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Probation officers - who are state employees but paid by the county - won’t get the 3% raise in 2027 that county non-merit employees will receive because they were approved last year for a $5,000 stipend this year - which they won’t receive until December - for their past work.
A night shift differential of $1 per hour for Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office nighttime employees was tabled by the Kosciusko County Council Thursday until their October meeting.
Both matters came up during the council’s budget hearings Thursday night.
Temporary Council Chairman Joe Irwin read the 2027 county budget ordinance into the record. The 2027 budget estimates for tax levy funds are:
• General Fund, advertised budgeted amount $36,095,872; advertised tax levy, $17,940,000; estimated tax rate, $0.2189 per $100 of assessed value; estimated total assessed value, $8,196,233,387.
• Reassessment Fund, advertised budgeted amount, $706,961; advertised tax levy, $920,000; estimated tax rate, $0.0112.
• Cumulative Bridge Fund, advertised budgeted amount, $2,020,000; advertised tax levy, $2,875,000; estimated tax rate, $0.0351.
• Health Fund, advertised budgeted amount, $1,321,370; advertised tax levy, $1,265,000; estimated tax rate, $0.0154.
• Cumulative Capital Development Fund, advertised budgeted amount, $4,902,400; advertised tax levy, $4,485,000; estimated tax rate, $0.0547.
“The estimated total tax rate for 2027 is 0.3353. The tax rate for 2026 was 0.1952, after final adjustments were made,” Irwin said. “The total assessed value for 2026 was $9,642,615,749. The total assessed value for 2027 is $9,684,457,708, and increase of $41,841,959 from 2026.”
After the final adjusted budget is sent to the Department of Local Government Finance in October, Irwin said the levies and tax rates will likely be lowered, depending on final certified assessed values.
Wages
Irwin then went over the 2027 wage increases approved by the council, which included a 3% wage increase for all county non-merit employees. Merit officers will receive a $5,000 wage increase only.
Chief Probation Officer Tammy Johnston requested the probation officers would also receive a 3% increase since no raises were allowed by the state for the probation officers.
“This was discussed and tabled at the budget hearings in August for a decision at the September council meeting,” Irwin said.
Johnston said, “We’re really fortunate to live in this county that has openly recognized the hard work of its employees, expressed appreciation for them and decided to provide them an increase in their salaries to help defray the rising costs and encourage employee retention. Our county probation officers deserve the same as they tirelessly work heavy case loads and help rehabilitate offenders, keep our community safe and keep the jail population manageable. We are requesting the same COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) granted to all county employees, to likewise acknowledge these exceptional employees and encourage retention.”
As of Thursday, she said there were 1,759 people on probation in the county. There are 13 probation officers.
“It’s also important to note that the COLA, if granted, does not add an additional 3% to probation officers’ salary forever,” Johnston said. “When the Judicial Conference of Indiana determines that the mandatory minimum should be raised by 3%, the 3% COLA would be essentially absorbed or swallowed up by that new minimum and the county would simply continue paying them the mandatory minimum salary as requested by law.”
She continued, “As you recall, although the law requires the mandatory minimum to be paid from the county general fund, it does provide the supplemental salaries to be paid from the probation user fee fund. This means, that the COLA for probation officers would not be paid by any taxpayer dollars, but rather paid entirely by probation user fees and that the 3% would increase the FICA and the PERF that would be increased with the increase of the salaries.”
Councilman Will Stockdale reiterated to Johnston the same thing he told her at the last budget meeting. He said the probation officers get a $5,000 stipend in December that was approved for them last year.
“That’s more than what a 2% raise last year and a 3% raise this year would have been, so I’m not comfortable giving you a 3% on top of what was already more than what the other county employees were getting,” he said.
Councilwoman Rachael Rhoades said she was in favor last year of giving the $5,000 stipend to the probation officers this year, but like Stockdale was not in favor of approving a 3% increase for next year but would entertain the idea of having the conversation again next year for 2028.
Judge Karin McGrath said, “The stipend that was discussed was being discussed for an incredibly long period of time. And, it took a while. It was more backward looking for what happened, essentially good work, and not receiving increases. So, I would be saddened to see, because of the length of time it took to get that through, that that affects negatively a decision for 2027. That was actually granted looking back, a couple years prior, not forward-looking for 2027.”
Councilwoman Kimberly Cates said that stipend was in limbo for around two years.
Judge Chad Miner echoed McGrath’s comments about the hard work the probation department does. “Judge McGrath and I are here tonight, but I think it’s safe to say that all the county judges are unanimous in our support for probation and our thinking is that it’s a well-deserved raise that they’re asking for,” he stated.
Stockdale said if the state, who has not given any state employees a raise in the last two years, decides to make up for that and give a 6-8% in a couple years, “are you going to give the 3% back?”
Johnston said it would not be a 6-8% raise on top of the 3%. Raises are given based on the mandatory minimum amounts, not what a person is making.
Cates eventually made a motion to table the matter, but no one seconded the motion. Stockdale then made a motion to leave the probation officers’ salaries alone and not do a 3% raise out of the Supplemental Users Fee Fund, which Rhoades seconded and the motion passed 4-1, with Cates opposed.
Later in the night, Cates made a motion to give the sheriff’s office night shift a $1-per-hour increase because she felt they deserved it and they’re worth it. She also said she didn’t want to show favoritism and they do a good job. Rhoades seconded the motion.
Sheriff Jim Smith said, “It would be a night shift differential for all night-shift employees, so it’s going cover dispatch, work release, jail ... all night shift. All my divisions have two shifts - 6A to 6P and 6P to 6A.” He said he’s always talking about recruiting and retention and the night shift differential is something that’s seen across the state in other sheriff’s offices and the Warsaw Police Department. The differential is an incentive for the night shift and isn’t something new to the industry, though it would be new to Kosciusko County.
Asked by County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker to clarify what her motion was, Cates said, “I would like to make a motion to give, for a night-shift differential, to those members in the sheriff’s department, that are not merit officers.” Rhoades seconded the motion due to her concern about the turnover and the investment the county has in the employees.
Irwin said the wage committee talked a lot about the night-shift differential and they recommended to not approve the differential, but they could discuss it again in 2027.
Wolkins wanted to know the cost of the differential. Stockdale said he had a problem voting on it without any numbers available and asked to table the matter, which the council ended up doing.
The council also approved the 2027 Kosciusko County budget with changes, with the exception of the night-shift differential.
Other Budgets
The council also had 2027 budget hearings for the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District (KCSWMD) and the Syracuse Public Library.
KCSWMD Executive Director Thomas Ganser said the budget he was presenting was for $526,697. The District gets most of its revenue from host fees from the Kosciusko County Landfill, but it does “take a slight tax to the debts collected, but it’s at the lowest percentage, 0.0038 percent,” he said, noting there was “nothing earth-shaking” about the budget.
The KCSWMD’s annual budget was approved.
Syracuse Public Library Executive Director Jon Gaskill said he had a conversation with Stockdale on the library’s 2027 budget and it was lowered to reflect a 0% increase for 2027 over 2026. The total of the budget is $950,104. The budget was approved.
In other business during the budget hearing, the council:
• Approved grant funds from the Indiana Department of Corrections for Community Corrections for staff salaries in the 2027 budget, as requested by Community Corrections Director James Henry.
Stockdale did make a motion to remove $65,000 for a new vehicle out of the 2027 Community Corrections vehicle fund, which was approved 5-0.
• Approved the Reentry Court grant budget for 2027, as requested by McGrath.
In their regular meeting Thursday, the council approved:
• KCSO Lt. Mike Mulligan’s request for an appropriation adjustment for $1,000 for an insurance reimbursement for a 2025 Ford Explorer that was involved in an accident.
• Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Troy Kintzel’s request to apply for a 50/50 Community Crossings Matching Grant totaling $645,000, with the county’s portion being $322,500 of that.
• McGrath’s request to transfer $20,000 from the county’s Opioid Restricted Funds that was granted from the Opioid Committee to Reentry Court.
• Henry’s request for the Kosciusko County Drug Court to apply for a $9,000 Kosciusko Coalition on Drug Education grant.
