Cass County Council approve new vehicle and additional funding for coroner

Aug. 19—The Cass County Council met on Friday morning to appropriate money toward a vehicle for the sheriff's office, approve additional funds for the coroner's office and hear a quarterly update from court and pretrial services.

Cass County Sheriff Ed Schroder asked the council to transfer insurance money from a wrecked vehicle back to the sheriff's office so he could purchase another vehicle for the department.

The department originally tried to order four cars earlier this year but the supplier only had three available. Now there are more cars available, and Schroder said it is important to purchase the vehicle sooner rather than later.

"I talked to some vendors two weeks ago and they expect the fleet vehicles next year to decrease by about 50 percent across the board," he said. "I'm trying to scramble and get what we can while it's in stock somewhere, so I'm asking to move the money from our wrecked car that went into the general fund back to our budget."

The council voted to approve Schroder's request.

The council also approved additional funds for the Cass County Coroner's Office because the coroner's office has been extremely busy this year.

"It's been insane," Cass County Coroner George Franklin said. "Last Monday we had 2,022 hours. Our total count for this year right now is at 84. At the rate we're going, if it continues like this, we're going to have around 130 to 140 deaths this year. That compares last year to 120, which was a record year, and the year before, which was right around 98. The year before that was in the 80s."

Franklin said a large number of deaths were caused by drug overdoses, mainly of fentanyl. His office has confirmed 10 overdoses so far this year and is currently awaiting additional toxicology reports.

"It's out of control," he said. "I wish I had an answer, but I don't."

Hillary Hartoin, director of court and pretrial services, was also present at the meeting. She presented the department's quarterly report to the council and described the department's success.

Hartoin said the department received an additional $139,000 for mental health evaluations and is preparing to have interactive kiosks installed for clients. She also said the department's caseload has grown significantly this year.

"Right now we're at record-breaking numbers," she said. "Since this report was written, I currently have 88% of the total population that I had last year. We have about 80 people on pretrial, and if we put all those people back in the jail it would be at about 97% capacity."

Hartoin said the department performs above state standards and has saved the county nearly $600,000 by diverting people from jail. Officials at the state level have taken note of Cass County Court and Pretrial Service's success.

"We've been asked to teach at the state pretrial conference," Hartoin said. "The directors meetings for pretrial for the state are now moving over here in Cass County, so we're really excited about that. We're making a difference here. We're taking those values and being a leader statewide. It's a big honor."

Before the meeting adjourned, Cass County resident Lora Redweik stood up to make a suggestion to the council during the public comment portion of the meeting. She thanked the council for allowing public comments outside of agenda items and said she is concerned about toxic chemical reporting violations at The Andersons Marathon Holdings LLC. The company recently accepted a settlement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

"When you go to have a discussion about a tax abatement, can there be a checklist?" Redweik asked. "'Have you deviated from the (Indiana Department of Environmental Management), and if so, what were the offenses, what was the agreed order, when was this done?'"

Redweik asked if the council could find a way to ensure that companies follow state and U.S. regulations and provide oversight in the event that companies violate those regulations.

"I'm thankful for you guys and your time and attention," she told the council. "I didn't know if that was a possibility. Hopefully you guys can have a conversation about it."