WARSAW — A rarely divided Kosciusko County Council on Thursday ended a lengthy back-and-forth on raises for probation officers.

By a 4-3 vote, the council approved a recommendation to provide a one-time $5,000 stipend for next year that will be paid for with user fees.

Council had approved a $10,000 stipend just weeks ago before new questions arose.

Thusday's vote came shortly after the county received a clarification by the State Board of Accounts that the county could indeed provide a stipend.

Efforts to provide probation officers with more compensation had continued for months.

Five judges who oversee probation supported providing a sizeable increase. Two of them -- 

Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer and Circuit Court Judge Matthew Buehler spoke Thursday night after the council received an update from the State Board of Accounts.

Council member Rachael Rhoades proposed the $5,000 compromise and Kimberly Cates quickly seconded the motion.

Rhoades said her plan would not add to the workers’ base salary and would not affect the budget.

Council President Tony Ciriello voiced his opposition and supported giving them the same 2 percent pay hike that most other county employees are scheduled to receive in 2026.

Ciriello and Councilwoman Kathy Groninger both said they worried a large stipend would affect worker morale..

Groninger pointed out that a review of job descriptions by Waggoner, Irwin Scheele & Associates (WIS) led to a recommendation that the county should decrease the probation officers’ wages.

She also said the current wages of probation officers are high, as compared to other county employees and elected officials.

That drew a response from Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer, who provided some examples

“To say probation officers are overpaid in comparison to county employees is simply not accurate,” Bauer said. “They’re not.”

Bauer talked about the circumstances in the office.

"We want to retain these people. We've got probation officers who are working two jobs to support their families. Probation officers that are looking to go to federal probation because they make a better wage," Bauer said.

"And we've had probation officer slots open for years that we can't fill," he added.

In the deciding vote, those supporting it were Rhoades, Cates, DeLynn Geiger and David Wolkins. Opposed were Ciriello, Groninger and Joe Irwin.

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