INDIANA NEWS 92 Volume 24 Number 5 September/October 2018 AIC 2018 Conference Wrap-Up WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE? Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2051 Indiana Indianapolis, TWG, INC. TWG, U.S. POSTAGE PAID POSTAGE U.S. 101 West Ohio Street, Suite 1575 Suite Street, Ohio West 101 STANDARD PRESORTED Association of Indiana Counties Inc. Counties Indiana of Association Heavy responsibilities. Plenty of pitfalls. Losing your immunity; contracting without proper precautions; dealing with employees; accepting grants, gifts or subsidies without knowing the consequences; or thinking good intentions will outweigh bad results is fraught with risks you have to manage… or trouble will surely come calling. You don’t have to figure it out alone. AIC endorsed for over 25 years. Bliss McKnight’s insurance and risk management programs include knowledgeable people to help you 800-322-3391 avoid “getting into trouble”. [email protected] AIC-8x11-PRESS v2.indd 1 1/19/16 3:49 PM What’s Inside Vol. 24 Number 5 September/October 2018 Features Calendar 2018 AIC ANNUAL CONFERENCE 3 IDEM is Reviewing and Revising the NOVEMBER SEPTEMBER 16-19, 2018 • MARION COUNTY AIC 2018 MS4 Rule 6 Election Day By David Bottorff 11 Veteran’s Day Conference 16 AIC Board Meeting 4 The Kankakee River Basin: A Historic 21 AIC Institute Class – Legislative Challenge Affairs, Organization Day, Wrap-Up Statehouse By Ryan Hoff 23 Thanksgiving Day 6 AIC 2018 Annual Conference Wrap-Up 27-30 Commissioners Association – By Christine Traina & Jacque Clements Sheraton at Keystone at the Extras Crossing, Indianapolis 11 Are You Retiring From County 10 AIC Alumni Program Government? DECEMBER By Karen Avery 12-14 Newly Elected Officials Seminar – Hyatt, Downtown 15 AIC 2018 Scholarship Indianapolis Recipients 12 Water, Water Everywhere? By Ice Miller, LLP 16 AIC Important Dates Stay Connected. Follow the AIC on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube! indianacounties.org www.IndianaCounties.org September/October 2018 INDIANA NEWS 92 1 The Director’s Chair INDIANA NEWS 92 The official magazine of U.S. Counties Association of Indiana Counties, Inc. 101 West Ohio Street, Suite 1575 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2051 FREE for NACo (317) 684-3710 FAX (317) 684-3713 Member Counties www.indianacounties.org Karen Avery, Editor Be a Live Healthy county OFFICERS President: Larry Hesson, Hendricks County Council with health discount First Vice President: Stacey O’Day, Allen County Assessor Second Vice President: Anton Karl Neff, Owen County Council programs for residents Third Vice President: Ken Paust, Wayne County Commissioner Treasurer: Kent Ward, Hamilton County Surveyor STAFF Help your residents save on David Bottorff, Executive Director everyday prescription, dental [email protected] Ryan Hoff, Director of Government Relations & General Counsel and health costs. [email protected] Karen Avery, Director of Public Relations Prescription Discounts at more [email protected] Christine Traina, Director of Planning and Government than 68,000 pharmacies nationwide. Relations Associate Free to residents – they can save [email protected] an average of 24%* off retail prices. Pam Coleman, Director of Finance [email protected] Jacque Clements, Director of Professional Development & Dental and Health Discounts at a Corporate Relations national network of providers. Low- [email protected] fee programs save residents 15% The Association of Indiana Counties, Inc. (AIC) was founded in 1957 for the betterment of county government. Each to 50% on dental and health costs. of Indiana’s 92 counties are members of the AIC. The AIC Board of Directors is made up of elected county officials and The Live Healthy program also is responsible for overall AIC policy and management. AIC serves its members through lobbying, education, publications, includes marketing materials to research, and technical assistance. reach your residents. Indiana News 92 is published bi-monthly by the AIC at 101 W. Ohio St., Suite 1575, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2051. It is distributed to county elected officials, county employees, state and federal legislators, state agency personnel, National Become a Live Healthy county – it’s free! Visit Association of Counties (NACo), universities, non-profit www.naco.org/health or call toll-free 1-888-407-6226. associations, media, and organizations interested in the betterment of county government. For advertising rates and other information, please contact Karen Avery, Editor. The Live Healthy discount program is NOT insurance. All county members receive annual subscriptions to Indiana News 92 magazine through payment of county dues. * Savings may vary by drug and by pharmacy. The Prescription Discount Card is operated Subscription Rate: $25.00 per year. by CVS/caremark®. The Discount Medical Organization for NACo Health and Dental Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Discounts is Alliance HealthCard of Florida, Inc. AIC All rights reserved. ©2015 CVS/caremark. 101 West Ohio Street, Suite 1575 106-35891a 100515 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2051 2 INDIANA NEWS 92 September/October 2018 Association of Indiana Counties Inc. The Director’s Chair IDEM is Reviewing and Revising the MS4 Rule By David Bottorff, Executive Director | [email protected] While designed to protect the environment, the MS4 rule can have substantial effects on local government and individual citizens. This Proudly serving Indiana counties since 2003, Apex Benefits is anAIC Endorsed Vendor rule is often the topic of the “no more stringent than the federal rule” discussion that occurs almost every session at the Indiana Statehouse. The rule attempts to control stormwater run-off and what chemicals or sediment can collect in the groundwater system or enter a water treatment facility. It can save money by keeping illicit discharges from getting into the groundwater storm sewer system or entering our waterways. The rule could increase the cost of developing housing and economic development projects. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is in the process of converting the Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System (MS4) requirements in Environmental Rule 327 IAC 15-13 from a permit-by-rule into a general permit. Part of this Second to None Municipalities Practice Specializing in health and welfare plan design process includes updates to ensure IDEM meets the overall intent and consultative strategy, we are your of the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency MS4 General trusted resource for all things HR. Permit Remand Rule. IDEM has formed an advisory group including appointments from the Association of Indiana Counties which appointed Morgan County Surveyor Terry Brock, and the County Surveyors Association of Indiana which appointed Tippecanoe County Apex Benefits has built a reputation among cities, counties, and other Surveyor Zach Beasley. municipalities that is based on creative strategy, superior services, and trend-defying cost savings. Our approach is a break from status quo as we are truly carving a new path for municipalities and their employees. The role of this advisory group will be to review and advise IDEM on potential issues associated with the new draft general permit. IDEM has put together a diverse set of stakeholders that can offer a different perspective for IDEM to consider; this will lead to the development of a more complete and functional general permit. County surveyors and drainage boards should pay close attention 317. 254.1600 | apex bg.com to the new rule as it is developed. The rule could create unfunded mandates on local units of government and increase the cost of 3755 E 82ND STREET, SUITE 100, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46240 development. www.IndianaCounties.org September/October 2018 INDIANA NEWS 92 3 Politics & Policy The Kankakee River Basin: A Historic Challenge By Ryan Hoff, General Counsel and Director of Government Relations | [email protected] The Kankakee River Basin is the drainage outlet for 1.9 million acres surrounding property was breached in several locations across the of northwest Indiana. The basin, which was once one of the largest region. Homes were flooded in Plymouth and Knox. Porter County wetlands in North America, was home to the French trappers who lost bridges to the flood. The state and the region’s counties had to sought the valuable wildlife that thrived in the area. In the mid-1800s spend millions of dollars to respond to the flooding and repair the agriculture was becoming a more economically beneficial use so accompanying infrastructure failures, but sadly this event was not out governments and landowners began looking to drain the massive of the ordinary for this basin. swamp to create valuable farmland as was also being done in northeast Indiana’s Great Black Swamp. Landowners began drainage The Kankakee River Basin Commission (KRBC) was created by the projects, and the effort was completed around 1910. In that same year, Indiana General Assembly in 1977 to coordinate development in the with the aid of state funding, work began to channelize and straighten basin and has sought to plan and coordinate the many environmental the Kankakee River to the course it runs today. The basin is now home demands placed upon the Kankakee River, its tributaries, and all the to multiple state parks and recreation areas, including the Kankakee land around it. This includes flood control and drainage, as well as Fish and Wildlife Area which sits at the confluence of the Kankakee and recreation, water quality