Council reviews multiple group‑home appropriations as operator says revenue will offset costs

County officials discussed three related items for Vigo County group homes: a general‑fund additional appropriation totaling $76,700 for repairs at multiple homes, a nonreverting‑fund request of $48,500 to prepare a Carpenter Home for occupancy, and a staffing appropriation of roughly $242,000 to hire employees. Norman Lautner, director of the Vigo County Home for Children, outlined the work and the revenue picture.

Lautner told the council the $76,700 general‑fund request covers crawl‑space remediation, furnace/HVAC replacement and electrical rewiring to bring an older home up to code. "The grand total for those 3 improvements ... is $76,700," he said, and described moisture problems, mold remediation, new sump pump and joist replacement for the Rose Hill property as well as rewiring a roughly 100‑year‑old house on South Sixth Street. He said the county has been using dehumidifiers and that gutters, grading and drain tiles will be addressed in future work.

Lautner also outlined the nonreverting fund, which holds DCS (Department of Child Services) payments. He said commissioners established a nonreverting fund earlier this year that captures 25% of DCS payments to be used by the group homes (75% goes to the general fund). He asked the council to appropriate $48,500 from that nonreverting fund for startup costs at the Carpenter Home, listing institutional supplies ($10,000), contractual services ($20,000), building repairs ($2,500) and furniture/equipment. County staff confirmed the nonreverting fund balance was about $88,005 as of Aug. 1 and that DCS receipts lag billing by about 60 days; there was enough money on hand to cover the request.

On staffing, Lautner asked the council to appropriate roughly $242,412 to hire five full‑time and several part‑time employees. He told the council the hiring and vetting process would take several weeks, so workers would likely start in September and operations would ramp up thereafter. "If you appropriate the money and vote on this on Aug. 12, it'll take about 3 to 4 weeks to get people hired," Lautner said.

Lautner provided revenue figures showing the homes generated about $672,000 in DCS billings from Feb. 24 through Aug. 1 while county expenditures for the same period were about $603,000; he argued the placements already produce revenue that will help offset the appropriations. The council asked whether the homes should be sold instead of repaired; several council members and commissioners said the structures are repairable and that fixing them now would retain value if the county ever chose to sell. No final vote on appropriation items occurred at this meeting; the staff will return with ordinance language and additional documentation for council consideration.