Mooresville community members speak on funding K-9 unit, other aspects of 2022 budget
MOORESVILLE — Mooresville Town Council held its first public hearing Tuesday on the town's budget for 2022.
The town has advertised a $10.4 million budget, a decrease from its $10.7 million budget in 2021.
Related: Martinsville and Mooresville advertise 2022 budgets.
Paige Sansone, a partner with BakerTilly, the town's financial advisor, said her firm reviewed each department's budget and found that nine of them were balanced or better than balanced, while five of them exceeded receipts. She noted the town has sufficient cash reserves to cover any windfalls.
"Everything looks really good," Sansone said.
Councilman Shane Williams asked whether more could be done to inform and involve the public during the budget process. Sansone noted that the town is only required by statute to advertise the budget on Indiana Gateway, an online public access tool.
"Not many people know where that is," Williams said. "I think it's poor. People can say what they want but I've been asking for this for a long time."
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Sansone said that most Indiana municipalities only post the budget on Gateway but the town could explore other options for advertising its spending plan, such as posting it on their website.
Residents want K-9 fund
During the public hearing, several residents asked the town to find room in its budget for a K-9 fund.
"We can all agree of the benefit and ability," Braxton Hughes, of Camby, said. "I'm not an animal lover. I'm not here because of Si. I'm here because of what we owe as a public to our public service people."
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The Mooresville Metropolitan Police Department's previous K-9 unit, Si, was medically retired in June. The town does not provide budget funds for the K-9 program, and the department has since launched a fundraising campaign to launch a new K-9 program in 2022.
Sgt. Dave Schultz told the council that it would cost about $20,000 per year to keep a K-9 program going. He noted that the previous program ran strictly on donations.
Town Attorney Chou-il Lee noted that the town can pass a balanced budget first and then create an additional appropriation for a K-9 fund from its cash reserves.
Council President Tom Warthen asked Police Chief Kevin Julian and Sgt. Schultz to put together a budget for a K-9 program.
Following the public hearing on the budget, the council discussed the possibility of purchasing new municipal vehicles, including a street sweeper and a plow truck, both of which would cost around $140,000, according to Superintendent of Public Works Dave Moore.
Council asked Moore to put together a list of items needed and return to the Council with a formal request.
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The town has until Nov. 1 to adopt the 2022 budget.
Funding sought for street improvements
During Tuesday's meeting, Moore asked for the Council's blessing to request funding from the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which awards grants to road safety projects in Indiana, for a project to install additional sidewalks and two pedestrian crosswalks in the area of West Carlisle Street and North Monroe Street.
The plans call for a pedestrian crosswalk on West Carlisle Street and another on North Monroe Street near the intersection with Stormy Lane, as well as additional sidewalks along West Carlisle Street and North Monroe Street.
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Banning Engineering estimates the cost of the project to be around $1.4 million. A grant from the MPO would cover 80 percent of construction and construction inspection costs, Banning Engineering's Mark Butler said.
The council agreed to move forward with the application process. They have until Oct. 15 to submit the application.
In other business
- Council entered into a four-year consolidated maintenance agreement with Word Systems, Inc., which provides recording equipment used by the clerk treasurer's office, town court, and the police department.
- Council approved a request by Fire Chief Matt Dalton to purchase a Chevy pickup truck
- Council approved $581,234 in claims
The next meeting of Mooresville Town Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Mooresville Government Center, 4 E. Harrison St.
Contact reporter Peter Blanchard at 765-346-2942 or pblanchard@reporter-times.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterlblanchard.