Fund allows for building repairs, replacement
By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
WABASH COUNTY, Ind. – With no public comments during a 9 a.m. hearing, the county commissioners unanimously approved renewing a tax rate to fund county building repairs and replacements.
The cumulative capital development fund, re-established by county ordinance 2018-85-01 during the commissioners’ March 12 meeting, now carries a maximum tax rate of .0333 on each $100 of assessed valuation, the same as when it was established in 2002.
The tax rate applies to 2018 taxes, payable 2019.
“This is restoration of the tax rate that was established on June 17, 2002, and the cumulative capital development fund is the fund we use for planned building repairs and replacement,” commissioner Barry Epply said.
By design, the tax rate for that fund decays over time.
“The plan now, going forward, is to routinely have this public hearing to keep tax rate at the rate established by the ordinance,” Epply said.
He noted that, throughout the time since the tax rate was originally established, the income from that tax began to decrease as the rate decayed and assessed values fluctuated – particularly after the 2008 recession.
Additionally, he said that the fact that rate needed renewed occasionally “got lost in the shuffle” as the people who maintained the fund transitioned in and out of their position.
“Those funds are what we would have available to do building repairs or new construction,” Epply said.
He noted that the county is in the process of an expansion project, and referred to the ongoing jail overcrowding issue.
“This rate doesn’t begin to touch [the cost of the jail]… but it does give us some financial planning and building of capital to make that investment, if it’s deemed appropriate and possible,” Epply said, noting that at this time, it does not seem possible.
Also during the March 12 meeting, the commissioners heard concerns from two women regarding drug addiction in Wabash County.
Lisa Shanabarger, who spoke on the topic at a commissioners meeting in October, asked what progress the county has made since she last made contact.
Commissioner Scott Givens noted that the county pays for drug rehab for sentenced Wabash County inmates being held in the Miami County Jail.
Epply said that he agreed with Shanabarger’s concern that all addicts should be eligible for treatment, but noted that due to due process concerns, only sentenced inmates are eligible for many of the programs currently offered.
Sheriff Bob Land added that the county has a drug steering committee that meets monthly, and that Bowen Center’s Wabash office is opening a treatment center for paying patients this spring.
“… This addiction thing has several aspects we can work on, and I’ll be the first to tell you, we are shy on treatment centers,” Land said. “So, we are looking into treatment centers and education right now on the drug steering committee …”
Land also noted that, after he met with Senator Joe Donnelly in Washington, D.C. last month, the drug steering committee is looking into several state-funded programs.
Sheryll Ulshafer voiced concerns regarding County Coroner Suzie Lewis’s policy of autopsying all suspected drug overdose patients, regardless of parental consent.
“We’ve been able to determine that the state does grant the coroner the authority to conduct autopsies in situations where they believe is necessary,” Epply said. “This coroner – as well as the previous coroner – developed a policy in which they conduct an autopsy whenever there was drug interaction suspected. So that means that every time, there is going to be an autopsy.”
He cited concerns regarding favoritism and fairness as to why the policy is in place.
“Those are our kids. I understand … you can’t pick and choose who you’re going to autopsy, but my thing is, that is my child,” Ulshafer said. “As a parent, that should be my right, to sign a waiver releasing the state and county of any responsibilities.
“I should be able to bury my son the way I want to.”
She noted that, per state officials she corresponded with, there is no state mandate for autopsies on suspected drug overdose patients.
Givens noted that, as an elected official, the coroner sets their own policies and does not answer to the commissioners. Additionally, he said, the state coroner recommends autopsying any patient suspected of an overdose. Not doing so, he added, leaves the coroner – or whoever made the decision – at fault.
The commissioners thanked both women, and noted that the county will continue to look into the drug issue.