(*Councilmember Sutton arrived shortly after conclusion of attendance roll call)

President Winnecke: Would you please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

(Pledge of Allegiance was given)

President Winnecke: Please let the record reflect that Mr. Sutton has joined us.

President Winnecke: Okay, at this time I would entertain approval of the minutes from our August 3rd meeting and the August 9th through 11th budget meeting.

Councilmember Raben: So moved.

President Winnecke: Do I have a second on approval of the minutes please?

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

President Winnecke: Okay, at this time I’ll turn the agenda and the floor over to Mr. Raben, our Finance Chair.

Councilmember Raben: Thank you, Mr. President.

TREASURER

Councilmember Raben: First, under County Treasurer, 1030-3610 Legal Services in the amount of 2,400, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

TREASURER                                                         REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

SHERIFF

Councilmember Raben: Okay, next under Sheriff 1050-1210 3,500, 1050-1300 90,000, 1050-1520 1,500, for a total of $95,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: There’s a motion and second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

SHERIFF                                                                REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

JAIL

Councilmember Raben: Next under Jail, 1051-2240 Medical in the amount of $90,000, 1051-3051 Lodging of Inmates in the amount of 38,068, for a total of 128,068. I make that in the form of a motion and can answer any questions there may be with that.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: And the final number is 128,068?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Councilmember Sutton: And the Medical number one more time?

Councilmember Raben: 90,000.

President Winnecke: There’s a motion and second. Questions or discussion?

Councilmember Raben: I might go ahead and explain that. That makes up, that 38,068 makes up the balance. If you turn back and look at where there was a transfer request out of Lodging of Inmates in the amount of $98,432. My motion, when we get to that point, will be not to grant that transfer, so this 38,000 makes up the balance of what’s requested.

President Winnecke: Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

JAIL                                                                       REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

SURVEYOR

Councilmember Raben: Okay next, Surveyor 1060-1210-1060 Assistant to Surveyor 500, FICA at $39, PERF at 30, for a total of $569, I move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

SURVEYOR                                                           REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

ELECTION OFFICE

Councilmember Raben: Election Office, 1210-3630 Equipment Lease & Rental in the amount of $200, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

ELECTION OFFICE                                               REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

COMMISSIONERS

Councilmember Raben: Commissioners, 1300-3050 Patient & Inmate in the amount of 500,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

COMMISSIONERS                                                REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

WEIGHTS & MEASURES

Councilmember Raben: Weights & Measures 1302-4230 for $24,800, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

WEIGHTS & MEASURES                                      REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

PUBLIC DEFENDER AGENCY

Councilmember Raben: Okay, Public Defender Agency, 1303-1620-1303 through 1303-1900 set in at zero. I make that in the form of a motion.

President Winnecke: There’s a motion, do I hear a second to set these in at zero?

Councilmember Tornatta: I’ll give it a second just to get –

President Winnecke: Get it on the floor? Very well. Discussion or questions? Mr. Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes. Did we decide what ramifications we’d have if we didn’t go by the guidelines of the state?

President Winnecke: Would you like to answer? You asked Mr. Ahlers to research that.

Councilmember Abell: As a matter of fact, I’ll defer to Jeff because I asked Mr. Ahlers to research this for us. I thought there was a question with the statute.

Councilmember Tornatta: Super.

Jeff Ahlers: I spoke with – well, first of all, I looked at the statute or any statutes mandating that we have to give a raise. I did speak with Chief Public Defender Steve Owens to ask him if there were any contracts or anything that, you know, maybe we weren’t privy to with the state. He sent me what guidelines or, you know, motions or ordinances had been passed regarding the public defender’s office and there is nothing at this time that would cause a penalty to the county for not paying that. There are guidelines, I guess, that suggest that the salary should, you know, be at the 90% level, but he agreed that at this point it would not cause there to be a penalty in the reimbursement. So the worst thing that would ever happen would be, at some point, we’d need to look into it further. He suggested that, I guess, that I guess the state was trying to get everybody, as of January 1, 2007, to be in compliance with the guidelines. But, I mean, there’s no legal ramifications. I guess, the worst thing that happens is someday if the state decides that they want that to occur, could, you know, make indication that might, could affect the reimbursement level from the state in accordance with the program. But as of now, in talking with Mr. Owens, it will not be a problem. So that’s up to you what you want to do with regard the appropriation request.

Councilmember Tornatta: And do they have a certain time that they have to notify a county of a change in a reimbursement situation where we would have to meet certain guidelines?

Jeff Ahlers: Well, that I can’t answer whether they need to tell you in advance or not, whether or not they would change their reimbursement. I can check into that for you, if you’d like. And I can also give you, you know, copies of the guidelines and such that I received from Mr. Owens, if you would like.

Councilmember Tornatta: Okay. Well, I mean, I guess we don’t have to make this happen today, but yeah, if you could find out something along those lines because, obviously, if that hit our reimbursement, that would affect us more than a $4,500 number.

President Winnecke: Any other questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

PUBLIC DEFENDER AGENCY                             REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

SUPERINTENDENT OF COUNTY BUILDINGS

Councilmember Raben: Okay, Superintendent of County Buildings, 1310-3200 Utilities in the amount of 60,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

SUPERINTENDENT OF COUNTY BUILDINGS   REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

CIRCUIT COURT

Councilmember Raben: Circuit Court 1360-3903 in the amount of $10,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

CIRCUIT COURT                                                   REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

BURDETTE PARK

Councilmember Raben: Burdette Park, 1450-1180-1450 Other Employees in the amount of $35,000, 1450-3580 Vehicle Repair for $2,000, for a total of 37,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Mr. Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: At our last meeting I did ask Superintendent Craig to give us an update on the income or the revenue for the park over the past few weeks or in comparison to last year, so he does have that figure. We’ve got such a stack of papers here, Steve, that you made reference to it, but I can’t find it in this stack. Can you at least give us maybe a brief summation of where we stand on revenue in relation to last year?

Steve Craig: Steve Craig, Manager of Burdette Park. From 2005 to 2004, on the pool facility, we’re approximately $20,000 above last year. The rentals are about $7,000 above. Day Camp was 2,000 below. Miscellaneous was 400. Previous year intake was 10,000 ahead, for a grand total of 35,000 more than we had last year at this time in our intake. And in comparison to the end of June, we were $45,000 behind last year, at the end of June, so since the end of June until the end of August, we have made about an $80,000 turnaround from last year.

Councilmember Sutton: Good. Now I did ask him as well, I mean, there was, just so that we’re – have a good understanding. Part of it, we did have a slight fee increase at the aquatic center, is that –

Steve Craig: Yes sir. And there was no increase on the buildings. The Discovery Lodge, it went up five percent.

Councilmember Sutton: Its good news. Thank you.

Steve Craig: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Steve. Other questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

BURDETTE PARK                                                 REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

CCD/COMMISSIONERS

Councilmember Raben: Okay next, under CCD funds, County Commissioners 2031-1300-3340 Juvenile Correction Facility in the amount of 700,000, 2031-1300-4416 University Parkway $875,000 for a total of $1,575,000. I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Mr. Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: On the facility that we’re going to approve, we pay for empty beds, is that correct, if they’re not being used?

President Winnecke: The, right now, the county is negotiating with the Youth Care facility for a flat annual rate that would be paid no matter how many beds would be utilized during any given time and Vanderburgh County would be credited for any empty beds that they would, that the Youth Care Center would lease out, if you would, to other counties.

Councilmember Goebel: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Mrs. Abell?

Councilmember Abell: I requested that we have a board member. Has that been addressed?

President Winnecke: Could you come forward, Chuck?

Chuck Harper: Good morning. Chuck Harper, Director of the Youth Care Center. We have addressed that and, Ms. Abell, we are willing to do that. It think the more appropriate appointment is on the Youth Care Center Advisory Committee because it focuses solely on the Youth Care Center and not a full board appointment to the issues that would have to do with the Rescue Mission or Camp Reveal. But we are willing to have somebody on the board if that’s what the Council feels is appropriate. I think an appointment to the Advisory Committee is a more appropriate appointment.

Councilmember Abell: Who controls your budget?

Chuck Harper: The Youth Care Center budget or the budget as whole?

Councilmember Abell: Who would be in charge of watching over the taxpayers’ money if we were to approve this and spend our money on it?

Chuck Harper: Our board. The Rescue Mission Board.

Councilmember Abell: Not the Advisory Board?

Chuck Harper: Not the Advisory Committee, no.

Councilmember Abell: Then I would like to see us have a member on the board that takes care of the money.

Chuck Harper: Okay.

President Winnecke: Other questions or more discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

CCD/COMMISSIONERS                                        REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

REASSESSMENT/PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT BOARD OF APPEALS

Councilmember Raben: Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals 2490-1091-3530 Contractual Services in the amount of 31,500, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second, questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT

BOARD OF APPEALS                                          REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

SURVEYOR CORNER PERPETUATION

Councilmember Raben: Okay, Surveyor Corner Perpetuation Fund 2650-1220-2650 Chief Deputy in the amount of $20,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

SURVEYOR CORNER PERPETUATION             REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

COMMISSIONERS

Councilmember Raben: Okay, under transfers we have a transfer for County Commissioners, I’m going to move that these lines be set in at zero and ask that they file an appropriation for these accounts for October.

Councilmember Sutton: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion?

Councilmember Tornatta: Do we set in that amount of $98,432?

Councilmember Raben: No, we’re not transferring.

Councilmember Tornatta: I know we’re not transferring. Do we need to vote on using that money out of that fund or does it get...

Councilmember Raben: No, they will just pay that.

Councilmember Tornatta: Okay, it will be in there. Okay, I didn’t know if there was any clarification that needed to be made.

President Winnecke: Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

COMMISSIONERS                                                REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

CUMULATIVE BRIDGE

Councilmember Raben: And Cum Bridge, we have a transfer in the amount of $98,000, I’ll move approval.

Councilmember Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote please.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

CUMULATIVE BRIDGE                                         REQUESTED       APPROVED

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

Councilmember Raben: Okay, last we have the amendments to the Salary Ordinance. I move that we set salary line 1050-1300 under Sheriff Overtime account in as previously adopted. Under Surveyor, set salary line 1060-1210 Assistant to Surveyor in as previously adopted. The 2005 salary is $41,552. Burdette Park, set salary line 1450-1180 Other Employees in as previously adopted. And Super-intendent of County Buildings, amend Salary Ordinance to allow part-time Buildings and Groundskeeper employees to be paid at the rate of $7.50 per hour. I make that in the form of a motion.

Councilmember Tornatta: Second.

President Winnecke: Motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

President Winnecke: Okay, under new business, I do have an appointment to the Willard Library Board of Trustees, that person is Bob Davies. And I do not have an appointment yet to the Human Relations Board, so if anyone has a suggestion I’d be happy to hear that.

President Winnecke: At this time, the last bit of business that I am aware of has to do with the proposal to adopt tax phase-in guidelines. Mr. Tornatta has been working a lot on this topic over the last three months. It started out with Mrs. Abell, myself and Mr. Tornatta, and developed into a broader based committee that has really put a lot of hours in and did a nice job, I think, to craft a document that, I think on the surface looks like it could work for the county. Mr. Tornatta, if you would like to lead the discussion here, you’re more than welcome to.

Councilmember Tornatta: Just so all Councilmembers know, the new document, again, is on your desks. And it is the latest and the newest document that we’ve revised and I believe this is the most correct document. So this would be the one that we’d be following in looking at any information. Anything you’ve received before, just go ahead and put aside and any earmarks, we’d be happy to discuss, but it might have been addressed in this newest document. If it would please the Council, I’d like to bring up a few of the architects of this document, Evan Beck, possibly Kim Howard, Marco DeLucio, I know Ken Robinson was involved in some capacities, as well as Rob Schaefer. If this Council has any questions or, Evan, if you would like to make a brief statement just to talk about what things we’ve gone through. I know we’ve kind of hit on it before, but I think you have the document that your group supports.

Evan Beck: Again, Evan Beck, President of Woodward Development and Construction. Appreciate you having us here today. Troy is accurate. We, the last time we met with you there were some errors that were discovered in the document. The one you have in front of you today appears to be the document that was agreed upon by all parties. We have spent many, many hours, a lot of hard work to getting to this point and the group that Troy is mentioning, basically the economic development ad-hoc committee that was formed by several local community leaders, and we do support the document in full and think that it will be a document that represents the community in retaining and expanding companies that are currently here, and also hoping to attract new businesses to the area, and it addresses the issue of preserving and creating our tax base, which is the whole purpose of using tax phase in as an economic incentive. And we are here today to answer any potential questions that you may have. And I think that the differences between, I think Councilman Raben asked, to outline the differences between the current city guideline versus this new proposed county guideline, there were a few, I think four that were outlined and provided for you. So again, if you have any questions, please let us know.

President Winnecke: I think I’ll start if its – make sure I get the right page here on the new...I had it earlier and lost it. I apologize.

Councilmember Sutton: Evan, since we have the benefit of having the actual copy of those differences between those, addressing Councilman Raben’s question he had, could you cover through those since everyone doesn’t have what we have before us today?

Evan Beck: Yes sir, Councilman Sutton. Difference number one, the county guideline document that’s proposed today requires the applicant is asked to meet with all Councilmembers before County Council action on tax phase-in applications. Item number two, applicants are requires to have made reasonable efforts to substantially comply with the statement of benefits. Again, the focus is on reasonable efforts to substantially comply. Item 3, Council and DMD are responsible for scoring the project. Again, the scoring sheets that are in your document are very self explanatory and I think concise. Item 4 and the final item, scoring guidelines have been revised including more points for some questions, different questions, and the scores can go beyond 100 points, and bonus points have been added as well for certain items that we felt were important to the community. Those are the major differences at this point in time.

President Winnecke: Evan, I’d like to ask, when we first addressed this issue two or three months ago, one of the kind of sticky wickets was the whole issue of construction wage. If you could address in the bonus criteria scoring that specific element and from a developer’s standpoint, are you satisfied now that this language would not be a deterrent to recruiting potential industries to our community?

Evan Beck: Yeah, you know, its been a document that we’ve worked very hard on as we’ve stated earlier and its not the most perfect scenario, but again, for the community as a whole, we think this is the best representation that we can put forth today. Again, it may be modified six months, nine months from now if we find there’s a problem, but from where we started three months ago, Councilman Winnecke, to where we are today, I think the document is in a form that is acceptable. And again, its more about a substantial portion of the construction being completed under certain parameters. And I don’t think, personally, that it will deter potential expansion or retention or attraction of companies to this area.

President Winnecke: Okay. The other question I had along the lines of the bonus questions, the notes I made in reviewing this, the Council may award up to ten points to a project if the applicant commits to award a substantial percentage of the total fees for construction associated with the project to companies licensed to do business in Vanderburgh County. Won’t everyone claim they’re going to do this on an application for the additional points, and how do we kind of police that in our scoring?

Evan Beck: I know how it could be policed from my company, it would be a simple check with the Area Plan Commission on who is licensed to receive the permit for the project and it would be a very simple check –

President Winnecke: But won’t most companies come here before they do that?

Evan Beck: Yes.

President Winnecke: So our – so really, our oversight really comes at the annual compliance –

Evan Beck: Absolutely, and the compliance from the standpoint of years one through whatever is awarded to the company, they come back in here in front of you. You have full authority as written by Indiana Code to respond accordingly to whether or not an applicant will still receive the full amount or a portion of the tax phase-in.

Councilmember Tornatta: And if I might add, that was really one of our big bases for looking at all these criteria. We knew that at some point we could call a company in every year to talk about a compliance issue if that were the case and we knew that, in fact, some of the language was taken out to put a penalty against a company because you pay in arrears. So after that first year, if they’re not in compliance, we could hit them with a do not pass which would pin taxes on them within 30 days. So we really thought that the policing mechanism would be the compliance hearing and everyone on that board thought that it’s a great opportunity for the Council to have that set in place.

Evan Beck: I’ll further that comment by saying that, with the help of Marco DeLucio on the board and other members on the committee, we spent a lot of time trying to get the document as clean as possible in our opinion, and making sure that it meets current Indiana Code in how it relates to tax phase-in.

Councilmember Raben: Mr. President, I’ll move approval of the document establishing guidelines for tax phase-in for Vanderburgh County.

Councilmember Goebel: Second.

President Winnecke: There’s a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Mr. Sutton, are you poised to say something?

Councilmember Sutton: I have nothing to say other than I’m ready to vote.

President Winnecke: I would just offer a couple of comments. One, I think one of the things I really like about, especially the scoring system, I just went through and just got half the points in each of the categories on the personal property you could score 83 points and still qualify according to the guidelines for a seven year phase-in, which I think is good, so you don’t have to have a perfect application in order to be considered for, I think, a generous phase-in. I think that’s good. I think the last comment I’d like to make is, just as a reminder for the Councilmembers, and I’m assuming that this going to pass today, is that, you know, these are guidelines. It does not – each of us can take our own measures into account when we score and consider each phase-in. So these are just guidelines and I think that’s important to consider as we move forward. And lastly, I would just like to thank everyone who’s been involved in this from the Council’s standpoint and from the Chamber’s standpoint, and Vision-e. I think it’s a good document and at this time, roll call vote.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Sutton?

Councilmember Sutton: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Abell?

Councilmember Abell: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Goebel?

Councilmember Goebel: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: Councilmember Raben?

Councilmember Raben: Yes.

Teri Lukeman: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion unanimously approved 6-0)

President Winnecke: Any other – Mr. Tornatta?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yes, one other piece of business that’s come before us. The state has mandated and, of course, I’ve lost that page, but the state has mandated that we send all our Voter Registration documents to the state to have those processed and Mr. Bushrod here would like to make a comment on that. And he’s kind of done a little investigation. I think he’s going to save the county a few dollars.

Anthony Bushrod: I’m Anthony Bushrod, Co-Manager of Voter Registration. The company – its been mandated we send all of our cards up to have the signatures scanned. We can’t do it locally. They want to charge us $930 to come down and get the cards, we’ve got about 120,000, come down and get the cards and take them back up there. I looked into me taking them personally and it would be a lot cheaper. In front of you, you should have a copy of map quest that shows how many miles it is one way, but a round trip would be like 353 miles or so. Also, there is a sheet that shows what the recommended IRS mileage rate is, which includes figuring gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and that’s 48.5 cents per mile, which comes to a total for a round trip of $171.48. Now, at a later date, I would have to go back and pick the cards back up because it takes them three to four weeks to get them processed, but still, that’s a lot cheaper than the $930 that they want to charge.

Councilmember Tornatta: And at some point, we even talked about possibly getting a couple of counties to go on the same –

Anthony Bushrod: Right, that fell through. Yeah and, you know, I wouldn’t want to accept responsibility of taking theirs.

President Winnecke: So the state was going to charge us $930 –

Anthony Bushrod: Well, not the state. The company that’s scanning the cards. You should have a chart in there that shows what they’re charging each county.

President Winnecke: Mrs. Abell, as the former Clerk, is this a good idea, do you think?

Councilmember Abell: I actually discussed this with Mr. Bushrod briefly and I think it’s the best idea. I’m concerned that he can’t stay with our cards, but I guess that’s –

Anthony Bushrod: I would love to, but three or four weeks, you know...

Councilmember Abell: But he is going to do a spot check to make sure we get all of them back.

Anthony Bushrod: Right.

President Winnecke: Do we need a motion on this or...what do we need to do?

Councilmember Tornatta: I guess we just wanted to bring it to the attention of the Council. I don’t think we can necessarily – I don’t know if we can appropriate any money in that area which would come, probably come out of Travel/Mileage, I imagine, in the Commissioner’s budget. But just kind of wanted to bring it to your attention when this comes down that it’s a $931 mandatory fee that we’d have to – is that each way or is that one way?

Anthony Bushrod: That’s round trip.

Councilmember Tornatta: Is that bringing it back?

Anthony Bushrod: Right.

Councilmember Tornatta: Okay, so that’s quite a bit. I think we can save a few dollars.

Anthony Bushrod: You know, I told them I would call them back if things changed, but I set a date for the 23rd.

Councilmember Abell: September?

Anthony Bushrod: Yeah, and I told them I would have them up there between 8 and 12.

President Winnecke: Thank you for thinking about a way to save money.

Anthony Bushrod: Okay.

President Winnecke: Any other business to come before Council? I would move that we adjourn.

Councilmember Sutton: After we adjourn, I’ve got one small piece of business for us.

President Winnecke: After we adjourn?

Councilmember Tornatta: Yeah, this is a good one.

President Winnecke: Okay, we are adjourned.

(There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned at 11:39 a.m.)

VANDERBURGH COUNTY COUNCIL

                                                                                                                                             President Lloyd Winnecke                 Vice President Marsha Abell

       Councilmember Jim Raben           Councilmember Mike Goebel

                                                                                                                                         Councilmember Curt Wortman       Councilmember Royce Sutton

Councilmember Troy Tornatta

Recorded and transcribed by Teri Lukeman