Pulaski County officials approved a special claims list by voice vote during a short meeting. After the vote, Hannah Anderson of Star City delivered a public comment sharply criticizing county spending priorities and asked the state to audit county finances.

Anderson, who identified herself as representing "the working families of Pulaski County," accused county leaders of prioritizing administrative spending over frontline services. "We've currently shouldered the second highest income tax in the entire state of Indiana," she said, adding that residents "pay the most" yet have "the least amount of community resources." She told officials that, according to her submitted materials, the county had appropriated what she described as "1,224 doll dollars just for office supplies," and that "for the office of the county judge alone, you've allotted $25,500 for paperclips and staples."

She also alleged the county budgeted $195,000 for gas and vehicle maintenance for courthouse administration rather than for police or EMS, and said the county was sitting on a reported $12,000,000 surplus, which she attributed in part to revenues from local solar farms. Anderson asserted that frontline workers — EMS, nurses and police — were underpaid relative to regional averages by an estimated $640,000 annually.

On capital projects, Anderson said the courthouse renovation had grown from an "original estimate of 5 to 7,000,000" to what she described as a commitment of over $12,000,000 and said the project remained not ADA compliant. She also said $2,060,000 from an opioid abatement fund had been assigned to administration rather than to treatment or frontline supports.

Anderson urged immediate county funding for a local program she named "Warrior Up," saying the program received "0 county funding," and formally called for "a comprehensive financial audit conducted by the state." She told officials she already had submitted supporting documents to the Indiana State Board of Accounts and offered to provide two written copies of her materials; an official asked her to submit them in writing and she agreed.

The claims list was approved after an unidentified participant moved "to approve" and another seconded; the motion passed on a voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote, and officials announced they would enter an executive session following adjournment.

Analysis and next steps: Anderson's statements were presented as allegations and attributed directly to her; officials on the record asked only that she provide written materials. The transcript does not contain any detailed financial responses, a department-by-department budget explanation, or a vote tally for the claims approval. The Indiana State Board of Accounts was identified by Anderson as the recipient of her submitted materials; the county's response or any follow-up timeline was not stated on the record.