Transfer For Commissioners’ Legal Services Narrowly Passes Council
By David Slone
Times-Union
WARSAW — A transfer request of $5,000 for the County Commissioners’ legal services barely received approval from the Kosciusko County Council during a Thursday, Nov. 10, meeting.
County Administrator Marsha McSherry presented the $5,000 monthly transfer from land and improvements in the county cumulative capital development fund to legal services. She did not have the October bill from county attorney Ed Ormsby because it isn’t due until the 15th of the month.
Council Vice President Joni Truex asked McSherry if she knew how much the October bill from Ormsby was going to be.
McSherry said, “Not at this time. Of the balance that is there, the $16,010 in legal services, $6,800 of that is for highway use, and the remainder is $9,210 and that is for Commissioners’ use.”
October’s bill will be paid out of the $5,000 transfer, plus, McSherry noted, there’s still November and December to come.
Truex asked how long the county had to pay a bill once it was received and if it was 30 days. McSherry said yes.
Truex made a motion to deny the transfer “because you would have time to come back and get $5,000. You’ve already got $9,210 right now.” She said she didn’t think the Commissioners needed the $5,000 transfer now, and said the motion originally was if the Commissioners “spent the money.”
Councilman Ernie Wiggins said respectively that he made the motion and he didn’t recollect that that was part of his motion – that it would be approved only if they needed it.
McSherry said of the $9,210 in there, $5,000 would be for October and $4,210 would be for November, and they wouldn’t have any money for legal services for December.
Council President Sue Ann Mitchell said another $5,000 in December should help.
“What we’re trying to get to here is to not carry over a bill from December and pay the December bill in January out of January’s budget. January’s bill that we’re paying needs to come out of the December budget and be encumbered, that way we’ve walked off the year and know where we’re at,” Mitchell said.
She then asked what would be the worst that would happen if the Council approved the $5,000 Thursday night and then in December they would know where they’re at.
Councilwoman Kimberly Cates said they may not know because they don’t get the bill until after the Council meeting. Mitchell said the Council probably needs to change the date of when Ormsby’s bill is due to no later than the fifth of the month.
Councilman Mike Long seconded Truex’s motion to deny the transfer, but the motion failed by a vote of 3-4 with Truex, Long and Cates voting to deny.
Councilwoman Kathleen Groninger made a motion to approve the transfer, Wiggins seconded it and it was approved 4-3.
Mitchell said, “The bottom line is, is if you move money to that account, if you don’t spend it by the end of the year, you’re done. You’re done. It’s not going anywhere.”
Some of the special projects Ormsby worked on in 2021 for the Commissioners included the county being a Constitutional Sanctuary County and a Second Amendment Sanctuary County, which some people in the community disagreed with.
At the Council’s Sept. 9, 2021, meeting, the Council voted to increase the County Commissioners’ legal services budget for county attorney Ed Ormsby only by 4% to $60,320 in 2022. The Commissioners had requested $131,000 for legal services for 2022, saying the previous county attorneys underbilled the county. Ormsby began as county attorney Jan. 1, 2021.
At the Council’s Aug. 11, 2022, meeting, the Council approved a transfer of $15,000 for legal services for the Commissioners budget and $5,000 per month for the rest of the year.