Butte County Home for Children seeks $41,000 to raise relief staff pay, requests $3,000 for house manager stipends

Norm Lottombroke, executive director of the Butte County Home for Children, told the Vigo County budget committee on the record that the home is asking the county to increase part of its payroll budget so relief staff who fill shifts earn the same hourly pay as full‑time youth care specialists. "If you are a part time employee and you do part time work, then you should get a part time salary," Lottombroke said, later clarifying relief staff perform the same duties as full‑time staff but without benefits. He said the immediate cost to bring relief staff to full‑time wage rates would be about $41,000 for the coming year, and a separate $3,000 request would fund $1,500 stipends for two house manager positions to help run a second licensed home.

Lottombroke told councilors the home — currently operating one licensed facility and holding a license for a second (the Carpenter or "North" House) — billed $672,000 through July and expects DCS rates to rise again in 2026. "We're gonna be bringing in $1,140 per child per day," he said, and used sample math in the presentation to show scale: "Five kids for a year is $2,000,000. Eight kids for a year is $3,200,000." He said DCS payments are typically about 60 days behind but that funds are expected to arrive.

On financing, Lottombroke described an operating approach that shifts many supply and program costs from the general fund into a nonreverting fund established by ordinance that keeps 25% of DCS receipts for the group home and returns 75% to the general fund. "Of this $672,000, 25% of that stays with me in a nonreverting fund," he said. He listed items moved into the nonreverting fund—office supplies, institutional supplies, gasoline, maintenance, educational supplies, pharmacy, recreation and clothing—and said commissioners agreed to pay utilities out of their facilities budget so the group's utility line was cut to zero.

Lottombroke also requested $50,000 in vehicle funding to buy a transport van large enough to carry staff and residents to appointments, therapy and school. He described the county highway and other departments providing in‑kind help — e.g., vehicle part labor, driveway patching, fence work — and cited specific operating challenges that drive the vehicle request: full transports with staff ratios, older vans with high mileage and the need for a back‑up vehicle at each house.

Operations and licensing: Lottombroke said the Lehi Home is licensed for nine beds and the Carpenter home for eight; licensing rules and DCS guidance on bedroom sharing sometimes limit capacity below license maximums. He also said the home began taking DCS placements in late February and had spent about $601,006.73 through June 30. He said the county home is relying on DCS per‑diem revenue and the nonreverting fund to offset general fund costs.

Councilors asked for a breakdown of county costs and revenue; staff supplied the July‑to‑date figures and auditors' forms for the committee. Lottombroke said he would present additional detailed cost/benefit figures later in the evening's council session.

Ending: The Home asked the council to approve the two personnel changes (relief staff wage alignment and two $1,500 house manager stipends), to approve $50,000 for a transport vehicle and to allow the reassignment of selected line items into the nonreverting fund. Lottombroke said the requests are intended to open the licensed Carpenter home and maintain care standards while minimizing additional general fund burden.