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Veteran service officer proposes partnership with Blackford County; donation fund balance reported
Summary
Veteran Service Officer Pilgrim reported progress on a temporary assistant VSO, proposed exploring a merged veteran service office with Blackford County to share a database and staff, and said the veterans assistance donation fund balance is $6,180.03 while soliciting additional donations.
The county’s veteran service officer briefed commissioners on staffing, a potential inter-county partnership and a donated-aid fund that assists veterans in crisis.
Pilgrim said the temporary assistant veteran service officer, Adam Kratzfer, has completed American Legion and VA training and is completing IDVA training; Pilgrim expects the assistant to be fully accredited by June after additional state training. Pilgrim proposed exploring a shared veteran service office with neighboring Blackford County, saying Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs allows small counties to merge services on a single database to conserve resources. He asked commissioners whether they wished to direct staff to discuss a partnership with Blackford County and suggested any agreement would likely require an MOU to set hours and responsibilities.
Pilgrim described the county’s veteran assistance program, funded by public donations rather than county tax dollars. He said the fund typically ran about $10,000 but is ‘‘right now, we’re down to $6,180.03,’’ and that staff are soliciting donations from local businesses and the public. He noted the county assists veterans with urgent needs such as short-term housing assistance or basic work clothing, emphasizing the faster turnaround and lower paperwork burden compared with state IDVA assistance.
Pilgrim also alerted the public to an upcoming administrative change tied to a new state law on disabled veteran property tax deductions: a new state form must be signed when it is published (Pilgrim said the state anticipates publishing it around July 1), and claimants must file the form between its publication and the end of the calendar year to avoid losing the deduction on next year’s taxes. Commissioners asked Pilgrim to draft a plan describing how a Blackford County partnership would work and requested a formal proposal or MOU outlining hours and responsibilities.
Pilgrim asked staff to prepare updated proclamations for Memorial Day (reissue of Proclamation 12-2012 naming Grant County the first Purple Heart County in the state) so the current commissioners’ names appear on the document.
