Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff has a new contract extension, through June 30, 2021.  The HSE School Board approved the new pact, calling for a 2% increase to an annual salary of $189,702, effective July 1, 2019.  The contract calls for Dr. Bourff’s incentive compensation for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 to be $14,872 (.08% X $185,982.

Dr. Bourff’s contract was approved by the board Wednesday night by a vote of 6-1, with Amanda Shera the only no vote.  The vote was for the approval of the Consent Agenda, which included four items – meeting minutes, a staffing report, a donations report and Dr. Bourff’s compensation.  Shera did not specify during the meeting why she voted no on the Consent Agenda.

The board also gave final approval to the 2020 budget and the new contract with the district’s teachers, a two year agreement that begins retroactively to the start of this school year.

The Hamilton County Humane Society continues to raise money for its planned move to Fishers and has already raised 80% of their goal.  According to my news gathering partner, the Hamilton County Reporter, the nonprofit organization needs to raise a total of $12 million in order to build the new facility planned at 106th Street and Hague Road.

The Hamilton County Council has funded the program to the tune of $3.5 million.

The Humane Society has been housed at its current Noblesville facility since 2006 and expects its new home in Fishers to be complete during 2021.

In March of 2017, the Fishers City Council voted unanimously to approve zoning changes, paving the way for the Humane Society’s eventual move to Fishers.

At-large Fishers City Councilwoman Cecilia Coble is seeking another four -year term on the council.  Here is my conversation with her.

You can do your early voting on Fishers prior to election day, November 5th.  Fishers City Hall will be the location for early voting.  Here is the schedule of early voting hours in Fishers for the municipal election:

Wednesday, October 23 – Thursday, October 24          2 pm to 7 pm

Friday, October 25 – Saturday, October 26                    10 am to 3 pm

Wednesday, October 30                                                          2 pm to 7 pm

Friday, November 1 – Saturday, November 2               10 am to 3 pm

Early voting is also available at the Hamilton County Judicial Center in downtown Noblesville.  Here are the hours:

Monday, October 21 – Friday October 25                   8 am to 4:30 pm

Saturday October 26                                                           9 am to 4 pm

Monday, October 28 – Friday, November 1              8 am to 4:30 pm

Saturday, November 2                                                      9 am to 4 pm

Monday, November 4                                                        8 am to noon

Monday night was an evening of honoring longevity at the Fishers City Council meeting.

Officer Darrin Emmons was recognized by the council for 20 years of service to the Fishers Police Department.

Anthony Novak and Jerry Edwards were honored for 20 years working in the city fleet operation.

Mayor Scott Fadness recognized  Office Works for being a thriving business in Fishers for 35 years.

There was no opposition among the nine members of the Fishers City Council as the body voted Monday night to approve a $119 million 2020 spending plan.  The vote was 9-0.

Councilman David George was unable to attend last month’s budget session where Mayor Scott Fadness laid out the numbers for the council.  A public hearing was held on the budget in September but no one chose to speak.

George explained Monday why he planned to vote for the budget, pointing to long-term plans to repair and resurface streets and roads in the city as they age.

During the community comment period at the end of the council session, Democratic candidate for Fishers City Council At-Large, Jocelyn Vare, criticized the process used by the city administration and council in explaining the 2020 budget to the public.  She suggested the 2021 budget process be done differently, calling for a public explanation of the budget in plain language 30 days before the public hearing.

The 2020 budget calls for a 3% employee pay hike and includes a 2-cents-per-$100 of assessed property value tax rate increase.

Logan Day, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in this years Republican primary election, chose to turn to another subject during the community comment time.  He asked that the council vote on releasing the report done by an outside law firm concerning allegations that City Clerk Jennifer Kehl had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in dealing with employees in her office.

The firm found no violations of the law in its probe, but a brief statement from the city said the report found management issues in the City Clerk’s office and reduced Clerk Kehl’s responsibilities and staff.  The full report has never been made public, with the city arguing that one or more of the employees still has the right to file an action with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC).

Day said the city could release the report and redact private information, such as the employee names.

The City of Fishers plans to spend $255,000 of the 2020 municipal budget supporting local nonprofit organizations.  The three-member Fishers City Council Nonprofit Committee, consisting of council members Pete Peterson, Cecilia Coble and the Chairman Todd Zimmerman, held a discussion Monday evening on how to support specific local organizations next year, based on funding requests submitted by local nonprofits.

Here are the committee’s recommendations for 2020 funding:

$65,250   Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program

$64,707    Youth Mentoring Initiative (YMI)

$15, 043   JANUS

$100,000  Conner Prairie

$10,000     HSE Schools Foundation

The committee had a lengthy discussion about the proposal from the HSE Schools Foundation, concerned the money requested was for alumni outreach and not programs impacting current students.  The committee provided less than the foundation requested as a result.

The spending proposal goes next to the City Council Finance Committee, and if approved there, goes to the full council for a final vote.

Fishers Police officers are already being equipped with body cams, with the expectation that all officers will have the cameras by early 2020.  Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart told the Police Merit Commission Friday that this was the goal of his department in rolling out the video technology.

The city’s 2020 budget calls for a full time civilian position in the police department to primarily maintain the body camera program.  This is the only additional staff member for the department in 2020, according to Chief Gebhart.  The civilian employee will be involved in responding to public records requests.

The body cam deployment is being partially funded by a $120,000 federal grant.

School Resource Officers (SROs) will have body cameras installed, Gebhart said.

The policy for retaining the videos will be in line with state law.  State statute requires the videos be retained for 180 days, but the city plans to keep them a bit longer than that requirement, possibly 200 days.

The city is utilizing a cloud-based system for storage, which will provide access for officers, authorized users and personnel at the prosecutor’s office without the need to record and playback on video disks.

For a member of the public to access a police body camera video, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request must be submitted.  City Attorney Chris Greisl told the Merit Commission there are state laws requiring that some images on these videos be obscured.

When requesting a police body cam video, Greisl says the person making the request must provide some basic information, such as naming the person at the scene (other than the officer), and knowing the time and date of the incident.

Chief Gebhart also updated the commission on hiring officers, hoping to be at full strength in 2020 with 119 sworn positions filled.  The chief expects at least one retirement in 2020, and there could be others.

Now that students are returning to class after fall break for our local schools, road construction is slowing down considerably, but be aware of closures and lane restrictions along parts of Lantern Road and 96th street in the coming week.

Below is the listing, as provided by the City of Fishers, for the work week starting Monday, October 21st.

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LANTERN ROAD 
Lantern Road is closed to through traffic, beginning south of 116th Street to Fishers Pointe Boulevard, as part of the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Project to improve the sanitary sewer underneath Lantern Road. Access to Lantern Road remains open from the north (via 116th Street) for local residential, business, and Fishers Elementary School traffic. The closure for this portion of the project is expected to last approximately 90 days. Check out the project Fact Sheet to learn more.

The intersection of Lantern Road and Fishers Pointe Boulevard will also be closed this week. Use Hague Road to detour.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers won a back-and-forth game with Zionsville Friday at Clarian Field at Reynolds Tigers Stadium, finishing up Hoosier Crossroads Conference and regular-season play.

The Class 6A No. 9 Tigers got on the board first, with Nick Leath catching a 19-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Roux in the first quarter. The Eagles would score the next two touchdowns on runs by Colin Price, and that led Zionsville to a 14-7 advantage in the second quarter.

Leath and Roux teamed up for a 27-yard pass play score to tie the game, but the Eagles got their own passing touchdown, and went ahead 21-14 at halftime.

Dylan Scally opened the second half with a 33-yard rushing touchdown, and Jack Phillips’ extra-point kick tied the game again at 21-21.

The pattern continued as the third quarter went on, with Zionsville scoring on another passing touchdown, and the Tigers answering with a running score. Roux punched it in from the one-yard line, and the game was tied 28-28 after three quarters.

Fishers finally took control in the fourth period, with Dominic Oliverio and Scally making short runs to get the Tigers ahead 42-28. The Eagles made one more pass play touchdown, but Fishers was able to hold them off for the win.

Scally had an outstanding game, with 196 yards in 20 carries. Roux was also great, completing 11 of 19 throws for 192 yards. Leath had five receptions. Phillips kicked all six of his extra-point attempts.

With the win, Fishers finished in a tie for second place in the HCC with Brownsburg; both schools have 5-2 conference records. The Tigers are 7-2 overall. They  will be off next week, then host Westfield in Sectional 4 play on Nov. 1.