Washington County Council approves 5-year Teledia tax abatement and several routine funding items

The Washington County Council voted unanimously to approve multiple items at its regular meeting, including a five-year utility tax abatement for Teledia tied to a $600,000 investment in fiber infrastructure.

The council approved the abatement after Teledia representative Ashley told the council the project would expand high-speed internet across the county and support business growth. Ashley said the project scored 37 points under the county's guidelines — a score that the rubric places in a four-year abatement band — and asked the council to grant a five-year abatement to reflect broader community benefits: "This project expands fiber internet infrastructure in Washington County. It supports business growth, remote work, and future development," Ashley said.

Council members discussed the scoring framework and statutory factors used to evaluate economic revitalization area abatements. Several members, including Preston and Karen, said they supported five years to help attract new business. A motion to approve the resolution granting Teledia a five-year abatement was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

The council also approved a request from Judge Medlock to transfer existing funds to raise the hourly rate of a recently hired assistant court reporter by $0.74 so her pay aligns with other assistant court reporters. Judge Medlock presented the pay discrepancy and the council moved and approved the transfer without further questions.

In other business, the council approved an additional appropriation using carryover Health First Indiana funds to convert a part-time public health nurse/educator position to full time and to cover the employee's benefits. Maggie, a county public health representative, told the council the funds were already available as carryover and would be used to cover salary and benefits.

The council also approved routine items including the April 2026 meeting minutes (one member recused for absence) and a motion to move the June 1 meeting to 6:30 p.m. All recorded votes during the items described above were unanimous in the meeting's audio transcript; no exact numerical vote tallies were provided in the record.

Votes at a glance • Teledia tax abatement — Action: approve resolution granting a five-year utility tax abatement for Teledia's $600,000 fiber investment. Outcome: approved unanimously. (Moved: not specified; Second: Fleming.) • Assistant court reporter pay adjustment — Action: transfer funds to equalize newly hired assistant court reporter's hourly rate. Outcome: approved unanimously. (Mover/Seconder not specified in transcript.) • Public health appropriation — Action: appropriate carryover Health First Indiana funds to convert a part-time public health nurse to full time and cover benefits. Outcome: approved unanimously. (Mover/Seconder not specified in transcript.) • Move June meeting to 6:30 p.m. — Action: procedural schedule change. Outcome: approved unanimously.

What happens next The Teledia abatement resolution as passed means the county will proceed under the statutory process for economic revitalization area abatements; the transcript indicates the abatement was approved but does not include implementation details such as final contract terms or the county department assigned to monitor compliance. The county will implement the appropriation and payroll adjustment through normal administrative channels before the next meeting.