Council approves several budget adjustments including generator monitor and insurance increase

The DuBois County Council on Monday approved a package of budget adjustments and fund actions that the commissioners had forwarded, including a $5,500 payment for generator power monitoring, a $15,000 additional liability-insurance appropriation, and a $5,000 payment from a county incentive fund to pay for a cost-allocation plan vendor.

The council first approved $5,500 tied to a generator power monitor and electrical-panel work that county staff and Commissioner Stuart Wilson had discussed in prior meetings. The motion passed after a brief discussion.

Council members then approved an additional $15,000 for building and vehicle liability insurance in the general fund. Staff explained the county had not originally budgeted for several coverage items that became due later in the renewal cycle and that cyber and other coverages had been added or repriced since the budget was drafted.

On another item, staff asked to charge the county 4-d incentive fund (a narrow child-support-related fund) for the annual cost-allocation plan vendor instead of the general fund going forward. The council approved a $5,000 payment for the vendor in 2025 and directed the 2026 budget to include the line in the county incentive fund. The presenter said the cost-allocation plan returns more indirect cost reimbursement to the county than it costs.

The commissioners also moved to establish an "unsafe building fund" to hold fines assessed under Indiana Code 36-7-9-14; the council opened the fund and approved related bookkeeping so fines and any proceeds are held per statute. The council heard that the fines arise when a property owner does not comply with abatement orders and the county may pursue cleanup and place liens if the property owner fails to act.

Lastly, the council approved Recorder ordinance 2025-05, a routine annual affidavit from the recorder regarding use of her perpetuation fund and related budget authority. The recorder had previously stated the fund balance and identified allowable uses and one-time expenditures for office furnishing and equipment.

Each item passed without roll-call dissent. Most items were routine fiscal housekeeping: paying vendors, adjusting insurance appropriations, and opening statutorily required funds. The council asked staff to continue reporting on fund balances and any enforcement steps tied to unsafe-building actions.

Speakers

- Commissioner Stuart Wilson — DuBois County Commissioners (government) - County financial staff / presenter (unnamed) — (government) - Council members (various) — DuBois County Council (government)

Discussion and decision

Discussion points: Generator power monitor and electrical-panel relocation follow prior conversations; insurance renewals required unexpected additional charges; the use of the county 4-d incentive fund for the cost-allocation plan will free general-fund dollars for other uses; unsafe-building fines must be held in a statutorily defined fund and can become liens if owners fail to act.

Direction: Staff to implement the appropriation changes, open the unsafe-building fund per IC 36-7-9-14, and continue reporting on fund balances and any enforcement actions.

Decision: Council approved the $5,500 generator payment, $15,000 additional insurance appropriation, $5,000 cost-allocation plan payment charged to the county incentive fund, opened the unsafe-building fund, and adopted Recorder ordinance 2025-05.

Authorities

- type: statute, name/description: Indiana Code 36-7-9-14 (authorizes unsafe-building processes and related actions), referenced_by:["county-budget-adjustments-2025-06-23"] - type: ordinance, name/description: Recorder ordinance 2025-05 (affidavit regarding perpetuation fund), referenced_by:["county-budget-adjustments-2025-06-23"]

Clarifying details

- category: generator appropriation, detail:"Additional $5,500 appropriation for generator power monitor / electrical panel work", value:5500,units:USD,approximate:false,source_speaker:"County financial staff" - category: insurance appropriation, detail:"Additional $15,000 requested for building/vehicle and cyber insurance renewals", value:15000,units:USD,approximate:false,source_speaker:"County financial staff" - category: cost-allocation plan, detail:"Vendor will perform cost-allocation plan at $5,000 annually; county will charge county 4-d incentive fund rather than general fund in future years", value:5000,units:USD,approximate:false,source_speaker:"County financial staff" - category: unsafe building fund, detail:"Fund established to hold fines assessed under IC 36-7-9-14 and to support abatement enforcement; proceeds handled per statute", value:"not applicable",units:"n/a",approximate:false,source_speaker:"County staff/commissioner"

Proper_names

- {"name":"DuBois County","type":"other"},{"name":"IC 36-7-9-14","type":"statute"},{"name":"Recorder ordinance 2025-05","type":"ordinance"}

Community_relevance

- geographies:["DuBois County"], funding_sources:["county general fund","county 4-d incentive fund"], impact_groups:["county taxpayers","property owners with unsafe buildings"]

Meeting_context

- engagement_level: {"speakers_count":6,"duration_minutes":40,"items_count":5} - implementation_risk: "low" - history: [{"date":"2025-06-23","note":"Several routine appropriations, fund openings and an ordinance adoption were approved in consent/finance actions."}]

Searchable_tags:["budget","insurance","generator","unsafe-building","recorder","cost-allocation"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments:[{"block_id":"block_3343.78","local_start":0,"local_end":80,"evidence_excerpt":"Under the lit CR text, Stuart was Stuart Wilson was in a few times in previous meetings talking about this electrical panel moving it. We have additional for $5,500... anyone else got any comments there?","global_start":3343.78,"global_end":3372.43,"tc_start":"00:55:43","tc_end":"00:56:12","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_3467.67","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"Any further discussion on the insurance additional liability insurance? We want to only entertain a motion to approve the $15,000. Meredith seconded. All in favor, say aye.","global_start":3456.47,"global_end":3472.555,"tc_start":"00:57:36","tc_end":"00:57:52","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

topics:[{"name":"county-finance-appropriations","justification":"Multiple approved appropriations and fund actions affecting county budgeting and statutory compliance.","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.90,