The Porter County
Council will convene for a special meeting on Monday, Dec. 15, at 5 p.m. for
the purpose of appropriating funds to cover remaining costs of the county
health insurance plan.
The 2014 county
budgets passed by the Council underfunded the health insurance.
Porter County
Auditor Robert Wichlinski estimates that approximately $3 million or so is
needed to close the year.
On the agenda is a
recommendation by the County Commissioners to use $2.9 million in interest
money generated from the principal of the sale of the Porter Memorial county
hospital. The idea to use hospital interest money for health insurance was
rejected earlier this year by the Council.
To use the interest
money would require a majority vote from both the Council and Commissioners.
Also, the Council’s
Budget and Financial Specialist, Vicki Urbanik, told the Chesterton
Tribune that a memo had been sent asking county departments to
contribute any funds in their budgets they don’t plan to use this year
toward health insurance. That has netted $144,094.
Urbanik said she
wanted to thank the departments which responded to the call, considering
their budgets are tight.
The Commissioners
are also willing to transfer approximately $400,000 from unused funds in
their budget for insurance.
A significant
shortfall was predicted at the beginning of the year as the Council had
passed the 2014 budgets aware of the underfunded line item for insurance.
“We knew this was going to happen,” said Urbanik.
The Council will
meet in Room 205 of the County Administration Building located at 155
Indiana Ave. in Valparaiso.
In other business,
the Council will hear a transfer request totaling $50,000 from the
Commissioners to cover expenses in power and water and sewage.
There is also a
request to appropriate $30,000 in the Zona Wildlife Fund which will be used
to purchase a rehabilitation flight cage for the Moraine Ridge Wildlife
Center in unincorporated Washington Twp.
The Auditor will
make a request to transfer $4,800 for payroll and another $1,248 for a
software bill.