Court services director and council debate pretrial‑screener pay, community corrections benefits request

Bill Watson, director of court services, explained the county’s approach to pretrial‑screener compensation during a Vigo County council meeting. “When the pretrial screeners were created with the county and the council, 2 of the positions are paid by the state of Indiana. 2 were agreed to be paid by the county council,” Watson said, adding that those positions were not certified probation officers and therefore were not placed on the county’s mandatory salary schedule.

Watson said the county historically waits until state allocations are known (often in late December) and then adjusts the county‑funded screeners’ pay after January to mirror state raises. That timing, he said, explains the confusion about how those positions were listed in the salary ordinance this year.

The council also reviewed a roughly $700,000 employee‑benefits package for community corrections that had been moved between funding sources (general fund, opioid fund) during budget development. “When we do our grant application every year, that budget is set, approved by the board, goes to the state,” Watson said, describing the advisory board’s role in setting community corrections budgets. Councilmembers pressed for transparency about how state grant dollars are allocated and expressed concern about sustainability if state funding drops.

Council did not adopt a final appropriation during the meeting; members asked Watson and staff to provide further budget detail and pursue options for dividing costs between the county and the program’s advisory board.