Tippecanoe County Council OKs park online payments, approves multiple appropriations including $116,210 in opioid-restricted funds

Tippecanoe County Council on Aug. 12 approved a resolution letting the County Park Board accept electronic payments for online reservations and voted to appropriate funds for several county programs, including $116,210 from opioid-restricted settlement funds.

The action came after the council heard financial updates from county staff showing the general fund and county investments remain on track for the year. Auditor Jennifer reported the general fund began the year with a net balance of $7,996,572 and that the county has granted additional appropriations totaling $3,571,736. Treasury staff Yadira reported the county ended July with a cash balance of $192,007,508.38 and an average weighted interest rate of 4.58% for the month.

Why it matters: Allowing online payments will let parks staff collect reservation fees electronically instead of relying on cash or checks, while the appropriations direct money to ongoing county operations and programs, including opioid-response efforts and equipment for crash reconstruction.

Council action and key votes

- Resolution 2025-20CL — Authorize electronic funds transfer for Tippecanoe County Park Board online reservations: motion approved (mover: Councilman Murray; second: Councilman Richard). The item was presented as a way to allow online reservation and card payments for park users and to reduce staff burden.

- Consent agenda: approved (motion/mover: Councilman Murray; second: Councilman Richard).

- Circuit Court additional appropriation — $1,500 (donation to Veterans Court): approved (mover: Councilman Nolan; second: Councilman Richard). Council staff said the amount represents a donation received for Veterans Court and is being allocated.

- Cumulative bridge fund appropriation — $50,000: approved (mover: Councilwoman Vernon; second: Councilman Murray). Staff described this as a bookkeeping/cash-flow item related to guardrail impacts and insurance recoveries.

- Juvenile project income fund appropriation — $7,200: approved (mover: Councilman Murray; second: Councilman Carson). Staff said this was originally routed through a Department of Corrections grant process but required appropriation from user-fee funds.

- Juvenile alternatives (JDAI) correction — $200: approved (mover: Councilman Murray; second: Councilman Carson). This corrects an earlier appropriation error (an additional $200 to reach the intended $900 total).

- Sheriff’s department grant appropriation (Fund 9144) — $7,635 for FARO 3D crash-imaging equipment: approved (mover: Councilwoman Vernon; second: Councilman Murray). The sheriff’s department representative said the scanner "allows us to purchase this FARO, zone 3 d expert imaging. It's for crash reconstruction and diagramming. It's gonna help cut down on the time spent on an investigation and then, in turn, give the information to the prosecutor that they need to file any charges if they choose to do so."

- Opioid restricted fund appropriation (Fund 1237) — $116,210: approved (mover: Councilwoman Vernon; second: Councilman Murray). Council members said the county formed a committee to distribute opioid settlement funding and that the city of Lafayette and the town of Williamsport are participating with their restricted funds; these restricted appropriations must be made before allocation to programs.

Financial context and staff notes

Auditor Jennifer told the council the county has made a $3,000,000 transfer related to Fund 47.1 and that, after the transfer, that fund's balance is about $6,000,000. She also noted the public safety boat/lease fund was showing a negative balance of roughly $70,000 but expected to be positive after the next property tax distribution and after the county's payments for the year had been made.

Treasury staff Yadira said July interest totaled $770,151.11 and that the county has realized about 65% of its projected interest income with 58% of the year elapsed. Yadira added that markets anticipate a rate drop in September.

Other meeting items

Council members approved the consent agenda and heard a brief update noting a delegation of students from Ota City, Japan, visiting the area this week. The council announced upcoming budget hearings on Aug. 26 and a public meeting on Sept. 3; the next regular council meeting is Sept. 9. The meeting adjourned following the votes.

Ending note: All motions presented on Aug. 12 passed on voice votes with no recorded roll-call opposition in the transcript excerpt.