State auditors begin review as city narrows budget gap; meetings to move to YouTube

State auditors from the Indiana State Board of Accounts started an onsite review of the city's 2023 and 2024 records Tuesday, and city staff told the Common Council they are working on budget adjustments that start from an estimate of about $400,000 in needed reductions. Rosie, a city staff member presenting updates, said that Leslie is attending a State Board of Accounts class and that the auditors had set up in a conference room at City Hall to begin their audit of the 2023 and 2024 records. Rosie and staff are working together on the budget; initial estimates identified roughly $400,000 of potential reductions to be refined as accounting and assessed values are finalized. Rosie also told the council that the city's tax rate position remains relatively low compared with other Indiana cities: she said the city is the ninth-lowest of 120 Indiana cities in city tax rate. She said staff will continue refining budget assumptions and that the preliminary $400,000 figure is a starting point and subject to change. Separately, staff said the city will shift live streaming for council and other municipal meetings from Facebook to YouTube in September because of recent changes in Facebook's handling of videos. City staff are working with Nathan Bilger from the county to set up YouTube livestreams; the move is intended to make recorded meetings available for public access and archival purposes. Rosie also clarified the city's contribution to Mission 25: opioid settlement or local opioid-program funds have been used for program operations at the Mission 25 facility, not for constructing the building, Rosie said. Direction: Staff will continue budget work with the auditor and bring refined numbers and proposed cuts to the council as accounting and assessed valuation detail is finalized. The livestream transition is scheduled to begin in September pending technical setup.