OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Evansville, Indiana/City Council
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Council Personnel & Finance Meeting - June 24, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, June 24, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, June 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:18:28

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:01

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:03

Uh, welcome to our county council personnel and finance meeting dated June the 24th, 2026.

0:10

For those in attendance, thank you for attending.

0:12

And for those streaming via Granagus, we welcome you as well.

0:17

We'll open our meeting with an attendance roll call, please.

0:25

Council Member Yaccarino here.

0:28

Councilmember Shetler.

0:30

Here.

0:30

Council Member Piefer.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Councilmember Bassmeyer.

0:35

Council Member Raven.

0:37

Here.

0:38

Councilmember Hahn.

0:40

Here.

0:40

President Montrestail.

0:42

Here we have a quorum.

0:43

Next up, we'll have a pledge of allegiance led by Councilmember Shatler and then the invocation by Paula.

0:57

What is it?

1:03

Or which is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice or father.

1:16

Praise you for this meeting and your purpose for it.

1:19

We know that when we gather together, you always have a divine agenda.

1:24

We love you for that, Father.

1:26

Even when we have done what you have asked, the results are so much greater than we could have ever imagined.

1:33

Even in failed attempts, you amaze us with your faithfulness to provide what we need.

1:39

In your name we pray.

1:41

Amen.

1:46

Thank you, Paul.

1:47

Thank you, Tom.

1:49

This is our PNF meeting.

1:50

It'll be a much shorter meeting than we're typically we typically have.

1:56

First up is we'll talk about appropriations.

1:59

We've got several items there, and then we have one item under new business, and that's the pension plan.

2:07

So um James, you want to do this part?

2:12

Um, happy to do that.

2:16

Okay, first uh on the agenda is under the sheriff.

2:21

We've got a request for garage motor.

2:24

The sheriff is here to answer any questions anyone may have.

2:29

What the request is for 140,000, and that's garage motor is all the repairs and whatnot for his uh all his staff cars.

2:42

Hello.

2:45

Hey, sheriff.

2:47

Greetings.

2:47

How are you?

2:49

Any questions about the appropriation request for graduate motion?

2:51

What would we would we budget for um the previous year?

2:55

I mean, this is a a pretty substantial increase, and he's got what 35k left in his budget, so uh I'm just wondering.

3:03

So thinking look at my notes here.

3:04

I think we spent 320,000 in 2025.

3:09

320.

3:12

Let me look there.

3:13

Regan was you remind me, Regan.

3:15

You step up here for a second.

3:16

Let me make sure I don't get my facts straight here.

3:18

Want to see what I started the year off of.

3:20

Was it two?

3:21

And then we have we got an appropriation for 120 later on.

3:24

Yeah, so we total spend was one 320,000 last year, a little bit over that, of which 120,000 was an additional appropriation we asked for in August of 25 and received.

3:36

So uh somebody do the math.

3:39

Are we on course to spend more this year?

3:42

Yeah, we've had some transmission failures and some engine issues, uh so we are asking for 140,000 this year as opposed to 120,000 that we asked last year, and we are asking for it a bit sooner.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████████████████████36%
Personnel Matters██████████████████████████26%
Public Health███████████████15%
Pending Litigation█████████9%
Procedural████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Council Personnel & Finance Meeting - June 24, 2026

The Vanderburgh County Council Personnel & Finance Committee met on June 24, 2026, at 3:03 PM in Room 301 of the Civic Center Complex. The meeting was called to order by President John Montrastelle and adjourned at 4:21 PM. All seven council members were present (Iaccarino, Shetler, Kiefer, Bassemier, Raben, Hahn, Montrastelle), establishing a quorum. The agenda included appropriation requests, personnel requests (not discussed), and new business regarding the police pension plan. No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

Sheriff's Garage and Motor Appropriation ($140,000)

  • Sheriff Noah Robinson requested $140,000 for vehicle repairs and maintenance, citing increased transmission failures and engine issues. He noted that total spending in 2025 was $320,000, including a $120,000 appropriation in August 2025. The current request is $20,000 higher and requested earlier in the year. The Sheriff's fleet of ~110 vehicles includes some dating back to 2007-2008, with many over 100,000 miles. Councilmembers discussed the aging fleet, maintenance contracts with Muensterman's Auto Service, and the cost of new patrol vehicles ($55,000–$60,000 each).

LIT - Jail Confinement Officer Personnel ($543,011 total)

  • Sheriff Robinson requested funding to hire 26 confinement officers, 2 sergeants, and 1 staff sergeant in phases to staff the new jail opening (expected December 2025 or January 2026). The request includes $100,000 for union overtime, $34,071 for FICA, and $63,243 for PERF. Jail Commander Dave Guetling explained the training process: 3 weeks of classroom, 2 months of floor rotations, and a preference for staggered classes of 7-8 officers to avoid overloading training staff. Councilmember Montrastelle raised concerns about approving all hires at once, but the Sheriff noted the plan already reflects the minimum staffing needed, cut below what the jail commander is comfortable with.

LIT Facilities - Jail Medical Appropriation ($300,000)

  • Sheriff Robinson requested $300,000 for inmate medical costs, citing a sharp increase in hospital transports (from 306 in 2024 to 566 in 2025) and rising prescription costs. He mentioned a contract with Heritage for bill scrubbing. Councilmembers discussed the possibility of obtaining private insurance or Medicaid coverage for inmates. President Montrastelle suggested exploring insurance options; Councilmember Kiefer noted that Medicaid changes are unlikely given state financial pressures. The Sheriff indicated he would continue investigating.

Area Plan Commission Legal Services ($21,000)

  • Ron London, attorney for the Area Plan Commission, requested additional funding for legal defense in multiple lawsuits, including the Blue Grass Solar project. The solar project was denied by a 4-3 vote, and the developer sued. London noted that the petitioner has the right to refile in August. Councilmembers discussed the inability to recoup legal costs from successful defenses.

Convention Center Operating Expenses ($88,003)

  • Darren Stearns, Associate Executive Director of Old National Events Plaza, presented the third-quarter installment of an operating expense agreement. Councilmember Hahn requested an itemization of expenses for the full council vote on July 1.

New Business: Vanderburgh County Police Pension Plan

  • Rob Clark (Pension Board Chairman) and Kevin Carey (Actuary, Nyhart) presented the 2026 valuation. The pension plan has a funded ratio of approximately 80% (market value basis), with assets of $62.4 million and liabilities of $76.16 million. The annual cost of benefits is about $4 million. The 2026 actuarially determined contribution (ADC) is $2,108,385, and the current contribution rate is 16% of payroll (up from 14.5% in 2025). Carey noted that the pension plan met the ADC for three of the last five years, so no remediation plan is required. However, the benefit plan (death and disability) will likely need a supplemental contribution of about $55,000. Councilmembers discussed the sustainability of the plan, the investment strategy (7.25% assumed return), and the role of the investment advisor Mariner. The council had previously made supplemental contributions of $375,000 in November 2024 and $265,000 in December 2025. No supplemental contribution is expected for the pension plan in 2026, but the benefit plan may require one.

Key Outcomes

  • All appropriation requests were discussed and will be forwarded to the full County Council for a vote on July 1, 2026.
  • The Personnel & Finance Committee took no formal votes; recommendations will be made at the next meeting.
  • Personnel requests (Assessor, Area Plan, Legal Aid, Health Dept, LIT-Jail) were listed on the agenda but were not discussed.
  • No public comments were made.
  • The next County Council meeting is scheduled for July 1, 2026, at 3:00 PM.
  • The next Personnel & Finance meeting is scheduled for July 29, 2026, at 3:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. Uh, welcome to our county council personnel and finance meeting dated June the 24th, 2026. For those in attendance, thank you for attending. And for those streaming via Granagus, we welcome you as well. We'll open our meeting with an attendance roll call, please. Council Member Yaccarino here. Councilmember Shetler. Here. Council Member Piefer. Here. Councilmember Bassmeyer. Council Member Raven. Here. Councilmember Hahn. Here. President Montrestail. Here we have a quorum. Next up, we'll have a pledge of allegiance led by Councilmember Shatler and then the invocation by Paula. What is it? Or which is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice or father. Praise you for this meeting and your purpose for it. We know that when we gather together, you always have a divine agenda. We love you for that, Father. Even when we have done what you have asked, the results are so much greater than we could have ever imagined. Even in failed attempts, you amaze us with your faithfulness to provide what we need. In your name we pray. Amen. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Tom. This is our PNF meeting. It'll be a much shorter meeting than we're typically we typically have. First up is we'll talk about appropriations. We've got several items there, and then we have one item under new business, and that's the pension plan. So um James, you want to do this part? Um, happy to do that. Okay, first uh on the agenda is under the sheriff. We've got a request for garage motor. The sheriff is here to answer any questions anyone may have. What the request is for 140,000, and that's garage motor is all the repairs and whatnot for his uh all his staff cars. Hello. Hey, sheriff. Greetings. How are you? Any questions about the appropriation request for graduate motion? What would we would we budget for um the previous year? I mean, this is a a pretty substantial increase, and he's got what 35k left in his budget, so uh I'm just wondering. So thinking look at my notes here. I think we spent 320,000 in 2025. 320. Let me look there.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com