentation remarks. Among positions discussed were a cybersecurity analyst and a cybersecurity engineer, and presenters said they expect hiring to occur over time rather than all at once. Taylor and Spires also described a vendor assessment tool and a process to evaluate technology proposals from departments so the council can better understand total cost and support implications.

Councilors discussed the budget impact and recruiting timeline. One member said the general fund shows about $726,000 (\"impacted general fund 726,000 and change\") connected to IT changes; presenters said some contracted services previously in the budget will be replaced by in‑house positions over time. Consultants and staff warned the county will need time to recruit specialized IT staff and noted ongoing vendor support from a firm identified in the meeting as Moser (consultant) to help execute the multi‑year plan.

Councilors broadly supported the plan as a program rather than an item‑by‑item budget reduction, with one member saying the county could reassess next year if the approach does not deliver expected results. The council approved items 1–10 together on a motion by Doug, second by Steve; the vote was taken by voice and recorded as approved.

Spires and Taylor recommended a 25–40% reduction in the county's software inventory over time, noting many single‑use applications could be consolidated. They said some enterprise resource planning (ERP) replacements are multi‑year projects and other technology work, such as security platform outsourcing and maintenance, can be shorter term.

Staff described practical needs the plan aims to address: courthouse and departmental audiovisual and security systems; uptime for servers and uninterruptible power supplies; and daily support for dozens of applications used for permitting, assessments, public safety and other county services. The presenters said they had already hired at least one new network administrator (named in the presentation as Sean Johnson) who will offset some vendor costs.

The council motion authorized the staffing and related IT items as presented; staff said implementation will follow hiring timelines and contract adjustments. Consultants pledged to provide a strategy and multiyear plan before year end.","The council approved an IT staffing plan and a package of IT budget items intended to strengthen cybersecurity, reduce reliance on costly contracts and rationalize more than 200 applications used across county departments.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6472879,"Elkhart County council approves highway engineering reclassification; splits driver hires",1533,83000,1616000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b&start=83&end=1616","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5770454-5b526d3776d244daf4f484113d2aad2b/thumbnail_83000.jpg","/articles/6472879/Elkhart-County/Indiana/Elkhart-County-council-approves-highway-engineering-reclassification-splits-driver-hires","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6472879-6cfd707bad4e484efb35d0f44de1f66e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071958&Signature=RB~YUDMGOX8soCNS62zmYA-tOOKaukwDUe4weBrbZh4j3MrohKcc2VaV0YjAQIs46-3UyZdpOMekEQYo0tmYSJG4emy67qKpZ8UZKPN8g0h5Nb9RSVIuczJOHNJOKFEsc3yLJ5Q0GLKxv4FjAgqSVp~xmE0~YpjuLcpXWL9ofa85L8g0AFyQRhaXnnI8h0I-5Ikka4UVOd8GNiZcpYRTPtq3JbSy8huaSToaVFBcTncEbK4Rfuf0JVXeiCqX-X4qPIlX0us1EoVaak3vFklQA0jR-lMgaDn2ABu3cLVrVrrZ1Q~ep2k4TgH5YIcf1G0rDUHr5-HLIb~el8KXnnQ2xA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Elkhart County Council on an afternoon vote approved a reclassification in the highway department to create an engineering service manager and approved new driver positions to increase field coverage.

Kyle Wagner, highway department, told the council the reclassification would create an engineering service manager who would supervise roughly five direct reports and continue to perform project engineer duties, relieving the county engineer who now manages about 14 direct reports and oversees more than 40 capital projects estimated at $150,000,000 in total project value. \"The engineering service manager will continue to complete projects as a project engineer. That wouldn't change. It would just be supervision of current techs,\" Wagner said.

Council members said the change is meant to speed project delivery, reduce consultant costs and make use of recently hired county survey staff. Wagner said in‑house surveying and right‑of‑way work has saved the county hundreds of thousands of dollars and reduced contractor lead times.

On staffing for operations, the council approved two new multipurpose positions requiring commercial driver's licenses (CDL). Wagner described the county's current staffing as 18 drivers with two vacancies, split into four township areas with foremen assigned. He said the two CDL hires would help cover peak workloads such as the county's August chip‑seal program and improve winter response. Council roll call on the two CDL positions returned six yes votes and one no (motion by Steve, second by Adam; roll‑call names recorded in the meeting transcript). Wagner also said the county has sufficient trucks for the additional hires.

A separate request for two non‑CDL positions initially failed on a roll call vote, then the chair vacated the chair and the council later approved one of the two non‑CDL positions by a 4–3 vote. Proponents said a non‑CDL role can free CDL drivers for heavier equipment and provide more coverage for tasks such as mowing, small pickup winter response and dirt‑patch operations. Opponents cited headcount concerns and budget pressure during this budget cycle.

Council members and staff discussed operational impacts: chip seal operations are very fast and can close roads for an hour to 90 minutes; that program concentrates staff in August and limits other work. Wagner said operations average about 16‑hour winter shifts and that additional staff would reduce those hours. He also noted historical staffing levels ranged from the mid‑20s to low‑30s drivers in prior years.

The reclassification motion (to create the engineering service manager classification and associated pay reorganization among project engineers) passed on voice vote. The council also approved a group of title changes later in the meeting that reflected the reclassification and other personnel title updates.

The highway items will be implemented through the county's payroll and budget processes; staff did not identify any additional regulatory approvals required. The highway department handed out an organizational chart and a proposed pay schedule to the council during the presentation.

The council moved on to other budget items after the highway discussion.","The Elkhart County Council approved a reclassification to create an engineering service manager in the highway department and voted on multiple new driver positions, approving two multipurpose CDL roles and one of two requested non‑CDL roles after split votes.","actionData","errors"]

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Council approves prosecutor's request for criminal intelligence analyst and victim advocate positions

Elkhart County council approves IT staffing plan, flags app consolidation and cybersecurity needs

Elkhart County council approves highway engineering reclassification; splits driver hires