The first reading of Porter County’s 2024 proposed budget took 15 minutes Tuesday night and brought no public comment. It was approved unanimously by all seven members of the Porter County Council.
“As you guys know, we advertise high,” said Council President Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd. “There’s no way we could pass a $54 million general fund budget.”
The average general fund budget for Porter County — the largest by far of over 100 funds — is $45 million. The proposal for 2024 is $54.2 million. Rivas explained that the general fund is increased by about $1.1 million each year.
Currently, department heads have requested nearly $3 million in total increases to the general fund, but Rivas said increases should stay within $1.4 million. “We have a lot of culling to do,” he said.
Rivas said the county’s financial adviser Baker Tilly recommends general fund reserves in the range of 15 to 20% of the annual budget. “We’re really healthy in that we have about 25% reserves in the general fund,” he said of the $11 million in the general fund that has not been promised to anything.
Because the county has such healthy reserves Rivas believes the state would approve a relatively high increase to the general fund.
Last year the general fund was increased by almost $1.5 million, but that was largely attributed to the county’s wage study. It took $500,000 to get the salaries of county employees to halfway to the midpoint of comparable workers in the private sector.
The exception was employees in public safety, such as sheriff’s deputies and E-911 dispatchers, who were brought to the midpoint. This year the county hopes to bring the rest of its employees to the midpoint and “what we can afford on top of that,” Rivas said.
Other funds with large proposed budgets include: the American Rescue Plan Act grant fund at $37.4 million; the health insurance fund at $14.4 million; the cumulative bridge fund at $9.6 million; the local income tax fund at $8 million; the highway fund at $6 million; the stormwater fund at $4.8 million; the stormwater bond construction fund at $3.3 million; the foundation budget fund at $3 million; the emergency telephone system at $3 million; the cumulative capital development fund at $2.8 million; the health fund at $2.7 million; the convention and visitors bureau fund at $2.5 million; and the highway-Community Crossing fund at $1.2 million.
The proposed budget will be divided into three evenings of second readings, the first at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, followed by more readings on Oct. 10 and Oct. 12, also at 5:30 p.m. Final reading will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
“Second reading will be a lot of talking things out, what we do every year,” Rivas said.
Councilman Andy Bozak, R-At-Large, asked if the council meetings would continue to be placed on YouTube the day after the meeting, or livestreamed as the Board of Commissioners have begun doing.
“I personally think we should be going live,” he said.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
