Dubois County council members discussed a proposal to create a full-time county administrator position and signaled preliminary support to include funding in the county’s upcoming budget.

The council debated the job’s responsibilities — which the discussion characterized as county development and planning, unified fleet management, safety coordination and grant-writing — and agreed by a show of hands to seek budget authority to fund the position. The tally recorded in the meeting transcript was 5 in favor and 2 opposed. The council said final approval and hiring would be handled by the county commissioners and that the item would be placed in the general fund if approved.

Supporters argued the role would provide day-to-day continuity, improve interdepartmental coordination and reduce insurance and workers’-compensation costs by centralizing safety oversight. Opponents said the county’s budget is tight, warned of ongoing personnel and operating costs (office space, computer, vehicle mileage, insurance) and questioned whether existing staff already perform many of the duties listed in the job description. Several members said outcomes would depend on the candidate hired.

The draft job description, as discussed in the meeting, lists duties including implementation of the county comprehensive plan, capital project coordination, oversight of county property and fleet, supervision of insurance and safety matters, and research and pursuit of government and private grants. The transcript shows the council discussed whether the post would be an appointed position subject to state law; a participant referenced Indiana Code 36-2-2-14 (authority for county administrator appointment).

The council did not record a precise salary in the meeting minutes. Several speakers described the figure discussed in the meeting as "100 some thousand dollars" and compared local examples (one nearby county’s administrator salary cited informally as roughly $80,000). The council agreed not to appropriate vehicle or office setup money until a candidate was selected, and members said equipment and travel would be addressed by appropriation if/when the position is filled.

Next steps: the council agreed to forward the budget request to the commissioners for their decision and to include the proposed appropriation in the county’s budget documents for the upcoming cycle, with hiring and final compensation to be determined later.

Why it matters: creating a county administrator would change the county’s executive staffing model and could centralize responsibilities now split across department heads, with potential effects on long-term operating costs, grant activity and departmental workflow.