Council President speaks on solar panel project . . .

As you likely know, the Hamilton County Council is the fiscal body of our county government. As such, the Council is wholly and exclusively responsible to ensure taxpayer money is spent wisely. The Board of County Commissioners is the executive body, responsible for the execution of the funding we approve, and the day-to-day operation of county government. There are literally thousands of requests for money that come to the Council each year – many of them for worthy causes.

For that reason, it is very important for the Council to exercise discipline and oversight on every project, and consider the impact to taxpayers for years down the road. In government or business, oversight is important. A lack of oversight creates an imbalance of power, misplaced priorities, and – inevitably – financial mismanagement. As your County Councilman, and President of the County Council, I take seriously my job to protect your tax dollars. Our oversight function includes a requirement that we conduct an exacting and inquisitive approach to funding requests from the Commissioners, just like we do for others who come to us requesting county funds. Because when it comes to spending money – the buck stops with us.

Cooperation with the Commissioners is critical to success. We need to work together. We work with the Commissioners closely and always attempt to align our priorities during budget time. This past March, we met with the Commissioners and agreed on a group of projects that needed to be funded in 2017/2018. Those projects included the Logan Street pedestrian walkway for approximately $2 million, expansion of the judicial center at approximately $25 million and the highway 37 project which cost is yet to be confirmed. We also discussed a previously agreed upon priority of expanding the jail at approximately $10 to 12 million.

During that March meeting, we agreed with the Commissioners that the courthouse and jail expansions were a priority and would cost between $10 to 12 million for the jail and $25 million for the judicial center. Our Council Finance Committee took these estimates and worked with our financial consultant to find a way to fund these projects without raising your taxes or depleting our reserves. The first step to each project was an architectural/engineering design – which came to a cost of $500,000 for the courthouse and $700,000 for the jail.

After having released that $1.2 million for the architectural/engineering plans and not having final numbers yet to finish either, the Commissioners sprung a new set of funding requests onto the Council. One of those new requests is an $8 million request for the installation of solar panels on county property as an experiment in lowering the County’s electric bill. While a worthy motivation, it is troubling that the Commissioners have asked us to fund new priorities outside of the budgetary priorities we agreed upon just six months ago – and without the benefit of the final cost on the cost of the courthouse and jail expansions.

The Commissioners presented the solar panel project as an “emergency” that could not wait until budget time next year because a state credit on how energy can be stored would expire at the end of the year. But this “emergency” could have easily been avoided had the project been presented in March along with the others, but it was not. This type of spending, outside of our budgetary priorities, is inconsistent with the disciplinary and resolve we have shown over the past several years to maximize the county’s financial standing. It is easy to say “yes” to projects, but it’s our job to “hold the line” on spending and stick with the contours of our budget even when the winds of spending blow and bluster.

As one vote out of seven, I have concerns with the solar projects outside of its absence from the budgetary talks. First, it is unclear whether it will create the savings that has been represented. The contract, in sum, makes savings promises but then provides multiple exceptions to those guarantees. Second, I worry how funding this project will impact our current tax levy when funded in conjunction with other projects like the courthouse and jail. In other words, if the courthouse and jail come in at steeper costs than predicted (which we all know is possible), we could find ourselves in a position where we must raise your taxes for the first time during my tenure on the Council. I refuse to be placed in that position.

Currently County Government is the only government body in Hamilton County that has seen a decrease in the amount of property taxes that we extract from our citizens over the past 4 years. This is due to fiscal responsibility which is driven by discipline and oversight. It is imperative that we await final numbers on the courthouse and jail before we consider anything else. That is what was agreed upon between the Council and Commissioners in March, and that is how I am going to proceed with my vote.

Bottom line, we should concentrate on finishing and funding the priorities we agreed upon in March before we begin additional “pet projects,” as worthy as they may be. That is why I was elected, and that is the course I intend to pursue on your behalf.

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Commissioners: Glynn needs to do homework

POSTED BY: THE REPORTER

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners are writing in response to a recent article by County Councilman Fred Glynn regarding the Hamilton County Jail Complex Solar Project. We believe that additional facts and context would be helpful for Hamilton County taxpayers to determine if a state sanctioned guaranteed energy contract, generating an estimated net savings of over $12,500,000 over 25 years, is a good investment.

Utilities are the county’s second highest expense right behind our employee salaries/benefits. As the executive body, the commissioners are always looking for opportunities to save money and reduce our risk of future expenditures. The commissioners began exploring energy savings opportunities for our buildings in 2013 and implemented several cost savings improvements. These improvements have resulted in energy savings of $225,000 per year by installing new interior & exterior LED lighting, efficient direct digital controls systems with night setback as well as heating & cooling system upgrades.

The commissioners originally brought the Jail Complex Solar Project to the council in 2015. Everyone agreed at that time the solar project was not a good investment in that it did not generate a sufficient rate of return. Three important things have changed since 2015 which both make the solar project extremely beneficial and which have accelerated the timeline for installation:

1. The technology and the capacity of the solar panels have been significantly improved and electric rates continue to escalate.
2. In 2017 the Indiana General Assembly passed SB309 reducing net metering from 30 years to 15 years. Solar projects installed by Dec. 31, 2017 avoid the reduction and receive the 30-year net metering. If this project continues to be delayed past the end of the year, the county will lose $2,889,000.
3. Tariff petitions pending before the International Trade Commission, if passed before the purchase of the panels will increase the cost of the Solar Project by $1,200,000.

The utility savings generated will pay for solar project in less than 10 years. These funds are already in the County utility budgets and the solar project will not result in a tax increase, but rather a net savings. The other benefit is that the county would be taking control of their energy use and avoiding future utility increases.

Timeline:

• May 10, 2017 – Commissioner Altman personally met with Fred Glynn to explain the project and urgency to proceed.
• May 30, 2017 – County Council was provided information on Solar Project.
• June 7, 2017 – County Council was presented the Solar Project for consideration by Buildings & Grounds Supervisor Steve Wood.
• June 19, 2017 – County attorney Mike Howard sent memo to the Finance Committee.
• June 19, 2017 – Council Finance Committee Meeting.
• July 5, 2017 – Council was presented again about the time constraints and importance of this project.
• Aug. 2, 2017 – Council Meeting – Solar Project stayed tabled.
• Aug. 16, 2017 – Council Finance Committee Meeting.

As you can see from the timeline above, President Fred Glynn had plenty of time to review and ask questions about this project but he did not. To date, after multiple requests, Mr. Glynn has not contacted the Commissioners, the Hamilton County Building & Grounds Department, the engineering and installation contractor Johnson-Melloh or references provided by county staff.

The Hamilton County Commissioners fail to understand how any fiscally responsible County Council person would dismiss this project out of hand as a “pet project” without taking the time to review and discuss the same with the knowledgeable at hand.