This post was provided by News Now Warsaw
By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Plans to provide Kosciusko County probation workers with a sizeable raise for next year once again fell into doubt Thursday, based on advice from the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
County Council had preliminarily decided last month to provide $10,000 stipends to 11 probation officers to help overcome pay deficiencies, which have been a nagging issue since last year.
But Council President Tony Cirillo announced Thursday night that they had been informed hours earlier that if the county chooses to provide the stipends, they would be obligated to continue that level of compensation in the future.
That didn’t seem like a workable situation, so the council then proposed that the probation officers instead receive a two percent pay hike, which is what most county employees will receive next year.
The large raise has been under consideration for a long time and was strongly supported in recent weeks by four local judges.
The new development did not settle well with one of those, Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer.
“We would like to know who specifically is providing that information by name so we can contact general counsel so they can speak directly and find out what legal authority they are relying on in providing that,” Bauer said.
Ciriello encouraged the idea of seeking out a clarification on the matter but responded:
“State Board of Accounts is the one that governs everything we do with tax dollars,” Criellow said, drawing a quick reply from Bauers who pointed out that the stipends would come from user fees and not property tax revenues.
“I understand it’s a little different situation, but they are our governing authority that we have to go by,” Ciriello said.
Council ultimately decided to hold off on a final decision on the use of stipends until Bauer’s concerns are addressed.
The vote in August supported the use of stipends and passed by a vote of 5-2, but included a caveat that made it clear that the council wanted to make sure the plan was workable before final approval.
Council also reviewed a long list of other minor adjustments to the 2026 budget plan and approved all except for the stipend dispute.
The post Big raises for probation officers once again in limbo appeared first on News Now Warsaw.
