By John Reed Staff Writer
KNOX — In 2006 and 2007, Starke County received $867,568 in Major Moves money to improve local roads.
Monday, Starke County Commissioners said the bank account in which that money was deposited contains only $17,000.
“That money should still be there and it’s not,” Commission President Kevin Kroft said.
“The State Board of Accounts has the records. I know who got the money, but I don’t know what was bought,” Kroft said. “Me and Michaelene (Houston) and others are looking into it. We don’t know exactly where everything went.”
The State Board of Accounts is reportedly conducting a routine audit. That report would cover the highway department, but will not be issued for eight months or more.

“This is completely mind-boggling. This is insane,” Commissioner Mark Milo said. He said he could not comprehend how the second payment of Major Moves money, in 2007, could have disappeared when no requests had even been made for the money.
“The pug mill and engineering for 300 East. That was all we ever approved,” out of the first appropriation, Milo said.
Here’s the provable details: The county received $434,169 in 2006. Some of that money, with the Starke County council’s approval, was spent on equipment by former Superintendent Pete Stanojevic.
Stanojevic committed suicide behind the Starke County Highway garage on the morning of Feb. 13.
Late in 2007, the county received its second and last payment of $433,399.
On March 27, The Leader asked the auditor’s office for a list of purchases made with the money. After a few hours, a deputy auditor said state officials told her the money was to be deposited into the regular account, not separated. That meant there was no way to learn what was Major Moves money and what was not.
The money, Auditor Michaelene Houston said Monday, went into the MVH fund, or Motor Vehicle Highway fund, one of the major highway department accounts. The MVH money comes from the state gasoline tax and is to be used for local roads.
Therefore, the MVH fund would not only have contained the $867,568 but all the other tax money received from the state.
On April 3, The Leader asked the highway department to identify what purchases had been made. No response was ever received.
One known purchase was for a “pug mill,” a machine used to grind up old road surface and relay it. The county council approved spending $67,000 for a used pug mill. The highway garage is currently repairing that piece of equipment.
Milo said the county also approved about $39,000 to be used for engineering expenses to design reconstruction of County Road 300 East.
The county also has purchased new dump trucks. According to Milo, at one point Stanojevic said he planned on buying two used trucks, for which he had $76,000. However, it was assumed that was from equipment funds and not the MVH account.
In another explanation, acting Highway Superintendent John Norris said an extra $60,000 was spent on salt and sand this winter.
Houston said that it is possible that the state did not send as much MVH funding as was anticipated, which would have led to a shortfall.
Earlier in the winter, commissioners had a brief and guarded discussion over allegations county employees were buying auto parts on the county’s account at a local store, thus avoiding the sales tax and getting a discount. In at least one instance, a part was reported to have been charged to the county’s ledger, but that person later reimbursed the county.
At one recent commissioners’ meeting, the auditor reported a theft report had been made after Stanojevic’s death when the county could not locate one of his county-issued laptop computers and one cell phone.
Throughout Monday’s lengthy discussion, officials insisted no one took any money, and said no line items were in the red.
Kroft noted that the only person who could probably explain how the money was spent was Stanojevic.In July, 2007, the county council made a controversial move in approving the purchase of the pug mill.
Stanojevic asked for, and received approval, for an appropriation of the entire $434,000 initial Major Moves payment instead of just enough money to buy the pug mill at $76,000.
The proposal gained unexpected council approval, with a vote of 6 to 2.
Councilman Bruce Fingerhut questioned why the request was for the entire amount, instead of just money for the pug mill. Stanojevic explained that the equipment to be purchased is used, and there often isn’t time to wait 30 days or more to get council approval of the money.
Chuck Estok said the council does have a solution. “When we appropriate money, we do have the power to de-fund.”
Councilman Doug Vessely complained about not having enough advance notice on the request. “Twenty minutes ago was the first time I heard any of this, and I don’t appreciate it.”
Vessely and Jennifer Davis voted against the appropriation.
And while the measure was approved, the council left open the possibility they might approve using some of the money for improvements for County Road 300 East, a project being explored by Starke County Commissioners.
Also discussed at one point or another was using some of the money to put stripes on roads and guardrails along ditches.
John Reed is the editor of The Leader in Starke County.