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As the Kosciusko County Public Defender’s Office continues to get set up, County Administrator Marsha McSherry has been working with attorney Jack Birch, who will be serving as the public defender, to prepare his office.
At Tuesday’s County Commissioners meeting, McSherry presented quotes for the furniture for the office. She said she had two vendors, but one she did not hear back from.
The original proposal received from KDA Furniture & Interiors, Fort Wayne, was for $56,600.62. McSherry said she was asked by the commissioners to get an alternate proposal for the furniture for the assistant and chief deputy public defender, which was in the amount of $18,682.97. If the commissioners accept the alternate, the total cost would be $46,307.55.
Birch pointed out all the purchases would be “coming out of the supplemental fund, which is not the general fund but a fund that is solely for the purpose of operating or affording unique circumstances in the public defender’s office. It is funded by repayment of fees from indigent defendants. It is not funded from county funds or state funds. It is there solely for the purpose of the public defender’s office.”
He said they had a proposed budget estimates, and they are below all of those with respect to the construction of the office, which is paid out of the supplemental fund. The computers are estimated at just under half of what those expenses are.
The public defender’s office is also suppose to be similarly provided for as the prosecutor’s office, Birch said, “and I think what we’re asking for is similar to that. This is a one-time purchase. It’s going to be there presumably for 20-25 years.”
They do get reimbursed by the state at a rate of 40%, “so the ask, truly from the supplemental fund, is really $6,000,” he stated.
After doing his research on the supplemental fund and what surrounding counties have, he said he was very comfortable with the original ask of $56,600.62 for office furniture and asked that the commissioners approve that.
“I think we’ve been relatively frugal with everything we’ve requested. We’re just trying to be reasonably on par with the prosecutor’s office, and, as I said, it’s a one-time purchase from a fund that’s only available to us,” Birch said.
The commissioners approved the request at $56,600.62.
In other business, the commissioners:
• Approved a proposal from Cottage Watchmen for the four public communication radio tower sites, as presented by McSherry. She said this is the county’s third year of being on the new tower sites.
There are shelters at the four sites.
“We have access to the reports from the blocks on these. We know when people are coming and going, it sends us reports when we have had a power outage. We have cameras. Those systems aren’t functioning properly, have not been for some time,” she said.
The proposal from Cottage Watchmen is for $9,300 to move all four tower sites over to a hardwire electrical system so the county can continue to monitor those shelters and tower sites. McSherry said a discount of $3,100 was applied to the cost because the county was willing to do all four sites at the same time.
• Approved the annual renewal of the county employee insurance with Symetra, as presented by McSherry.
• Heard a presentation from Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith and Alan Alderfer, Merit Board member, on adding the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the sheriff’s office merit deputies’ retirement. The presentation was the same one given to the county council at their May 8 meeting.
The commissioners approved a motion to revisit the issue at their 9 a.m. June 3 meeting.
• Approved a resolution allowing earned interest in banking accounts to be transferred into the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office commissary fund, as requested by KCSO matron Michelle Hyden.
“Years ago, government accounts had to be non-interest bearing accounts. They were not allowed to earn interest. Sometime in the past that changed, and what we discovered was that while some of the bank accounts and banks have been changed and modified to account for that, they were earning interest, but there wasn’t anything anywhere saying what to do with that interest, so it’s just been sitting there unused,” she explained.
Hyden sought permission from the commissioners to sweep all the earned interest into the commissary fund and then use those funds as they would the commissary funds to supplement county general for items that have already been deemed appropriate by the commissioners and county council.
She said they sought the guidance and a recommendation from the Indiana State Board of Accounts on the correct way to handle the situation. County attorney Ed Ormsby said the procedure is specified and authorized by Indiana code, and just requires authorization by the commissioners to implement that.
• Heard from KCSO Lt. Mike Mulligan that the sheriff’s office is currently using Digital Ally for body and car cameras in their fleet. However, between communication, supply issues and software support, the KCSO wants to move away from Digital Ally and toward Utility.
“Utility will come in and install 40 car cameras, 36 body cameras, unlimited storage for all videos, CAD integration and on-site training,” Mulligan said. “This will be a five-year contract through Utility, and I’m asking for approval today to move forward with that contract with Utility.”
The commissioners approved the two agreements and authorized the KCSO to sign those agreements subject to the attachment of the county standard terms.
• Approved Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty’s request to reduce the speed limit on Old 30, from 1,000 feet west of CR 350W and 435 feet east of River Ranch Road, from 55 mph down to 45 mph.
• Approved a contract with Advent Financial Systems LLC for the Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, as requested by Katie Hampton, chief deputy prosecuting attorney. Advent helps the office manage their pre-trial diversion and infraction deferral programs. It’s a three-year contract, but the office won’t pay the $1,200 nominal annual service fee until 2026 and 2027.
• Approved a renewal contract with Maximus, as requested by County Clerk Melissa Boggs. She said Maximus handles their Title IV-D Incentive Fund claims.
The county auditor’s request to contract with Maximus for the child support collections also was approved. The three-year contract is for $6,850 per year for a total of $20,550.
• Approved the first quarter operating claims for Kosciusko Area Bus Service (KABS), as presented by General Manager Kristin Rude.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2025, KABS incurred $218,978 in operating expenses. Of that, $106,390 will be covered by federal operating funds; $53,195 will be covered by the state match; and $53,196 will be covered by local sources, she said.
The commissioners also approved the expenditure of $4,866.40 to equip two buses with front-loaded bike racks, one being for the deviated fixed route being planned for Warsaw. Rude said the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) recommended the bike racks, which was supported by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The racks will be purchased from Sportworks, who was the lowest of three bidders.
• Approved the reappointment of Ben Rice to the Warsaw Community Public Library Board of Trustees.
• Approved all four rezoning requests as presented by Kosciusko Area Plan Assistant Planner Andy Heltzel. The Area Plan Commission unanimously recommended all four be approved and there were no remonstrators.
The petitions included Joseph and Roseline Slone’s request to rezone 12.06 acres just outside the Etna Green corporate limits from agricultural to commercial; Brandon and Emily Kresca’s request to rezone ground in Franklin Township from residential to agricultural; David Keever’s request to rezone 0.22 acres in Turkey Creek Township from commercial to residential; and SRKM’s request to rezone 4.22 acres, off Old 30 where Old 30 meets U.S. 30, from agricultural to residential.
On the SRKM request, the developer plans to invest $7 million to build 40 residential units. The property eventually will be annexed into the city of Warsaw.
• Were introduced to Emergency Management Agency Director Kip Shuter’s part-time EMA coordinator, Gene Reed. Reed is a retired truck driver, but also has served on the fire department at Tippecanoe Township in North Webster for the last nine years.
“Of particular interest to me was his experience in emergency management, both in the healthcare and Red Cross side, where he’s been on several deployments to disaster areas,” Shuter said.
