By HOLLY GASKILL
Wells County is facing a potential $2 million bill after the state has ordered that some information be encrypted over the police radio.
Subsequently, Wells County Council President Seth Whicker proposed the council use a portion of the funds received through supplemental local income tax distribution to buy the new radios. Whicker said the total — $594,024 — could otherwise be moved into the Rainy Day Fund.
These new radios would allow emergency personnel to encrypt their transmissions from the general public. As of June 2023, Indiana Code prohibits social security numbers or juvenile names from being communicated over police radio unless the broadcast is encrypted.
Whicker stated these radios would not necessarily mean general police radio transmissions would be unavailable, but that specific information would be hidden.
The council ultimately decided to move the funds into the Rainy Day Fund for the time being. In the meantime, Whicker said the county is working on an application for a matching grant for the purchase and would continue discussions with other municipalities about the radio purchase.
“We are up against some deadlines, so it’s going to take a little bit of work to get all that done quickly, but the wheels are in motion,” Whicker said.
Also during the meeting, the council approved an updated salary ordinance, which includes stipends for the clerk and auditor, adds new county engineer Nate Whitacre’s salary, and removes the stipend for the Highway Department secretary.
Council member Brandon Harnish questioned why Highway Supervisor Shawn Bonar was still receiving a stipend since the engineer vacancy was filled. Auditor Lisa McCormick clarified that the council’s resolution added a stipend for Bonar’s added responsibilities on county projects as the employee in responsible charge. Commissioner Jeff Springer, who was present Tuesday, said there are five projects Whitacre can’t serve as the ERC for because of the overlap during his time with the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Harnish expressed frustration with this, saying the council intended that stipend to end when an engineer was hired. Council member Todd Mahnensmith also questioned if the five projects would last for a short time or years.
“It’s fresh with us, you’ve got to give time to figure this out,” Stringer responded.
The council agreed to revisit the stipend at their next regular meeting on July 2.
holly@news-banner.com
