Council allocates additional $50K for mail costs

Wayne County Council allocated an additional $50,000 on Feb. 4 to cover postage costs this year.

Clerk Tara Pegg prepared a presentation for a joint meeting of council and county commissioners. The evening joint meeting replaced the scheduled morning council and afternoon commissioners meetings because of a conflict with an Association of Indiana Counties meeting in Indianapolis.

The county has one line item in the commissioners’ budget to cover all official-use county postage, but the $75,000 allocated is not expected to suffice this year. Council unanimously voted to add $50,000 from its contingency fund to the commissioners’ line item. During 2027 budget discussions, council will consider creating a postage line item in the clerk’s budget.

The clerk’s office handles mailings for the courts and elections, while the commissioners pay for mailings from the Wayne County Administration Building.

Pegg provided recent cost increases for vendor Confirm Delivery services the county began using in 2010. The increases ranged from 6% to 16%, depending on the mailing. Confirm Delivery also requires use of special plastic bags that cost between 97 cents and $1.03 each, depending on the quantity purchased.

“We want to get away from the plastic bags,” Pegg said.

When receipt confirmations are required, the clerk’s office has begun using the U.S. Postal Service’s certified mail system, but still spent $135.98 on envelopes and $2,258.30 on those mailings last year. The clerk’s postage meter was used last year for 43,035 pieces of mail costing $34,187.12.

Pegg expects additional mailing expenses this year because of primary and general elections. There were no elections last year.

HELP contract

During their Jan. 21 workshop, council and commissioners heard a presentation from HELP the Animals shelter about its dire financial situation, and Commissioner Brad Dwenger reported Feb. 4 that he met with HELP representatives to hear their 2026 contract proposal. 

HELP proposes the county pay $450 per dog that needs spaying or neutering sheltered by the county’s animal control officer, while continuing the $200 payment for dogs already spayed or neutered. 

The county previously paid $300 for dogs that required being spayed or neutered. Dwenger said the change would have cost the county an additional $21,000 in 2025, when the county paid $50,000 for animal sheltering.

HELP also requests payment for each animal born to a pregnant animal that the county shelters with HELP. The county also could consider case-by-case additional payments for medical treatment of seriously injured or ill animals.

Commissioner Aaron Roberts said he is open to HELP’s request, because if HELP does not receive additional financial assistance, there might not be a shelter to receive the county’s animals.

Commissioners will further discuss the 2026 contract terms.

Payroll plan

During council’s personnel committee meeting, Auditor Mark Hoelscher presented a plan that the county not hire a payroll clerk until a new auditor takes office Jan. 1.

The former payroll clerk, Amy Chenowith, has been processing payroll although she now works for the county’s planning department. Chenowith, a Republican, is the only auditor candidate to so far file for the primary election.

Hoelscher, who withdrew from the auditor’s race to challenge Dwenger’s commissioner seat, said he would rather Chenowith continue processing payroll this year, then hire her own payroll clerk if she becomes auditor next year. Max Smith, council’s president, said the plan takes care of the payroll issue this year and leads to a smooth transition next year.

Smith said he would work with commissioners and Chenowith to iron out details enabling the proposal’s implementation.

Bridge projects

Commissioners approved a $2,085,000 contract with Brumbaugh Construction of Arcanum, Ohio, for the Gravel Pit Road bridge project. They had awarded Brumbaugh the bid during their Jan. 21 meeting.

Two change orders that lowered the cost of the South G Street bridge project were also approved. The project will be about $34,000 more expensive than expected, but Brandon Sanders, the county engineer, said the Indiana Department of Transportation agreed to split the overrun 80-20 with the county.

Sanders also said the Bridge Avenue and Richmond Avenue bridge projects were scheduled to begin March 2. They will both use North West Fifth Street, U.S. 40 and U.S. 27 as official detours.

Other actions

• Commissioners and council members approved the 2026 interlocal agreement with Richmond for Emergency Communications Center costs. Richmond pays half the personnel costs for selected ECC positions. The interlocal will now be forwarded to Richmond for approval.
• Commissioners approved a resolution to conduct a property certificate sale, tentatively scheduled for April 16. The certificate sale of properties not sold during the fall tax sale replaces the former commissioners’ deed sale. In the certificate sale, the purchaser is then responsible for acquiring the deed, rather than the commissioners acquiring the deed before the sale. Commissioners, therefore, are not stuck owning unsold properties.
• Meeting as its finance committee, council approved a series of transfers, including an annual contribution of $500,000 for the Wayne County Health Department and $27,334 from the general fund to the IV-D court.