Wayne County Council spent more than two hours Sept. 3 poring over the county’s 2026 general fund budget, planning to trim departmental requests.
Instead, council members spent some of their 2025 contingency money and added nearly $85,000 to the 2026 budget. That leaves the published budget at $44,215,326, although that figure is padded to ensure the county receives the maximum levy.
The budget soon must be rounded into shape because council scheduled its budget public hearing for 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, and budget adoption for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16. The Association of Indiana Counties annual conference Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 forced council to shift the public hearing; then, because 10 days are necessary between the hearing and adoption, council delayed its workshop one day.
Council hopes the state will provide a better estimate of county tax revenues by then to establish a target budget number. The adopted 2025 general fund budget is $38,400,432.
Craig Eason, the county’s IT director, spoke to council about projects he’d either budgeted or previously presented. Those items account for the 2025 expenses and $48,000 of the budget additions.
Eason had budgeted $9,000 in his communication and telephone line item to bring the off-site highway department and fairgrounds into the county network for better security and to enable IT to better manage their systems. Council left that expense to remain and added an additional $48,000 to upgrade the county phone system.
The county is now wired for voice over internet protocol phone service. Eason plans to lease 307 phones for $18.50 per month per phone, costing $68,154 a year. He said leasing protects the county from falling behind in technology.
Eason also presented updates for cybersecurity and the county’s Microsoft package. The security upgrade to NinjaOne patch-management software costs $6,500, and upgrading from a Microsoft business account to a $96,993 government account costs about an extra $25,000.
Council opted to make both upgrades this year and voted to spend $31,500 from its contingency line item.
Sheriff Randy Retter also discussed his budget. His line item for contributions to the employee retirement program will run short this year by about $87,000, eventually requiring another expense. With that shortfall in mind, council also boosted that line item in the 2026 budget by $36,793 to mitigate a future problem.
The budget is $5.8 million higher than the approved 2025 budget, and it includes placeholders that pad it. For example, an extra $3 million is included in the one-time expenditures line item, ensuring the advertised budget hits the maximum amount the county is allowed to levy on taxpayers. An advertised budget may be decreased, but not increased.
The budget also includes more than $1.7 million as a placeholder for wage adjustments and another $225,000 for employee longevity stipends. Council has not yet discussed either.
The stipends were implemented this year to reward employees who have served at least five years as of Oct. 1. It begins with a $400 stipend for five years and reaches a $2,000 stipend for 25 years or more. All county employees of the same position classification receive the same wage, no matter how long they’ve been with the county.
Personnel committee
During their personnel committee meeting, council members approved posting two jobs: the fairgrounds sales and marketing coordinator and 911 emergency communications specialist.
Steve Higinbotham, the county administrator, expressed urgency in filling the fairgrounds position after Haley Baker leaves Sept. 9. He said the fairgrounds will be busy with rentals through September and into the holiday season. Higinbotham said that since Baker’s hiring, income has more than doubled and the county is successfully competing with other venues to attract new events.
In anticipation of a retirement early next year, Matthew Cain, director of the county’s emergency management agency and emergency communications center, said a new hiring list needs to be established. He said it’s about a three-month process.
A version of this article appeared in the September 10 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.