By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW – Drug overdose deaths have been up this year in Kosciusko County and that was reflected in the county coroner’s proposed 2023 budget.

While presenting the county coroner’s proposed budget on Thursday to the County Council for 2023, Coroner Tony Ciriello said he decreased the other equipment line item by about $2,000 but increased emergency supplies to $9,000 from the 2022 adopted budget of $4,102.

“Quite frankly, we’re going through body bags like crazy and they’re not cheap. They’re at about $35 to $38 apiece, and we run through about 150 a year. That’s a lot,” he said.”

Councilwoman Kimberly Cates said emergency supplies in 2021 was at about $3,000; $5,000 in 2020; and $2,300 in 2019. “Is there a reason you wanted to go all the way to $9,000?” she asked.

Ciriello responded, “Because we have to restock fully. We’re about out of everything. We’ve ordered some this year, but not like we need to have. We’re down to the bare shelves. We’re restocking and getting ready for another year.”

He said traditionally he’s not increased the coroner’s budget “in any way, shape or form, except autopsies.” Those have to be done every year and he said the department has ran out of money in that account. He will be asking the Council for an additional appropriation of $20,000 at their September meeting to get the department through the rest of the year.

“And that’s money you’ve already spent? Bills that are already incurred?” Council President Sue Ann Mitchell asked.

Ciriello said there’s a few bills “sitting there,” but those total less than $1,000. 

“Since I did that additional appropriation, we’ve taken three more people over for autopsy. You just don’t know and this year we’ve had a lot of young people. And our drug overdoses are way up. We’ve had, through the end of June, we’ve had 17 drug overdoses. We’ve had at least six or seven since then. A normal year for us is 15 or less,” Ciriello said.

In talking to Ind. Sen. Stacey Donato (R-Logansport) last Saturday, Ciriello said she was curious about Kosciusko County’s overdose rate because her county coroner told her they were “way up” on theirs. They’ve had 10 this year.

“That’s like double what they’ve normally had,” he said. “And we’ve had plenty more than that.”

Whitley County Coroner Scott Smith doesn’t keep a running total of drug overdose deaths, but he said he’s had several this year. 

In St. Joseph County, the coroner’s office said they’ve had 51 drug overdose deaths as of Friday, which is about in line with the 53 deaths at the end of August 2021. By the end of 2021, the county had 97 drug overdose deaths. 

Later in the Council’s seven-hour budget review session, Mitchell told County Health Administrator Bob Weaver that the state is getting a huge amount of money from an opioid settlement with the pharmaceutical companies.

“But this is coming back to local government, and the Commissioners were kind enough to have signed that agreement. Once we signed on, that means we’re going to get $1.3 million over 17 years, I believe it is, but the state is working on trying to give us that boat load of money early so that we would actually be able to do something meaningful with it,” Mitchell said, noting that the $1.3 million is just the county’s share.

Some of the smaller cities, she said, only got like $35 because they didn’t have the population and whatever else was factored in the formula.

“If we can get the county to come together, and if all of us get money, to put it toward some positive use to try to turn around where we’re at with opioids, as we just heard from the coroner explaining how many deaths we had from overdoses, then perhaps we might be able to hopefully be able to turn the tide. That would be the hope,” Mitchell said. 

Weaver said, “There’s a lot of drugs out there.”

KCCRVC

Another thing up in Kosciusko County is the money the Kosciusko County Convention and Recreation Visitors Commission is taking in from the innkeepers tax. 

KCCRVC Board members John Hall and Ron Robinson presented the proposed 2023 budget of $785,000 to the Council. The 2022 adopted budget was $598,070.

County Auditor Michelle Auditor, who serves as the board’s controller, said that for 2023 they were asking for $350,000 for grants, a $112,070 increase over the 2022 adopted budget; $420,000 for promotion programs, an increase of $71,860; and $15,000 in administration costs for the CVB, a $3,000 increase over the 2022 adopted budget. 

“As you know, the dollars that we collect to support the Commission comes from the innkeepers tax. We cut budgets in previous years because of Covid, and it hit us pretty hard immediately. We thought it was going outstretched and hit us in a negative way for – three to five years was our initial projection. We’ve actually bounced back within a year and now we’re collecting more than what we ever had,” Puckett stated.

Two months ago, she reminded the Council, the Council approved an additional appropriation for $150,000 so the KCCRVC could distribute more grant dollars in 2022, “but then they also raised those amounts in ’23 so they can utilize the dollars they’re spending, they have, for its intended use.” 

Hall said, “What’s interesting on this bed tax collection, 2021 we collected a total of $782,000, and the home shares, what the state collects, was $249,000, so that is very important what the state is getting from these AirBNBs.”

He said they didn’t know how to chase them down or how to collect them.

“So that’s been a blessing for us,” he said. “And the bed collection through June of 2022 is” over $349,000, “so we’re up over roughly $70,000 this year through June.” 

He said the Commission has increased its grants to the City County Athletic Complex (CCAC) “because they’re struggling out there.” He said they gave the CCAC $40,000 last year and this year and bought them a piece of equipment. 

“We’re just hoping they’ll be able to survive. Time will tell,” Hall said. 

He said the people who participate in the activities at the CCAC are staying at the local hotels.

“They’re our biggest customers so we need that,” Hall said. 

New Plan Director

During the Area Plan Commission’s budget hearing, retiring Director Dan Richard announced Assistant Director Matt Sandy will be the new director. 

The Council congratulated Sandy.

“I gotta tell you,” Council President Sue Ann Mitchell said, “I was worried when they wanted applications and everything.”

Richard said Sandy has been “groomed” for a number of years for the position. Sandy has been with the department for 23 years.

In presenting the budget for 2023, Sandy told the Council that Ordinance Administrator Amy Irwin had resigned so her position and the assistant director position both will need to be filled.