Posey’s finances are in the hands of treasurer Peerman

By Lois Mittino Gray

Posey County Treasurer Vicki J. Peerman appeared before the County Commissioners to conduct the annual Board of Finance Meeting during their January 21 regular meeting at the Hovey House. The Commissioners, the County Auditor, and herself comprise the Board of Finance. Bill Collins was unanimously appointed as the Board of Finance President. Vicki Peerman will continue in her role as the Secretary of the Board of Finance for the year 2026.

“My number one responsibility is to make sure all our tax dollars are safe and secure and I can report that they are all in protected accounts,” she told the audience. Peerman reminded the Commissioners that the county coffers worth almost 66 million are covered by the Public Deposit Insurance Fund (PDIF), as long as the County is following the necessary procedures set forth by the PDIF. This includes only depositing funds into banks approved by the PDIF and she released a list of the eight accounts used to deposit tax money.

She reported a total of $66,886,795.65 in bank account balances as recorded on the cash book as of December 31, 2025. Total interest accrued from investment accounts in the past year was $2,699,486.73. That breaks down to $235, 498.08 from CDs and $2,463,988.65 interest from banks. The Finance Report was unanimously accepted and approved and Commissioners commended her for her diligence in safeguarding funds.

Peerman then gave the 2026 Investment Policy Review which saw little change from last year. It was approved 3-0. Checks that have been outstanding for over two years will be voided out in March “This is the fewest we’ve ever had at $496.20. We contacted the recipients and have no success distributing them,” she explained. In other New Business, the Commissioners opened bids for the Community Crossings Grant paving work and a new ambulance. County Highway Superintendent Steve Schenk was given the three submitted bids after Collins opened them for the CC Grant to look over details. JH Rudolph bid $1,266,761.65; Jerry David Enterprises bid $1,236,960.75; and E and B bid $1,253,310.35. Schenk called them “close, but no cigar” and recommended Jerry David to be awarded the bid. It was approved.

Posey County EMS Director Paul Micheletti recommended the ambulance sale be awarded to American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) at a cost of $253,700. They were the low bid. He also submitted figures for EMS rate increases for 2026. Urban ground mileage went from $9.15 to $9.33 per mile at a 1.967 percent increase and rural base rate went from $13.86 to $14.13 for the first 17 miles, an increase of 1.948 percent and from $9.24 to 9.42 at the same percent increase for 18 plus miles. Non-emergency and Specialty Care Transport rates were also increased, but by an average of 2.38 percent. Paul was asked about the difference between what is considered rural and what is urban in the county. He said it is done by the State of Indiana and it is weird. Cynthiana is considered urban and Mount Vernon and Poseyville are considered rural. Commissioner Greg Newman said he would like to see the details on that. “It may be off like that for other county categories and maybe we need to see change” he noted. He asked the EMS Director to look into it.

Kate Adams, Southwest Mental Health CEO, gave the annual report of the her agency. Offices are on a side street next to Dairy Queen in Mount Vernon. This year they saw 450 adult individuals and 154 children. They are in two schools now, West Elementary School and Mount Vernon Senior High School. There were 92 crisis calls total this year. Most issues they deal with are PTSD, anxiety disorders, and alcohol issues. They were found to have a gap in anger management and have added those classes. “We appreciate how you have addressed our concerns this year,” stated Newman.

Hafer Engineering was hired for the Court House proposal to oversee the project. A report from EREP was tabled until next meeting. A reimbursement agreement was entered upon with CenterPoint Energy for relocation services for some of the Western Bypass lines. Bond money will pay the $88,456.57 bill for it.

Finally, Councilors passed a resolution creating a federally recognized district at no cost to the taxpayer with four counties total in E Partnership. “If it means us getting more money, I’m all for it,” exclaimed Collins.

In Department Updates, Posey County Sheriff Tom Latham reported his current inmate count at the jail as: 18 from Vanderburgh County, nine from the Department of Corrections, and 85 from the county for a total of 112 incarcerations. Sheriff Latham informed the Commissioners that the scanner information has all been sent in and it should arrive soon. He took a minute to offer kudos to Peerman for her phenomenal work handling 66 million dollars. “Great Job.”

Health Department Director Kyle Jones had a list of items to be declared surplus when they moved and the desks, book cases, lift chair, and scales were placed on the surplus list.

Micheletti said his agency is still working with the Marrs Volunteer Fire Department on a rental agreement for housing the ambulance. They are looking through old records on it now.

Finally, responding to an invitation for anyone in the audience to speak, a woman who identified herself as Laura residing at 1934 First Avenue in Evansville distributed information on the Chinese Communist Party threat, the Falun Gong religion, and the targeting of the musical culture show Shen Yun by the Chinese government. She passed out a brochure entitled, “Why is the Chinese Communist Party Threatening Americans and Why Should You Care?” She warned audience members to not go to China for an organ transplant.