Williams County engineers told the Board of Commissioners they plan to reallocate tile-repair transactions and GIS costs to make budgeting and accounting clearer ahead of the 2026 budget cycle. The engineers explained that recent tile-of-record repair work historically used an "A" fund because the repairs are not permanent maintenance; they proposed moving those transactions into the drainage (R) fund so the drainage program and associated staff labor are tracked in a single place.The engineers described the process for tile-of-record repairs under Ohio law: a landowner whose tile is on their property files an application and the office estimates costs and prepares assessments across the watershed. "If there's a need, then we do an estimate of cost, and we prepare, an assessment or who else can contribute to the cost of that project. They pay for it," the engineer said. The engineers acknowledged that the Ohio Revised Code changes in 2021 allow this repair process and that assessments can be spread across watershed users.The staff recommended the county create a discrete GIS budget and increase the percentage of one employee's time charged to GIS from 32% to 40% so that GIS operationssoftware, imagery flights and wagesare budgeted and managed in one place. "So the GIS, what we're proposing then is, the GIS fund will pay a percentage of Brian's wage... I'm proposing that we allocate 40% of this time and it'd be paid out of an A fund," one engineer said.Engineers and county finance staff discussed administrative fees charged on tile applications to recover staff time, and agreed in principle to inform landowners who will bear substantial assessments even though the statute does not require hearings for these repairs. Commissioners asked staff to draft clearer notification practices for assessments over a threshold and to vet the proposed fund moves with the auditor's office before formal budget action. Two tile-repair applications on the commissioners' desk were discussed; staff agreed to notify landowners who would receive larger assessments.
