The Decatur County Council met for their first day of budget meetings on Monday August 17th. The meeting lasted nearly three hours.
The council heard from several departments during the meeting. One of the major discussions during the meeting was a request from the Tourism Department where they were requesting a $50,000 salary plus benefits to hire a proposed full-time sales and promotion person who would be working to market county assets, including the fairgrounds, and driving tourism to Greensburg and Decatur County. Executive Director Erica Gunn stated that this position would be an additional ask to their previously requested budgets in the past. Council members questioned why the position couldn’t be paid for out of the department’s reserves that is more than $300,000. Gunn stated that she would like to have that in her department funds for future needs. Council members suggested taking the funds from the department’s reserves and using them for the first year and then having those additional dollars that the sales position brings in and using some of those funds for salary moving forward.
Council members also spoke about concerns that the proposed salary for a sales position that would have to travel seemed low and they had concerns if someone with the right sales experience and abilities would take the position.
Council members spoke about who should oversee the position. Some council members felt that the position should report to the Tourism office and others felt that the position should report directly to the commissioners.
The council heard from Chris Noblitt, Decatur County Parks & Recreation Department Director where he spoke about proposed pool budgeted needs, requests for raises for himself and others within his department. Noblitt stated that he had conducted an internal review of surrounding counties and their salaries and he felt that he may have even undervalued his salary when he started the position. Stating that other counties have higher salaries. He spoke about additional funding that he would like to have to update parks in the county.
A few council members asked if the Township Trustees were helping pay for costs in the parks and Noblitt stated that they handle mowing and picking up garbage. The county Parks Department handles upkeep and maintenance of those facilities.
Sheriff Bill Meyerrose presented his budget, and it included several items aimed at department cost savings that he said his team have been working on and also strategies to help retain employees. Meyerrose spoke about one of the cost reductions to be $20,000 from the gasoline budget line through collaborative efforts working with the County Highway Department. He is requesting an additional $10,000 in his tire line item.
The Sheriff spoke about the need for a significant pay adjustment citing surrounding counties and local agencies- such as the Greensburg Police Department (GPD) and their wages which are higher. One of the comparisons that he spoke about was that GPD offers a 2% annual longevity pay structure. The Sheriff requested a 6% wage increase across all merit deputies, detention officers, and administrative staff. He closed his time allotted stating that he felt that these base rate adjustments are needed to maintain competitive recruitment and staff retention.
Decatur County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Snyder spoke about expenses this upcoming year that will be needed on different pieces of equipment that the department owns. He did include a request to increase salaries including $10,000 for his own salary. He explained that the county receives a grant- Emergency Management Performance Grant that is to be used for salaries for his department. The example that was given was that of the $10,000 request that he proposed for his own salary the grant would cover an amount of that leaving the county with only $4,500.
Dottie Robbins, Recorder began her time explaining that she did not make any cuts to her budget as she has done in the past and she has worked diligently to ensure that the department ran smoothly and efficiently. Dottie did voice her concerns about the salaries being paid in the county. Robbins stated, “I hate begging, but the pay is so disappointing for our office because the ladies in the office have been here longer, they’ve worked here longer than others that are in the same category. They aren’t getting paid the same and I don’t understand and I didn’t understand when I brought it up at a council meeting.” She ended her time at the microphone by stating, “Pay the ladies what they are worth, don’t have the attitude that oh, they’re this age and for them to go find another job, they probably won’t, so we just won’t worry about it. We won’t give them that. I don’t like that. If that has been your attitude, it’s not right. It’s discriminatory. So, last time. I’m out.”
This was the first meeting of the council to discuss the 2027 budget. No decisions were made during the meeting.
