Elkhart County Council approves $20.6 million in additional appropriations, dozens of departmental requests

GOSHEN, Ind. — The Elkhart County Council on Oct. 25 approved a notice to taxpayers covering previously discussed additional appropriations totaling $20,596,856.04 and separately approved a series of department-specific appropriations and transfers at the council meeting.

The council first took a procedural public-hearing step to ratify prior appropriations after a second publisher failed to place required public notices. County Attorney Steve Olsen explained the county used a double-publication process; he said one publisher followed the notice requirements while another had a technical error and the council was reopening the public hearing so anyone who missed the earlier notices could comment. “Anytime there is a, technical concern, we like to make sure we avoid any technical concern concerns and address them via a ratification process,” Olsen said. The council approved the notice to taxpayers 7-0.

Following that procedural vote, the council approved a series of individual additional appropriations and transfers. Many of the items had been discussed at earlier public hearings in June through August; the council recorded unanimous 7-0 votes on each motion where recorded. Major items approved included:

- Highway: $1,000,000 from the EDIT fund for preliminary engineering design for Bridge 126 on County Road 6 over Christiana Creek (federal funding awarded on an 80/20 reimbursement basis). Vote: 7-0. - Highway: $1,500,000 from the EDIT fund for right-of-way acquisition related to the County Road 17 super-two improvement (conservative authorization; staff said the full amount may not be used). Vote: 7-0. - Highway: $2,000,000 from the motor vehicle highway restricted fund for construction and inspection on Bridge 410 (College Avenue over Horn Ditch) coordinated with the City of Goshen. Vote: 7-0. - Landfill (Oak Park County Landfill): $2,874,000 moved from operating to capital reserve to meet the county ordinance requiring a three-year capital reserve forecast. Vote: 7-0. - Health Department (WIC): $1,369,452 to appropriate the WIC grant for 2025–26 to cover 13 full-time and 3 part-time positions and program operating funds. Vote: 7-0. - Health Department (Breastfeeding peer counselor grant): $134,483 to provide two peer support specialists for the WIC breastfeeding program. Vote: 7-0. - Buildings & Grounds: $168,250 for design, bid preparation and construction oversight (DLZ selected) for window replacement at the Goshen Historic Courthouse; staff said the procurement must include architect/engineer certification because the project exceeds the statutory $25,000 public-works threshold. Vote: 7-0. - Buildings & Grounds / Jail boiler emergency costs: $120,000 from the Litt special purpose fund for rental and installation costs for a trailer-mounted boiler used while parts and replacements were obtained. Vote: 7-0. - Commissioners: $60,000 from the general fund to pay Baker Tilly for independent accounting assistance related to reconciling treasurer’s accounts after a new treasurer took office. Vote: 7-0. - Planning & Development: $60,000 from the general fund for consultant services in lieu of filling a vacant JS coordinator position; staff said the position’s salary will be removed in a later reduction. Vote: 7-0. - Auditor: $285,385.05 from the general fund for a second interim arbitrage calculation and transfer to a rebate account. Vote: 7-0. - Weights & Measures: $19,000 and $44,569 from the general fund for payroll and specialized equipment (slide-in unit to reduce high-flow testing dump frequency). Vote: 7-0 for each. - Sheriff: $129,135 from the county misdemeanor fund for jail operations. Vote: 7-0. - Planning & Development: $30,000 from the County Road 6 & County Road 17 improvement TIF for right-of-way purchase tied to an access road; staff said the purchase avoids relocating a major gas line. Vote: 7-0. - Planning & Development: $5,712 from the Love’s allocation TIF to address higher-than-expected reimbursements. Vote: 7-0. - Commissioners: $76,000 from the cumulative capital development fund to replenish emergency spending used for the jail boiler response. Vote: 7-0. - Transfers: Council approved transfers requiring action of $5,869 from the general fund and $2,050 from the WIC grant fund. Vote: 7-0.

Total appropriations read into the record during the earlier notice included many additional line items across departments; county staff and the auditor told the council those appropriations had previously passed by a 7-0 vote at earlier hearings but were being ratified due to the publication error. Auditor and county staff reiterated the county followed publication requirements and that the Goshen News published correctly.

Context and council comments: Several members of the public and council asked for explanations of large highway appropriations and transfers into the rainy-day fund. A member of the public criticized the frequency and scale of highway spending and referenced the county’s “rainy day” fund; county officials and the highway department said some highway funds are restricted and project-driven (Community Crossings, state matches, federal reimbursements) and that transfers to and from the rainy-day fund are used to smooth funding for known projects. Commissioner Brad Rogers described the courthouse-window project as older and needing engineering oversight; county staff explained state law requires an architect or engineer to certify public-works plans over $25,000.

How the votes were recorded: Where recorded in the transcript, the council’s roll-call or voice votes were recorded as unanimous (7-0). The transcript did not provide individual roll-call names for each vote.

Why it matters: The appropriations authorize design, construction, equipment, staffing and grant-funded operations that affect county roads and bridges, courthouse maintenance, jail operations, landfill capital planning, and public-health programs.