County planning staff presented the first reading of an ordinance to create a complaint-driven blight remediation program funded initially with $200,000 at the Oct. 1, 2025 meeting of the Decatur County Area Plan Commission.

The ordinance, listed as APC petition 2025-26 and described in materials as the Decatur County area plan revitalization ordinance, would establish procedures for addressing nuisance and blighted properties in unincorporated areas of the county. A staff member summarized the funding and process: “We received $200,000,” the staff member said, and added that the program is complaint-driven. “Right now, it's via complaint,” the staff member said, describing the office’s current intake and prioritization.

Under the proposal, the county would initially front clean-up costs using the allocated funds. Staff described a multi-step enforcement path: the office would send letters after receiving complaints; if property owners did not respond, officials would schedule a show-cause hearing. If a show-cause hearing did not result in corrective action, staff said a legal action would be filed and, with court approval, the county would hire a contractor to perform cleanup. The county would then seek to recover its costs by charging the expense back to the property as an assessment or on tax bills. “They'll be charged a fee, which is $500,” a staff member said, describing one component of the fee schedule discussed in the draft ordinance.

Staff also explained that some costs in the program budget would cover legal fees and internal labor. The petitioner noted Jennings County’s Country Squire Lakes program as a local model that has moved toward self-sufficiency in a few years.

Staff identified the program’s scope as covering unincorporated areas of Decatur County and excluding incorporated towns: Greensburg, Westport, Saint Paul, New Point and Millhousen. Sarah, a county staff member assigned to the program, described operational duties: she will receive complaints, document conditions with photographs and prioritize cases; staff said Sarah's position would be funded through the program once work begins.

Commissioners discussed timeline options and how recovered costs would replenish the initial fund. Staff said recovered costs would be credited back to the county’s fund (the draft references ARPA funding as the source of initial capital), but cautioned that full recovery can depend on tax-sale or sheriff-sale processes and the treasurer’s distribution rules.

No final vote was taken; the APC held only a first reading and staff said a second reading is scheduled for the November meeting. County commissioners will formally sign authority for the office to act before the second reading; staff said that signing is expected at the next commissioners meeting.