Porter County Council approves several budget adjustments, funds AEDs and public defender gap

The Porter County Council approved several budget adjustments and appropriations on first and second readings, including an American Heart Association grant appropriation for additional automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and a $40,000 supplemental legal appropriation for the public defender.

At the hearing, health‑department staff explained the American Heart Association grant would add $7,500 to the Heart Safe/AED project, bringing that line to $22,500 to cover additional AEDs and supplies. A health‑department representative said the full Heart Safe station costs about $5,600 and standalone AEDs typically run "in the 1,100 to 1,300 range." The council approved the appropriation by roll call.

Public Defender Helwin explained the supplemental request was required because a prior Supreme Court grant that had covered pretrial services and mandate bond hearings had ended. He said staff are owed money dating to January and asked the council to bridge the shortfall now; the public defender told council members the jurisdiction will receive about $9,300 per quarter from another source but that timing creates a cash‑flow gap. The council approved the $40,000 supplemental appropriation after the auditor's office confirmed the request was advertised and properly posted.

Clerk read the first and second readings for the group of budget adjustments, which also included a general‑fund hourly line of $69,827.63 and a legal services increase of $40,000. The council recorded roll‑call votes for the second reading and approved the measures.

Next steps: administrative staff will move forward on procurement and reimbursement steps for AED purchases; the public defender and auditor will track incoming grant reimbursements and report as required.