Commissioners approve deed, summer garage hours, grants and purchasing resolution; auditor presents salary estimate scenarios

Tippecanoe County commissioners handled a series of administrative items May 5, approving a warranty deed, adopting a temporary purchasing resolution, moving the highway garage to summer hours, authorizing grant actions and receiving salary estimate projections.

The board accepted a warranty deed from W. W. Schroeder Land Trust that dedicated roughly a quarter‑mile of right‑of‑way for County Road 425 North, extending county ownership of the right‑of‑way from Yeager toward the east. A motion to approve the deed passed by voice vote.

Commissioners approved a shift to summer hours for the highway garage — four 10‑hour days, Monday through Thursday, with hours reported in the meeting as 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — which staff said increases paving and construction efficiency. A motion to adopt the garage summer schedule passed by voice vote.

The board adopted Resolution 2025‑11‑CM authorizing a special purchasing method to replace an arm mower lost to fire. Staff said the replacement exceeded typical bidding thresholds but that insurance proceeds and solicited quotes reduced the net county expenditure to below the competitive‑bid threshold and that the selected unit was immediately available. The stated final amount in the meeting was $261,985. A motion to adopt the resolution passed. The county attorney clarified the resolution documents the reasons for bypassing the standard bidding process.

Commissioners granted permission to apply for the FY 5311 rural transportation pass‑through grant (listed as a partnership with Area IV Agency) and authorized the county to accept a $5,000 donation from Duke Energy to purchase a drone for the EMA (Emergency Management Agency) staff and volunteers. Both grant actions were approved by motion.

Auditor Jennifer presented salary estimate scenarios for the 2026 budget and asked the commissioners to request formal salary statements from departments at a subsequent meeting. The auditor listed current wages across county funds and provided examples of the budgetary effect of 1%, 3% and 5% wage increases. She reported the general fund current wages total about $38,000,000; a 1% increase across that fund would add roughly $386,000, 3% about $1.14 million and 5% about $1.9 million (values presented as estimates in the meeting). Across all funds the auditor said a 1% increase was estimated at about $614,000.

The auditor also discussed uncertainty from Senate Bill 1 and the county’s growth quotient assumptions, cited estimated health‑insurance cost increases of about $3 million per year for the next two years, and summarized estimated new revenue (including an assumed 4% growth quotient) and available cash on hand. She advised commissioners these are preliminary figures to begin 2026 budget planning; no formal pay decisions were made at the May 5 meeting.

Motions on the deed, garage hours, purchasing resolution and grants passed by voice vote; the salary information was received for consideration and follow up.