Floyd County Council approves multiple appropriations, salary adjustments and routine orders; tables computer-purchase funding source

Floyd County Council members voted to approve multiple routine appropriations, salary adjustments and fund transfers at the meeting, and they directed staff on one larger technology purchase while reserving the funding source.

Judge Maria Granger asked for and received approval of two additional appropriations to fund three positions that work with the Veterans Court of Southern Indiana for the remainder of 2025. The council approved the item after the judge confirmed the amounts advertised were accurate and the positions would continue data collection for the program.

Rhonda, leader of the county ATOD task force, reported the county collects ATOD funds and distributes them for prevention, treatment, law enforcement and administration; she requested that last year’s collected funds be appropriated into the ATOD fund for grants this year. The council approved the appropriation by voice vote.

Coroner Tony Tomlin requested an additional appropriation of $20,000 for his transportation line after receiving a bill of $53,196.30 from AmeriPro for part of 2023–24. Tomlin said his office’s baseline transportation budget was $4,000 and that he has been billed at rates up to $371 by previous providers; he said the county is now using a private transfer firm charging roughly $200 per transport and that Highlander Fire provides noncharged transport in the county. The council approved the $20,000 appropriation.

Chief Probation Officer Kelly Dueser asked to appropriate ATOD grant funds received by probation; the council approved that appropriation. Separately, the council approved a $5,000 per-year stipend for probation employee Daniel Mansfield to perform ongoing data collection on opioid-funded programs and expenditures, an effort the council said is intended to improve transparency and program evaluation.

Plan Commission member Nick Creevey requested and the council approved a new cash-surety line for Nob Hill Section 9, a developer-provided surety of $61,000 that will be returned to the developer once infrastructure meets county standards. The council also approved Ordinance 2025-04 authorizing transfers.

The council took up a planned county-wide computer and scanner replacement project; Information Technology staff said the project would replace approximately 65 workstations and add 47 scanners to update machines ahead of Windows 10 support ending in October. Members agreed to let staff advertise and begin procurement but tabled final appropriation so the purchase can be funded from the riverboat fund rather than the general fund; the council instructed staff to proceed with purchase planning and return with the appropriation request next month.

The council approved several salary and position actions recommended by the Salary Appeals Committee: a probation stipend described above, a planning department reorganization that raises the building commissioner’s salary (net savings projected for the county), and a prosecutor-office salary adjustment to reflect a litigation reclassification. The prosecuting attorney said a pending state measure, House Bill 1006, could reimburse roughly 50% of prosecutors’ salary costs if passed, and that the county could see an estimated $250,000–$300,000 in savings if the measure is enacted; the council approved the salary action and the prosecutor said he would cover any shortfall if state reimbursement does not materialize.

Sheriff Steve Bush presented the annual jail report required by 210 IAC 3-1-2, reporting an average daily population of 311 at the time of the report and a present population of 342; he told the council that the jail is housing some federal inmates and said recent swatting-style threats at Floyd Central and Highland Hills were handled without incident with multiagency support. The meeting ended after public comment and adjournment.

Votes at a glance: Veterans Court appropriations (Old Business 1 a & b) — Approved; ATOD appropriation (New Business 2 a) — Approved; Coroner transportation $20,000 (Item 3 a) — Approved; Probation ATOD appropriation (Item 4 a) — Approved; Nob Hill Section 9 cash surety $61,000 (Item 5 a) — Approved; Computer replacement procurement (Item 5 b) — Motion to table appropriation and proceed with procurement using riverboat fund next month — Approved; Ordinance 2025-04 (transfers) — Approved; Probation $5,000 stipend (Item 6 a) — Approved; Prosecutor salary adjustment (Item 6 a) — Approved; Planning building commissioner salary adjustment (Item 6 a) — Approved.