Motion Commissioner Brand to approve payroll.
Second Commissioner Henry
Motion carried unanimously.
Public Comments
Public comments were received regarding Ordinance No. 2026-01 and public safety matters.
Commissioners' Comments
Commissioner Brand announced that the State of the City and State of the County address will be held Thursday morning at the Horizon Convention Center. Doors will open at 7:00 a.m., with the program beginning at 8:00 a.m. He stated the event is expected to last less than an hour and attendees are encouraged to register in advance. He also reported that the Muncie Sanitary District is considering reclassifying the Delaware County Fairgrounds from a government entity to a non-profit classification. He explained that this change would significantly reduce sewer utility rates for the fairgrounds. He stated he plans to attend the sanitary district board meeting to support the request and discuss the possibility of a credit for previous charges. He addressed comments made at a previous meeting regarding the Second Harvest Food Bank, stating the remarks were not helpful to the fairgrounds and did not accurately reflect the situation. He then provided a legislative update from the Indiana General Assembly, summarizing several bills affecting counties:
House Bill 1000-1 – Language related to local control of housing development was removed after concerns from counties.
House Bill 1210 – Delays implementation of the new Local Income Tax system until 2029.
Senate Bill 4 – Allows community mental health funding to come from sources other than property taxes.
House Bill 1406 – Requires a study regarding the impact of data centers on water supply, utilities, and tax incentives.
House Bill 270 – Establishes a scoring system that may require certain townships with low scores to merge with neighboring townships.
House Bill 1161 – Allows commissioners to remove board appointments before the end of a term.
Senate Bill 179 – Provides additional funding for Community Crossings matching grants, giving Delaware County another opportunity to receive funding for road improvements.
Senate Bill 113 – Extends the retention period for election materials from 22 months to 34 months.
House Bill 1251 – A proposal that would have mandated counties provide EMS services without funding did not pass.
Commissioner Brand announced that the first quarterly town hall meeting will be held in Eaton on March 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Commissioner Henry commented regarding Ordinance 2026-03, the proposed amendment to the county smoking ordinance. He requested that the Delaware County Health Department, specifically Jammie Bane, be included in future discussions when the ordinance is reviewed.