Boone County commissioners on Dec. 19 voted to deny the assessor's request to recontract with the current reassessment vendor for a single year after the county received a written protest from Nexus Group alleging the county improperly rejected the lowest responsive bid.

Assessor Leslie told the board she rejected the bids from this year's RFP and asked for a one‑year extension of the incumbent vendor's contract to avoid disrupting work that must begin in January. Leslie said the total contract value for 2026 would be $915,938 and that, as an alternate, she proposed extending a narrower contract (about $643,000) while hiring staff for in‑house reassessment work, estimating the additional personnel cost at $381,332.05.

A representative read a written protest from Nexus Group, dated Dec. 17, 2025, which "constitutes a formal protest of, 1, the rejection of our bid" and "2, the recommendation and proposed action to recontract with the incumbent vendor for an additional 1 year term without competitive bidding." The letter states Nexus's bid was the lowest responsive bid and that extending the incumbent contract without rebidding "would violate mandatory competitive procurement requirements," citing Indiana Code and warning the county could face legal challenge.

Commissioners debated options. One motion to extend the incumbent contract failed for lack of a second. A later motion to deny the one‑year extension was moved and seconded and carried in a voice vote. After those motions, the board approved a separate motion to accept the assessor's job descriptions so her office can hire staff and bring some reassessment tasks in‑house. Leslie said she intends to begin in‑house work in January 2026 if necessary.

Why it matters: Nexus's protest invokes IC 6‑1.1‑4‑18.5, a statute the county raised in the discussion that governs competitive procurement for appraisal services. Commissioners said they must follow procurement law and that the letter presents a narrow legal line for the county to walk. Several commissioners expressed concern about the timing between the bid opening and the rejection of bids and urged legal counsel to review the protest if litigation follows.

What the county approved and denied: The board denied the assessor's one‑year contract extension request and approved job descriptions for positions the assessor said are required to complete reassessment work in‑house (data entry clerk; reassessment supervisor; reassessment analyst; new construction supervisor; new construction field inspector; personal property manager; director of commercial/industrial assessments). The assessor provided estimated costs for the hiring plan and said the in‑house option would be more than the first extension option by roughly $108,394.05 in her estimate.

The county attorney and commissioners recommended that counsel review the Nexus protest and the legal basis for rejecting bids and entering a short‑term contract. The board did not adopt a new procurement schedule at the meeting; the assessor said she will work with a committee including Auditor Crum and Treasurer Baldwin to develop a new RFP and a detailed scoring system for future bids.

A written Nexus Group protest and the board's exchange are part of the meeting record. The board did not vote on any settlement or contract award at the Dec. 19 meeting. The assessor said she would proceed with recruitment and bring further items (job descriptions and RFP plans) back to the council for appropriation and approval.