Kosciusko County commissioners approve multiple fund budgets, discuss parking garage and health-insurance corrections

Kosciusko County commissioners approved a series of routine budget items during a multi-hour budget hearing while staff outlined larger planning items, including a proposed downtown parking garage and an accounting correction for employee health insurance.

County staff and department heads presented budgets for multiple funds and moved to adopt the “twos, threes and fours” — routine line-item approvals — for each fund. Commissioners made and seconded motions on numerous funds and approved them by voice vote.

The proceedings also included extended discussion of two higher-profile issues: how the county is accounting for health-insurance costs after an increase in the COBRA rate, and early plans for a multilevel parking garage downtown, for which the county has budgeted preliminary design and planning funds.

County staff told commissioners the COBRA rate used to allocate health-insurance costs to departments rose from about $946.50 per employee to $1,305, a change that shifted where the county must book portions of those costs. Staff said the underlying annual insurance premium for the county did not rise dramatically, but because the COBRA rate is the basis used to charge departments into the health-insurance fund, the change requires moving or budgeting additional dollars in the insurance account to avoid drawing down the stop‑loss reserve (the county’s internal health-insurance balance). Staff said they expect to pull about $675,000 from the county’s health-insurance reserve in the coming year but may adjust that amount after additional reconciliation.

Separately, county leaders outlined a proposed parking-garage project for the downtown justice-campus area. Commissioners said the conceptual design now being produced by Design Collaborative will include a budget estimate and site analysis by the end of the calendar year. Commissioners described a current working assumption of roughly 350 parking spaces for the structure, and staff described a preliminary total project estimate in the neighborhood of $15 million. County and city leaders have discussed a cost-sharing approach: Kosciusko Economic Development funds (referred to in the meeting as Horry funds) have tentatively committed about $5 million toward the project and the city has indicated a $2–3 million contribution. County staff said the remainder would be the county’s portion, and that the conceptual design and a parking consultant will provide more precise construction and operating estimates.

Commissioners discussed revenue and operating models for a garage, noting prior parking studies that suggested revenue could cover ongoing maintenance although not fully repay construction costs. Staff and commissioners discussed partnering with nearby developments to secure recurring revenue, vendor-paid maintenance, and coordinating enforcement so on‑street parking and the garage operate in concert.

The hearings also included multiple departmental presentations: judges and probation discussed court-ordered services and line-item changes; the prosecutor’s office sought modest increases for witness fees and evidence testing; the county’s information-technology director requested budget increases for software maintenance and equipment rotation; and general-fund staff reviewed contractual and not‑for‑profit allocations. Commissioners discussed and declined to fund Stillwater Hospice at the same level as prior years while staff said they will follow up to confirm nonprofit status and other details.

Votes at a glance - Motion to accept twos/threes for Fund 1000, Location 0043 — approved (motion by Rachel; seconded; voice vote). - Motion to approve Fund 1200, Location 0043 (public defender services) — approved (motion by Kim; second). - Motion to approve various funds in sequence (examples recorded during the hearing): Fund 1000 Location 0015; Fund 1148 Location 0000 (drug/education/opioid-related); Fund 2503 (Pretrial Diversion); Fund 2504 (Infraction Deferral); Fund 4957 (forfeitures); Fund 8897 (Title 4D incentive); Fund 9001 (senior prosecutor grant); Fund 1000 Location 0006 (commissioners maintenance); Fund 1000 Location 0009 (commissioners general); Fund 1112 (EDIT); Fund 1138 (capital development) — all approved by motion and voice vote. (Each above motion is recorded in the meeting minutes and treated as approved by commissioners; no roll-call tallies were read.)

What changed and what’s next County staff said a follow-up reconciliation will firm up the precise amount to be moved between the general fund and the health-insurance reserve; staff recommended keeping flexibility and noted some transfers may be necessary later in the year. On the parking garage, staff said the next deliverable will be the conceptual design and cost estimate produced by Design Collaborative, expected by late November or December; if the conceptual design proceeds, staff will move from concept to full design and then to bidding.

The commissioners asked staff to confirm nonprofit documentation and statutory compliance for agencies requesting general-fund support (example: Bowen Center) before finalizing any direct awards. County staff also said they will follow up on several line-item questions raised during the hearings (for example, a rent/lease line that showed zero spending in 2024 but a budgeted amount in 2025).

The commissioners continued routine budget approvals through the session and scheduled follow-up on wages and the wage committee’s recommendations during the remaining budget hearings.