The Porter County Council approved a $157.6 million budget for 2025 that includes 3% across-the-board pay raises, putting off until January a discussion of how to pay for them.
Elected officials, as well as other employees, will receive the raises.
“It’s not about appropriating the money; it’s about funding it,” County Auditor Karen Martin warned the council last week. “It’s just a budget and it’s been appropriated, but it’s not been funded.”
“If we vote for this budget at 3%, there’s no way we can fund it,” Councilman Greg Simms, D-3rd, said.
The council met twice in the same day, the first time without a quorum. At the earlier meeting, the three council members and Martin discussed how the various departments would come up with the money for raises and how long they could keep granting raises without coming up with another funding source.
Expo Center Director Lori Daly said while her staff appreciates the raises, her department is meant to be self-sustaining. The Expo Center can’t continue to sustain these raises every year without raising the cost of events, which would price the Expo Center out of the market, she said.
Martin suggested moving some of the costs back to the commissioners’ budget, which could be done in January. The Expo Center raises total $6,582, but the amount the county pays for Social Security and the Public Employees Retirement Fund is based on salaries.
The commissioners’ budget for 2025 is $1 million less than for 2024, she said, after the council cut the requested amount.
Councilman Ronald “Red” Stone, R-1st, asked if other departments are feeling the same crunch as the Expo Center.
Some would last three years, some four or more years, she said.
Stone said that’s why he voted against the raises.
“Can a group get a stipend rather than a 3%,” Simms asked.
“I thought last meeting we had things worked out,” Stone said. “We should be talking through this a little more.”
Shortfalls next year could be addressed with additional appropriations.
Even if the council wanted to change its mind on the raises, it had run out of time to do so, Martin said. It would take too much time to give adequate public notice of another budget meeting with the looming deadline for passing the budget.
“I don’t see how we can turn around and open that door back up again,” council attorney Harold Harper said.
In other business, the council passed a resolution in support of a $25 million bond for capital improvements.
The property tax rate will increase a little over a penny per $100 assessed value to pay for the bond, consultant Jason Semler, of Baker Tilly, said.
Bonds would be sold Dec. 5, two days after the Board of Commissioners and council approve an ordinance for them. That’s to avoid the Christmas rush, when demand increases. “The money will be in the bank Dec. 21,” Semler said.
At the end of the meeting, Harper said he reviewed the video of the council’s previous meeting, which proved contentious. Some of the council members were talking over each other, which made listening to the video more difficult.
The council has informally relied on Robert’s Rules of Order. “It’s 700 pages. It’s just unwieldy,” he said. “I’m an attorney, and my head spins.”
Harper provided council members with a “For Dummies” version to review in case the council want to formally adopt the streamlined rules.
“So basically, you’re saying we’re not smart enough to read the black one,” teased Councilman Andy Vasquez, R-4th.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
