Bartholomew County Council members added $2.5 million to its rainy day fund Monday, bringing the total to more than $17 million in unappropriated funds.

The council moved $3.6 million dollars out of the county general fund Monday, appropriating $1.1 million to the county health department, and designating $2.5 million for the rainy day fund.

The county health department had sought $2.2 million for its budget, after the state cut the department’s promised funding after Gov. Mike Braun took office.

The funding cut came from the state initiative Health First Indiana, which sought to overhaul public health funding in the state, providing funding so counties can determine the health needs of their community and implement evidence-based programs focused on prevention, according to state officials.

The Bartholomew County Health Department received $928,011 through the initiative in 2024, according to the Indiana Department of Health. County health officials were expecting to receive about $1.78 million in additional funding through the initiative until the Braun administration announced cuts.

Braun’s 2025–2027 budget reduced Indiana’s Health First Indiana initiative funding statewide from $150 million annually to $40 million in 2026.

Bartholomew County is currently receiving $435,749 in Health First Indiana funding in 2026.

Council members said the additional appropriation for the health department of $1.1 million will fully fund the health department for this year.

The remaining $2.5 million moved to the Rainy Day Fund was initially planned for road repairs after the state gave Bartholomew County zero funding in its application for a Community Crossings Matching Grant for this year. The state later revisited the decision and offered the county $843,500 in March.

The program requires that the county provide dollar-for-dollar local matching funds for the award amount because of its population size, meaning that county previously had access to up to $3 million in funding annually for road projects through the program before the denial.

For the first eight years of the program, the maximum award was $1 million per year. CCMG money comes from Indiana’s state road-funding revenue via a sales tax on gas.

Since the state funds must be matched 50/50, Bartholomew County now has a potential $1.687 million for the roads from the CCMG funds.

Some county council members have indicated concern that having millions of dollars in unspent taxpayer money in a rainy day fund.

When a budget analysis was presented to the Bartholomew County Council previously, member Kim Bennett expressed concern that having a large amount of money might create a public perception that the county is hoarding funds, instead of putting the funds back into services.

“Don’t worry,” Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor said at that time. “If the governor and the state legislature get what they are talking about approved, we’re going to be using those funds.”

O’Connor was referring to proposed cuts in property taxes that could cause local governments across the state to lose $1.2 billion in 2026, according to a legislative fiscal analysis. She said that officials will know more by the end of the week how much money the county will lose in the next year due to Senate Enrolled Act 1. Officials are already in the process of analyzing the budget to determine the best ways to move forward.
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