County council looks at the present ahead of budget season

Elizabeth Bailey

The Decatur County Council received two requests for additional funding and two updates about county progress during the board’s regular meeting Tuesday.

Jennifer Sturges, Greensburg/Decatur County Chamber of Commerce, discussed progress in the Hometown Competitiveness project. Decatur County was one of a handful of counties selected to participate in the state-wide project to enhance local communities through education, engaging youth to remain in the area, transferring wealth and promoting entrepreneurship. Sturges discussed the developing plans to get the area’s youth more involved in the community prior to leaving the county for college education.

Technology, she asserted, is the best way to reach the largest number of young people. This led the committee to investigate creating a web portal young people could access from school. It would include educational resources and opportunities to learn more about creating a solid resume, among other skills. The goal, she impressed upon the council, is to get students from seventh through 12th grade involved in the community and make them aware of local professional options.

Council president Ernie Gauck inquired about resources for students interested in agriculture, pointing to the difficulty now for students who continue their agricultural training through college and then have difficulty when it comes time to purchase a family farm or develop their careers.

Sturges noted the committee has been talking with FFA leaders about the possibility of enhancing existing business training the students receive in high school. After discussing the topic, the council members felt they had enough information about the project to watch it continuing to develop.

Vicki Kellerman, Economic Development Corporation of Greensburg and Decatur County, continued to keep the council informed by updating the members on current projects of the corporation. The Vernon Fork Water Board, she explained, has already made the recommendation to the Indiana Finance Authority for Decatur County Rural Water to receive the earmarked grant funding for water service in this area of the state. So far, no funding has been provided. If the IFA accepts the board’s recommendation, the funding would allow for the construction of a second water tower to extend the utility’s reach.

If the funding does not come through, Kellerman explained, other avenues would need to be found to increase water service in order for the county not to miss out on some new business ventures that are in the process of being discussed.

The Highway Department requested $300,000 out of the bridge fund for ongoing bridge projects, which was approved. The Clerk’s office requested $10,000 of additional funds to cover extra hours worked by staff members during the election year. These funds, Clerk Janet Chadwell explained, should take the department through the end of the year, “unless something goes completely crazy during the presidential election.”

The council will be reviewing budgets this week to determine the county’s overall 2009 budget for submission to the Department of Local Government and Finance. Department heads participated in budget hearings into the afternoon Tuesday, and the council will sit down to review and revise the requests through the day on Wednesday and potentially into Thursday.

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