Commissioners ask council to tap LIT 1233 for up to $500,000 to cover jail-related liability claims

Commissioner Chris Switzer asked the Vigo County Council to appropriate up to $500,000 from the local income tax correctional rehabilitation fund (LIT 1233) to replenish the county liability claims account and avoid placing pressure on the general fund.

Switzer said the liability account is already showing a negative balance of $181,723.51 and that many of the outstanding claims stem from lawsuits involving the Vigo County Jail or the sheriff's office. “We have been paying some of them as they come along,” he said, and described the county’s self-insurance exposure: “each individual case has a $150,000 deductible.”

Switzer told the council the county has identified LIT 1233 — a local income tax fund with a fund balance he described as “over $26 million” — as an appropriate source for these payments and that the State Board of Accounts had been consulted about using the fund for claim payments. He said the council could choose a smaller appropriation (for example, $200,000) but recommended a larger appropriation so the county could pay current and anticipated claims without repeatedly returning for additional appropriations.

Council members asked for more detail about prior appropriations and reversions; Switzer said much of last year’s appropriation reverted and that the county would provide exact figures on how much reverted. He emphasized that any funds not spent will revert back to the LIT fund, not the general fund.

The request is framed as a financial-management step: paying settlements, attorney fees and defense costs from a dedicated local income tax fund rather than the general fund. Switzer said the commissioners and the county’s insurance counsel will continue to manage individual settlements and that using LIT 1233 will “avoid pressure on the general fund.”

Next steps: The council will consider the appropriation at its upcoming budget hearings; Switzer said he might return to the council during the year if additional funds are needed and that any unspent money will revert to the originating fund.