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Record of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Community Corrections Advisory Board / Local JRAC Board Meeting – October 7, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, October 7, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, October 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:54

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:01

To get the proceedings started, let's go around.

0:04

We have some new faces, so let's introduce ourselves.

0:08

Uh we'll start here on my right and go around the gallery here.

0:14

Hi,

Speaker 2

0:14

I'm Noah Robinson with the

Speaker 1

0:15

Sheriff's Office.

Speaker 3

0:22

Stephanie Fellow.

0:25

Katie Patterson, Baden County Community Corps.

Speaker 4

0:28

I didn't have two

Speaker 5

0:31

communities.

Unassigned speaker

0:32

Do

Speaker 4

0:32

you

Speaker 5

0:32

want to need equality?

Unassigned speaker

0:35

Gene

Speaker 5

0:35

Bailey, Blue Roll.

Unassigned speaker

0:37

Heather

Speaker 5

0:38

Woods, student Alpha.

Speaker 6

0:47

Kelly Kircher, Vapor County, Committee Corrections.

Speaker 3

0:50

JC Phelps, Diana Mercedes, Prosecutor's

Unassigned speaker

0:54

Office.

Speaker 2

0:54

James Aiken, community corrections.

Speaker 1

0:59

Jay Dickerson, University of Southern Indiana, and President of the Boards.

1:04

Thank you, everyone, and welcome.

1:07

Our first item on the agenda is the approval of the April 2nd, 2026 meeting.

1:14

Did everyone receive a copy of those in their documents?

Unassigned speaker

1:21

Yes.

Speaker 1

1:22

All right.

1:22

Do we have any discussion or do I have a motion to approve?

Unassigned speaker

1:29

Motion to approve.

Speaker 1

1:31

Thank you, Lauren.

1:32

Do I have a second?

1:35

Thank you, Stephanie.

1:36

Do I have any other discussion or questions about the minutes?

1:40

Any corrections.

1:42

All those in favor, aye.

Unassigned speaker

1:44

Aye.

Speaker 1

1:45

Nays.

1:47

And I am abstaining because I was not at the meeting.

Unassigned speaker

1:51

The

Speaker 1

1:51

meetings are passed, or the minutes are passed.

1:54

Do we have any announcements?

Speaker 2

2:00

Change.

2:01

I do not have any of

Unassigned speaker

2:02

this.

Speaker 1

2:03

Okay.

2:04

All right.

2:04

Then we'll move on to the reports.

2:06

If we could have our quarterly JRAC.

Speaker 3

2:13

Good morning.

2:15

For the second quarter, which was April 1st to June 30th.

2:22

We collected or we had a 96% collection rate for home detention.

2:28

We had 23 participants successfully complete the program.

2:32

We had six participants that were moved removed due to technical violations.

2:37

We did not have any new charges, and we currently have 105 active participants, meaning we still have a few spots open at the moment.

Speaker 6

4:00

Treatment court is at 278,207.

4:05

And our CTP account, we have 240,875.

4:09

And that's all for our project income.

Speaker 1

4:13

And I'm assuming we'll uh have some questions and more information on the budget update that's coming farther down.

Speaker 2

4:21

Sure.

Speaker 1

4:22

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████████24%
Procedural██████████████14%
Public Works██████████10%
Workforce Development████████8%
Summary of Proceedings

Vanderburgh County Community Corrections Advisory Board / Local JRAC Board Meeting – October 7, 2026

The meeting was called to order at 17:45 UTC. Board members introduced themselves, including representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, Prosecutor’s Office, University of Southern Indiana, and Community Corrections. The board approved previous meeting minutes, received quarterly reports, adopted an adjusted 2027 budget after major state funding cuts, and heard the judge’s report. No public comment was offered.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of April 2, 2026 Meeting Minutes: Approved with a motion by Lauren, seconded by Stephanie. One member abstained due to absence. No corrections or further discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Reports

Quarterly JRAC (Kelly Kircher)

  • Home detention: 96% collection rate for April 1–June 30, 2026. 23 participants successfully completed; 6 were removed for technical violations; no new charges. 105 active participants (spots remain).
  • Treatment court account balance: $278,207. CTP account: $240,875.

Community Service Report (Gene Bailey)

  • Second quarter: 417 participants; collected 3 tires. Since program start (November 2025): 1,523 bags (3,724 items), 125 tires (none paid for recycling due to arrangement with Johnny on COVID).
  • Recycling: $621.65 collected this quarter; $244.97 total since November. Trash collected: 5.74 tons this quarter; 35.1 tons since November. Recycling weight: 5,625 pounds this quarter; 22,586 pounds total since November. Avoided 46.39 tons of landfill waste.
  • Van mileage: 739.4 miles; used 11.9 gallons of gas. Bag supplies: one unopened pallet from Nick, seven boxes from sheriff’s warehouse, one and a half boxes in van. Only expense: $153 and change for a fuse replacement; touch screen replaced under warranty.
  • Three days of work with Jill Hahn at the Coliseum; awaiting feedback. Collected cell phones turned over to detectives for verification before donation to YWCA (9 phones donated since November). One stolen license plate recovered. Participants found $197.50 in cash since November; one participant required to use $40 toward fees.

Director’s Report (James Aiken)

  • New quarterly report format. Second quarter 2026 achievements: no AWOL incidents among electronic monitoring participants. Work release: 140 males, 33 females. Total 303 participants served; 9% did not successfully complete; 94 participants with no violations; 35 graduates for the year. 20 revocations in treatment court (Judge clarified ~10% revocation rate for 134 current participants, serving 175–200 range).
  • Partnerships: ITEC for ISCO equipment cohort; Department of Corrections Re-entry program (HIRE) with 35 participants in work release; Evansville Package and Supply for recruiting; Hope of Evansville providing financial literacy; Third Bank for budgeting skills. Received $5,000 grant from Evansville Bar Association for treatment court.
  • Katrina (staff) participating in job readiness program and career counseling for GED recipients.

Discussion Items

2027 Budget Update (James Aiken and Judge)

  • State DOC grants cut more than anticipated. Treatment court completely defunded: $370,000 loss over two years. Work release funding cut by $450,000 over two years. Total cuts exceeded $800,000 (over 35% of previous DOC funding).
  • Replacement funding secured: Indiana Supreme Court ($253,000 for 2027); Evansville County Council ($28,000); Evansville Bar Association ($5,000); City of Evansville appeal settlement funds. Overall, 2027 budget restored to 2025 funding levels but no guarantee for 2028.
  • Work release did not receive extra funding; operational adjustments needed (see judge’s report). Home detention budget largely unaffected since it relies on county funds.
  • State Representative Wendy McNamara (chair of Criminal Code and Courts Committee) advocated for reinstatement of $74 million statewide. She met with Governor and Speaker Todd Houston; funding may be reinstated for 2027. Board will continue advocacy for 2028.
  • Motion to approve adjusted 2027 budget: Moved by Heather Woods, seconded by Diana Mercedes. Approved unanimously (all aye, no opposed or abstentions).

Judge’s Report

  • Judge reiterated budget challenges. One position eliminated (causing staff stress). Two additional positions to remain unfilled. Facility belts tightened.
  • Meeting with Governor Braun scheduled for first Friday in November at Jasper office to explain state need. Thanked Justice Gall, Chief Justice Rush, Evansville Bar Association, and city for support.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved April 2, 2026 meeting minutes.
  • Approved adjusted 2027 budget for treatment court and work release.
  • Directed continued advocacy for state funding reinstatement for 2028.
  • Future meeting: December 10, 2026 at 11:30 AM in Civic Center Room 307.
  • Meeting adjourned on motion and second.

Meeting Transcript

To get the proceedings started, let's go around. We have some new faces, so let's introduce ourselves. Uh we'll start here on my right and go around the gallery here. Hi, I'm Noah Robinson with the Sheriff's Office. Stephanie Fellow. Katie Patterson, Baden County Community Corps. I didn't have two communities. Do you want to need equality? Gene Bailey, Blue Roll. Heather Woods, student Alpha. Kelly Kircher, Vapor County, Committee Corrections. JC Phelps, Diana Mercedes, Prosecutor's Office. James Aiken, community corrections. Jay Dickerson, University of Southern Indiana, and President of the Boards. Thank you, everyone, and welcome. Our first item on the agenda is the approval of the April 2nd, 2026 meeting. Did everyone receive a copy of those in their documents? Yes. All right. Do we have any discussion or do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Thank you, Lauren. Do I have a second? Thank you, Stephanie. Do I have any other discussion or questions about the minutes? Any corrections. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Nays. And I am abstaining because I was not at the meeting. The meetings are passed, or the minutes are passed. Do we have any announcements? Change. I do not have any of this. Okay. All right. Then we'll move on to the reports. If we could have our quarterly JRAC. Good morning. For the second quarter, which was April 1st to June 30th.

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