Kosciusko County Council approves stipends, multiple grant appropriations and salary adjustments during Jan. 9 meeting

Kosciusko County Council members on Jan. 9 elected new officers and approved a slate of routine fiscal and personnel items, including a one-time stipend and per‑meeting pay for the county’s public defender board and multiple grant appropriations.

The council opened by introducing new council members Dylan Geiger and Rachel Rhodes and then elected Tony as council president and Kathy Groninger as vice president (motion carried). The body then approved the December minutes and proceeded through a series of appropriations, grant acceptances and salary‑related ordinances that council members described as routine.

Judge Matt Buehler requested council approval to pay members of the county’s public defender board for work done in 2024 and for future quarterly meetings. He said the board is required to meet quarterly under “state statute” to maintain compliance and the county’s 40% reimbursement for public defender fees. The council approved a one‑time stipend of $250 per board member for 2024 and a per‑meeting payment of $109.67 for each quarterly meeting going forward. The current board members named in the meeting were Kevin Dierdorf (chair), Paul Stolting and John Hall.

The council approved an appropriation of $50,153 for the VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant to fund the prosecutor’s victim assistance program; the grant is reimbursable and on a two‑year cycle, the presenters said. The council also granted permission to apply for a JDAI (Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative) grant for $60,000, described by Judd McGrath as the only juvenile funding source this year for…