The Porter County
Commissioners gave initial approval Tuesday to set up a fund holding fees
generated through contracts with towns and cities accepting County Animal
Control services.
The Commissioners
voted 3-0 in favor of the new fund on first reading. County Attorney Betty
Knight said she will be sending out drafts of the proposed contract to the
municipalities.
But, Knight said,
the County is not obligated to provide the service to the incorporated areas
and they can make the choice to carry out animal control on their own terms.
That’s how the City of Portage has operated for years, through a partnership
with the Humane Society of Hobart.
The rates charged
will be different for each town. Rates were determined through a study done
by the Porter County Sheriff’s Department on the usage of the service in the
past.
“Some of the fees
will increase, some will stay the same and a few others will decrease,”
Knight said.
According to
information from Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jeff Biggs, Chesterton is the only
municipality that will see a fee decrease. The town had been paying $6,076
per year and would be charged $3,120 in the proposed contract.
Burns Harbor will
see its fee increased from $682 to $1,600. The Town of Porter’s former rate
was not mentioned, but will now be $11,520 if it accepts the new contract.
Valparaiso’s
contract saw the greatest increase, going from $20,150 to $63,200.
Biggs said the fees
were based on the average percentage of the total number of animal control
calls since 2010. Valparaiso had an average of 16 percent, Chesterton had 8
percent, Porter had 3 percent, Burns Harbor had less than 1 percent while 84
percent of the calls came from unincorporated Porter County.
The last time
contracts were negotiated was in 2010, Knight said, and fees have actually
been paid only a few times since then. Most municipalities are not paying
currently because there is not contract in place, she said. However,
Chesterton has been paying $6,076 the last three years, the only
municipality to do so.
Commissioner
President John Evans, R-North, said that half of the fees collected will now
be evenly split between the Sheriff’s Department and the County Animal
Shelter as opposed to the previous set up where the Shelter would take in
all the fees. The fees will bring in over $90,000.
Knight said the
fees would not be sufficient to cover all costs of the Animal Shelter but it
will aid in paying the Animal Control related expenses.
Biggs said the
total Animal Control budget is about $200,000, which is made up mostly of
officer salaries and overtime, since the Sheriff’s Department took over in
2011. A smaller amount is paid for maintenance on three trucks.
The contracts would
start Aug. 1 of this year and would be yearly. The municipalities have until
then to accept the contracts.
The Commissioners
also voted on second reading 3-0, to repeal the former ordinance setting the
fee structure for the Animal Shelter’s adoptions and impounds. A new fee
structure has been set forth in the recently imposed Animal Control
ordinance.
Insurance agreement
Also Tuesday, the
Commissioners voted 3-0 to accept an agreement with Franciscan Alliance
relating to the County’s adjusted employee health plan which now utilizes
reference-based pricing through the healthcare cost containment service
company INETICO.
Mike Anton,
principal with Anton Insurance which works as the County’s servicing agent,
said the agreement will allow INETICO to adjudicate the claims from
Franciscan Alliance.
Evans said he was
happy to see that local health networks are willing to adapt to the County’s
new approach to its insurance.
“It’s going online
and it’s good to know we are trying to save on our insurance,” he said.
Anton said he will
have an agreement letter soon from Porter Regional Hospital.
Bids
The board took bids
received on heating and air ventilation replacement projects at the County
administration building, courthouse and jail.
Three companies
submitted bids -- Mechanical Concepts of Gary with a base bid of $358,000;
Circle R Mechanical of Portage with a base bid of $417,900; and Stevens
Engineering and Constructors of Portage with a base bid of $372,000.
Consultant Mike
Jabo of DLZ Indiana said DLZ will review the proposals and make a
recommendation at the Commissioners’ next meeting.
Marathon at Dunes
State Park
Lastly, the
Commissioners said yes to closing portions of U.S. 12 for a short time on
Sunday, Sept. 27, for the Hero Half Marathon through Dunes State Park, the
National Lakeshore and the Calumet Trail.
This will be the
third year for the race, sponsored by Light House and Events Marketing,
which starts and finishes at the Dunes State Park Pavilion. Assisting to
protect the runners will be the County Sheriff’s Department, the Town of
Porter and the National Lakeshore.