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Commissioners reject outside legal contract sought by Boone County Health Board after public debate
Summary
Boone County commissioners voted to reject a proposed $27,000 contract for outside legal services sought by the county health board, after debate about statutory authority, funding sources and whether the board had the right to hire counsel without commissioners' approval.
Boone County commissioners voted to reject a proposed contract for outside legal services requested by the Boone County Health Board, after a contentious discussion about statutory authority and funding.
John Casey, a member of the Boone County Health Board, told the commissioners the $27,000 would come from Health First Indiana (HFI) funds allocated to the health department and not from the county general fund. “Those are state funds. They aren't county funds,” Casey said, explaining the health board’s position that the funds were available to pay for legal services and that the health board expects to report spending to the Indiana Department of Health.
Casey also discussed Indiana Code provisions the board considered when deciding who may enter into contracts for health services and for planning services, and he argued that planning-services authority does not require commissioner approval. “If it's a planning services, the statute does not give you a right of approval,” Casey said.
Commissioners disagreed about whether the health board needed the commission’s approval for an attorney contract and about the scale of legal spending compared with previous years. One commissioner said county legal expenses had been far lower previously and that a new arrangement would represent roughly a tenfold increase in monthly legal spending. After discussion, a commissioner moved to reject the contract; another commissioner seconded the motion and the commission voted to reject it.
A member of the public, Debbie Adlinger of Lebanon, urged the commissioners to meet with the health board and hear its rationale before taking action. “They offer to sit down in a meeting and discuss our concerns and hear your voices, and we're not given that opportunity,” Adlinger said during public comment.
Commissioners noted the health board had requested the item be placed on the county agenda; several commissioners said they were open to further meetings between the boards and counsel to resolve statutory questions. The transcript records motions approving claims from an attorney firm that commissioners said had already been paid in recent months; John Casey interpreted those claim approvals as effectively approving the contract in practice. The commissioners’ rejection was the formal outcome on the contract on the day’s agenda.
