Council works through 2027 budget, weighs wages, roads and staffing
The Owen County Council spent two days reviewing departmental spending plans for 2027, with discussions ranging from employee compensation and health insurance to road funding, staffing, and the effects of reductions in state funding.
The budget workshops followed the council’s Aug. 26 regular meeting and continued the following day, with council members reviewing budgets from nearly every county department.
While dozens of individual line items were discussed, several broader issues emerged as the council worked toward a proposed 2027 county budget.
Road funding prompts concern
Road funding generated some of the most significant discussion during both the regular meeting and budget workshops.
During the Aug. 26 meeting, the council agreed to advertise requests for an additional $500,000 from each of three road funds: a total of $1.5 million for road projects.
Council members questioned whether spending those funds could leave the county short if its Community Crossings Matching Grant (CCMG) funding is less than anticipated.
County officials said current projects include approximately $425,000 for several roads, a roughly $56,000 culvert on Rattlesnake Road, and work associated with approximately 200 road culverts. Officials also said they were uncertain whether anticipated federal reimbursement for the Rattlesnake Road project would materialize.
The discussion continued during the budget workshops, when officials considered how much the highway department can realistically spend in 2027 while maintaining adequate cash balances.
Commissioner Sam Hobbs described 2027 as a potential “breaking point” for the highway department if additional resources are not identified, saying the county currently has $500,000 or less annually available for road improvements and emphasizing the cost of preparing roads, including ditching and culvert work, before paving.
No final decisions on all highway spending were made during the workshops.
Council chooses approach to employee raises
One of the longest discussions centered on compensation for county employees.
The county has been working to move employee salaries toward target wages established through its compensation study rather than simply providing the same percentage increase to every employee.
Officials presented several scenarios. Merely accounting for longevity increases would cost approximately $76,800, while immediately bringing employees all the way to the compensation study midpoint would cost approximately $622,300.
Council members ultimately selected a proposal that moves employees who remain below their target wage 20% closer to that target while providing a one-half percent cost-of-living adjustment to employees who would not otherwise receive an increase.
Under that scenario, many employees who remain below the midpoint would receive increases of approximately four percent to five percent, while elected officials and some employees already at or above their target would receive the smaller cost-of-living adjustment. The estimated overall cost was approximately $306,000.
Health insurance remains a concern
Employee health insurance also received considerable attention.
The county currently pays approximately 94% of employees’ health insurance costs, a benefit council members said they would like to preserve if financially possible. However, officials acknowledged that rising insurance costs could eventually require reconsidering how those costs are shared.
For budgeting purposes, officials estimated approximately $12,500 per full-time employee for insurance and related benefits.
Council members also discussed reorganizing the way insurance expenses appear in the county budget. Instead of maintaining group insurance line items in numerous departmental funds, the council is considering placing the expense in one central account under the commissioners’ budget.
The council directed officials to study the change and return with more information, potentially at the Sept. 14 meeting.
State cuts shift community corrections costs to county
Another significant issue surfaced during the review of probation and community corrections.
Owen County’s community corrections program is dealing with a reduction in Indiana Department of Correction grant funding. Officials said the department has experienced approximately $122,000 in grant reductions over two years, including nearly $88,000 in the latest reduction.
The department requested county assistance with employee insurance costs as one way to absorb the reduction without cutting additional positions.
Officials told the council that community corrections departments statewide are experiencing similar reductions as the Department of Correction shifts funding away from community supervision and toward correctional facilities. The earliest potential change in how those grants are administered would be 2028, leaving counties to address the funding gap in 2027.
Veterans service position could become full-time
The council also spent time discussing whether the county’s Veterans Service Officer (VSO) position should become full-time.
The position has been budgeted at approximately 20 hours per week, but officials discussed increasing it to 35 hours. The estimated annual cost of making the change, including benefits and payroll expenses, is approximately $30,800.
Council members also supported increasing the position’s hours for the remainder of 2026, without adding benefits, so the office can provide additional service to local veterans.
The permanent change for 2027 remains among the items the council must consider as it finalizes the budget.
Other staffing questions remain
The workshops also included discussion about adding or restructuring administrative and human resources duties within county government.
Rather than immediately creating a position, council members discussed defining the county’s human resources needs, developing a job description and determining an appropriate classification and salary. A separate administrative position could potentially be full- or part-time depending on what the council ultimately decides to do with HR responsibilities.
Those positions were left among the council’s “wish list” items for further consideration.
Regular meeting includes appropriations, mileage change
Before beginning the budget workshops Aug. 26, the council conducted its regular meeting.
Among the more notable actions was a $36,000 transfer within the 911 budget to cover overtime. Officials said two full-time positions were vacant and discussed using available group insurance funds for the transfer.
The council also agreed to advertise several additional appropriations for consideration in September, including the $1.5 million in road funding. The council authorized advertising up to $45,000 for the CentralSquare public safety software system and $9,600 for WTH Technology expenses.
Council members also approved updating the county’s mileage reimbursement ordinance to match the state rate of 64 cents per mile.
Budget work continues
By the conclusion of the workshops, the preliminary 2027 spending plan totaled approximately $23 million. Officials cautioned that the figure represents expenditures and does not account for revenues available to support those expenses.
Despite increases in several areas, council members said the preliminary numbers appeared manageable, although several “wish list” items remain to be considered before the budget is finalized. Those items are expected to return to the council for decisions at an upcoming meeting.
The Owen County Council will hold its next regular meeting Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.
The council will meet again Tuesday, Oct. 13, with a public hearing on the proposed 2027 budget at 6 p.m. The council’s regular meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m. Each of these meetings will be held in the Commissioners’ Room, located on the second floor of the Owen County Courthouse.
