Dubois County Council Meeting

After reappointing Mike Kluesner as Council President and Sonya Haas as Vice-President, the Council meeting started with Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter’s request to approve the purchase of four new vehicles as part of their scheduled rotation which includes four trade-ins. Total costs of the four vehicles outfitted is $217,728. The Council gave consensus to advertise for the purchase. Sheriff Kleinhelter then requested funding for the two new deputies explaining they did not receive the COP grant they applied for. After discussion the Council declined the request.

Next, Prosecutor Beth Schroeder asked the Council to approve a salary adjustment for a new employee due to an oversight when the position was approved, and the new employee was hired. After discussion, a motion was made by Councilman Hohl and Councilman Uebelhor to approve the request which was turned down by a vote of 5 to 2.

Then Jenna Bieker-Jones from the Substance Abuse Council gave the Council members an update of all the progress they made in 2023. The Council then approved the appropriation to fund a part-time employee through the grant received which was a requirement for the grant.

Jenny Lampert, Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC) Project Manager reported to the Council of the three grants applied for they received two of the grants and requested approval for an amended salary ordinance for a fully funded part-time project manager which the Council granted.

Stuart Wilson, 911 Director shared the department is currently understaffed by three employees but with a new hire starting in February will be down two employees. With the current staffing needs Mr. Wilson requested approval for the required overtime which was approved.

Tammy Humbert along with Stuart Wilson then updated the work that they have done to assure in the future that the county sirens continue to work. This required getting approval from the FCC for its own frequency versus the simulcast shared system which is busy and affects current siren performance. A request for $41,292 to purchase the equipment to support the siren system was approved to advertise.

The Council then approved several appropriation and transfers of funds and approved the appointment of Gene Welp to the Dubois County Museum board.

The entire meeting can be viewed online on the Dubois County Government website at www.duboiscountyin.org/government. The next regular meeting will be Wednesday, February 21 st at 4:30 p.m. Mark Nowotarski