VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
A newly discovered budget formula could mean a deeper cut to the funding of the Human Relations Commission.
That formula surfaced as the Vanderburgh County Council finalized its budget for next year.
With the county cutting its funding, the question that arises now is- will the Human Relations Commission receive the balance from the city?
The HRC receives funding from both the city and the county. In the past, the city's footed 87% of the bill and the county, 13%.
But Wednesday morning, the county cited a 25-year-old agreement when voting to cover a smaller percentage of the total budget
A unanimous decision Wednesday morning to cut county council's portion of HRC funding by 4%.
The reason for that deduction is a recently found, decades old agreement that requires a 91 to nine percent city-county budget split, instead of the 13% the county had provided for years.
The discovery had some council members questioning other agreements between the two governments.
"It just blows my mind that this can go on for so long and we are not be able to catch it or address it. So, I really hope that on an annual basis, or even biannually, those agreements are looked at," Council member Stephanie Terry said.
While the council voted for just a 4% cut, the county's portion of the HRC budget actually shrinks from $47,000 in 2012 to $34,000 in 2013.
Here's why- the county commissioners submitted a significantly smaller HRC budget to the council this time around.
HRC Director Diane Clements thinks the county's new lower funding has to do with the Human Relations Commission's recent changing of its ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
"We've been in the community, we've provided the service, and we've not come under any type of scrutiny before, but this it seems that there is a direct correlation," Clements said.
"It wasn't, certainly, on my mind, and I don't think it was on the other six members. It was a unanimous decision. We have a contractual agreement that is there I'm not really sure that we can legally exceed the contract," County Council President Tom Shelter said.
Several people spoke out against the HRC during the hearing with some emotion even spilling out into the hallway.
One council member drew chuckles and applause suggesting the county try to recoup the apparent extra 4% it had been paying from the city.
Ultimately, this hot button issue came down to a 7-0 vote.
The bottom line is we won't know whether the HRC's total funding, just over $382,000, will be decreased until the city finalizes its budget next month.
They could pick up that 4% the county dropped, leaving the funding essentially unchanged.
Copyright 2012 WFIE. All rights reserved.
Ultimately, this hot button issue came down to a 7-0 vote.
