Kosciusko County Surveyor-elect Jim Moyer (standing) listens to the County Council Thursday, Sept. 12, as they discuss the wages for the surveyor and chief deputy surveyor for 2025. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — To make a decision on the salaries for the county surveyor and a chief deputy surveyor for 2025, the Kosciusko County Council consulted with many resources, but a decision was reached at their meeting Thursday, Sept. 12.

In the end, county surveyor-elect Jim Moyer will make several thousand dollars less next year than he made as assistant surveyor.

Current county surveyor Mike Kissinger, who is a licensed county surveyor, did not seek re-election this year. Moyer, who is not licensed, won the Republican primary and is not challenged in the November general election. A non-licensed county surveyor can’t perform some of the duties of the office so those will have to be contracted out. It’s the first time in 64 years that the county hasn’t had a licensed county surveyor. Because state law requires a licensed county surveyor to make 1-1/2 times more than that of a non-licensed county surveyor, there was some question as to how much Moyer should be paid.

On Thursday, County Council President Mike Long presented the county wage committee recommendations for the surveyor and assistant surveyor.

“This conversation started about six years ago. We have spent numerous hours – a lot of us have – on this because it’s something we have never faced, as far as I know, in this county,” Long said. “So we referenced a lot of material and we’re referencing the Indiana code. We referenced Indiana code 36-2-12-15. We also referenced the 2024 salary ordinance to serve as a base. We also referenced subsection b, subdivision 1 and 2 of the Indiana code. We’ve referenced subsection c, subdivision 1 and 2 of the code; we also referenced subsection d, subdivision 1 and 2; and also we referenced Indiana code 25-21.5 or 25-31.”

He said they also ran the information past management consulting firm Waggoner Irwin Scheele & Associates, Baker Tilly, St. Joseph County’s decision on their unlicensed county surveyor, county attorney Ed Ormsby, county Human Resource Director Cathy Reed, the Kosciusko County Auditor’s Office, and reviewed the counties of Shelby, Steuben, Dekalb and Fulton Counties for comparative compensation levels of unlicensed county surveyors.

With all of that, Long said the committee’s findings are under Indiana code 36-2-12-15, subsection b, subdivision 2.

“It clearly states the compensation fixed under subsection 1 must be 1-1/2 times that fixed under subsection 2, and that is for a non-licensed surveyor to a licensed surveyor,” Long said, adding that the code goes on to read, “In addition to the compensation fixed under subsections b and c, the surveyor is entitled unlicensed to $2 for each corner reference required under section 11 of the code, if the surveyor is not registered under Indiana code.”

The wage committee recommended to the full council that the base starting compensation for an unlicensed unregistered surveyor be set at $56,856, plus section corners at $2 each, plus 12 years of service to the county, three years on the county council, nine years in the surveyor’s office, along with a 3% wage increase for 2025.

“The total compensation for the 2025 salary ordinance is recommended at $61,934.23, not including the 2,483 section corners at $2 each, or $4,966. It is then recommended that the total compensation for an unlicensed surveyor for 2025 salary ordinance be set at $66,360.23,” Long stated.

Moyer’s current salary as the assistant county surveyor is $69,915.

Councilwoman Joni Truex did not think the council could approve the ditch miles and corner sections for the surveyor until a licensed surveyor was under contract with the county to do the work that Moyer can’t. Long said Ormsby indicated that wasn’t needed now for the council to make a decision.

“We could always hold on the ditch miles and the corner sections until someone is under contract,” Truex said.

“The corner sections we cannot because that is mandated by the state of Indiana under code that we must pay those. And that is something that I will add, that we haven’t paid, and there again, in the history of the county. We inadvertently found this out during the research on this, and it clearly states that we must – not may – pay these, in the opinion of our county attorney,” Long said.

Moyer told the council, “In 110 days, I will become the next surveyor. And you can’t stop it. And I promised the taxpayers when I ran for election I would eliminate a position and I would reduce the budget. My budget as presented is $150,000 less than the current budget. So, I put my faith in the hands of the taxpayers.”

Truex asked him if he budgeted for a licensed surveyor contract, and Moyer said it was all in his 2025 budget.

Long said he had “no doubts” that Moyer could carry out the responsibilities of the surveyor’s office with the program he set forth to do.

“I’ve been doing it for the last six years with another surveyor. It’s all in the budget,” Moyer stated.

Long told Moyer, “We gave you the opportunity to be ahead of this game, to discuss this, that we wanted to be above board as best we could. We wanted to get you the highest compensation allowed by Indiana code, and I feel that’s what we’ve done.”

Councilman Dave Wolkins asked Moyer what his current salary was as the assistant surveyor and if his responsibilities would be more or less as the surveyor. Moyer said they would be more as he would be responsible for an entire office.

Long said if anyone doesn’t like the council’s decision on the surveyor’s compensation they should contact their state representative to change the law to give the county more latitude on what they can do.

Wolkins asked if the council could have the option of raising the salary of a licensed surveyor. He was told no because the 2025 salary of the unlicensed county surveyor had to be based off the 2024 licensed county surveyor salary.

“We’re stuck,” Councilwoman Kimberly Cates stated.

By state statute, an elected official’s wage can’t be changed in the middle of the year, Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell said, so therefore the county can’t go back and change Kissinger’s 2024 surveyor’s wage.

Councilman Tony Ciriello said, “We are allowed by law to also pay $2 per certified mile ditch, is that what it is?”

Long said the council wasn’t, that would have to be an executive decision by the county commissioners, and while he didn’t want to speak on the commissioners’ behalf, “I know there’s something in the works on that.”

The council approved the surveyor’s wage for 2025 at $61,394.23, without corner sections, by a vote of 5-2, with Wolkins and Ciriello opposed. They approved 2,483 section corners at $2 each by a 6-1 vote, with Truex opposed.

The chief deputy surveyor’s position – which was changed from an assistant surveyor position – will receive a wage of 80% of an unlicensed county surveyor, or $46,865.82. Moyer pointed out that at that amount, the deputy surveyor will be the lowest paid position in the surveyor’s office. The wage was approved by a vote of 6-1, with Wolkins opposed.

“I don’t like it, but that’s what the law says,” Ciriello said.