Commissioners want to wait on new jail
AUBURN â Two out of three DeKalb County Commissioners made it clear Monday that they do not support building a jail right now.
During their weekly meeting at the courthouse in Auburn, Bill Hartman and Todd Sanderson said they want to wait until a spike in construction costs subsides.
The commissioners have been considering a new jail seriously since January, when they chose the Elevatus architecture firm of Fort Wayne to design a jail on property at the west edge of Auburn.
âI think I can make a good decision today. In fact, Iâm not ready to raise taxes to do this,â Hartman said.
ALBION â The Noble County Commissionersâ loss is going to be the Emergency Management Agencyâs gain.
The Noble County Commissioners Monday approved a recommendation by the Noble County EMA Advisory Board to appoint Commissioner Justin Stump as agencyâs new executive director when current position holder Mick Newton retired in early July.
Commissioner Anita Hess motioned to appoint Stump to the position. Commissioner Gary Leatherman provided the second. Stump abstained from voting.
Stump will be resigning his position on the Board of Commissioners, a position he has held since January 2019. The Republican Party will have to caucus to select a replacement for his elected seat on the commissioners. Stump represents District 1, which encompasses Washington, Noble, Swan and Green Townships in southern Noble County.