Wanda English Burnett, Editor

“Face the fact that next year is going to be bad,” noted Ed Armbrecht, at the regular May meeting of the County Council Monday, May 19. That sentiment was shared by Commissioner Robert Reiners, who was requesting an additional appropriation of $60,000 to replenish the salt and cinder supply. He agreed with Armbrecht that they would be getting no Major Moves money, and had already been discussing taking corrective measures for next year. “Right now we have to pay this bill,” he noted, saying the county struggled all winter. He noted that it wasn’t the amount of snowfall at any one time that was the problem, but the fact they had to continuously clear the roads.

While both men agreed on the fact that the price of fuel is causing havoc on budgets, they didn’t agree on where to get the funds from to pay the salt and cinder bill.

Armbrecht held firm that he didn’t think an additional appropriation was the appropriate manner in which to pay the bill. “We’ll have to get an additional appropriation for something else later on anyway,” noted Reiners, citing the rising costs of fuel. It was a sort of now or later approach, but in the end the council voted to transfer the needed money from the EDIT Fund (Economic Development line item) to a salt & cinder line item. It was noted there was over $296,000 in Economic Development. The motion passed six to one with Armbrecht opposing. He had suggested the money be transferred from the bituminous and stone accounts.

Reiners said he knew things would get tough and probably soon. He noted that the fuel money allocated for the highway garage is nearly gone and the year isn’t half over. He also noted that the highway department is only patching roads, not paving. “We won’t be buying any equipment,” he told the council.

There was much discussion on the issue with those who spoke agreeing that the county could and probably would face some lean times ahead.

Tom Gray, representative of Family Connections came before the council requesting funds for the next year. He gave a brief overview of the organization, saying they have three programs they offer for free to Ripley County residents: Healthy Families, Start Healthy and Prenatal Substance Use Prevention Program (PSUPP).

Some statistics on services provided by Family Connections (FC) included:

• 22,782 Ripley County clients have been served since 1983.

• 24 of the 35 employees live in Ripley County.

• For fiscal year 2008 FC has provided ongoing services for 470 Ripley County residents.

• It cost FC $1,156 per year for each client with the total cost for Ripley County clients for the year being $543,320.

Gray stressed the importance of helping these families saying “early childhood learning has benefits that extend beyond the individual child to society as a whole through reduced special education placements, juvenile crime and grade retention. It was further noted that research has shown that children who are exposed to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances in the womb, may face lifelong learning challenges and potential health risks. With that said, he noted that 30% of women who are child bearing age in the county, smoke.

He told that some clients are seen on a weekly basis and all are seen monthly. “Family Connections strives to ensure that children have a medical home, families have a medical home, immunizations and tests are done on time and parents are working or in school. With our client retention rate of 97% of clients, we are confident that we will continue to provide services to both current and future Ripley County residents.”

Armbrecht asked if Family Connections was a not for profit group, to which Gray said it was. He also asked if they work with county agencies such as WIC, welfare, the health department, etc. Gray affirmed they do. Armbrecht then asked to see an audit report with Gray saying that was no problem. The request was taken under consideration.

Chief Probation Officer Shannon Schmaltz came before the council requesting an ordinance be established to set up a fund for drug screen monies. The fund would be a self sustaining, non-reverting fund. Council advised County Attorney Neil Comer to draw up an ordinance to that effect. The rest of the request to transfer money would be taken care of at the next council meeting.

In other business:
• Council tabled the matter of how to earmark endowment funds from the Ripley County Community Foundation.
• Andrea Ingmire, librarian for the Osgood Library, requested approval for the library’s Capital Project Fund. After a short discussion, her request was unanimously approved.
• Council approved closing out four funds for the sheriff to make one fund, Home Incarceration & Work Release.
• It was noted that the jail would be paid in full May 20 with the balance being $789,152.26.
• Mary Ann McCoy said the tax bills will go out after rates are received and it should be soon.
The meeting closed with council members agreeing they would contact office holders and have a special meeting to discuss budget issues. “This works very well when everybody knows what’s expected of them,” noted Armbrecht.
All council members were in attendance: Mark Busching, Ed Armbrecht, David Simon, Donald Dunbar, Dephane Smith, Ben Peetz, and Juanita Kaiser. Mary Ann McCoy was present to take minutes, with Attorney Neil Comer present. The next council meeting was scheduled for June 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ripley County Annex..