St. Joseph County Election Board met Nov. 15, 2024, counted or disqualified provisional ballots, certified the election after a brief vote, reviewed election-day operations including a 58-ballot discrepancy and strong early-voting turnout, and heard public comments about access and training problems.

Discussion Points

•Allegation that Jefferson Street closure impeded voters; concerns about travel-board application process and communication from clerk's office.
•Inspector account of machine delays, missing materials and need for better training.
•Plan to hold three feedback sessions and later sessions for clerks/sheriffs.
•Proposal to add mentoring/training for high school students to improve future participation.
•Staff identified absentee envelopes missing clerk initials and argued voters should not be penalized for clerks' mistakes.
•Staff presented vote totals and a 58-ballot discrepancy and attributed causes including human error and address changes.
•Staff reported provisional ballots counted/disqualified and reconciled a 58-ballot discrepancy.
•State guidance was cited allowing boards discretion to count ballots where worker error (not voter action) occurred.

Decisions

•Board voted to certify the election via voice vote.

Directions

•Board requested copies of commenters' statements for records and planning.
•Staff to collect feedback at scheduled sessions.
•Staff to develop SOPs and document reconciliations.

Nov

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At its Nov. 4 meeting, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved routine accounts-payable and consent-agenda items and unanimously approved contracts including an IT assessment with Moser Consulting, benefits administration services, a UnitedHealthcare Medicaid-billing contract for the Health Department, a car-seat grant application, and a work-order change for additional early-warning siren controls.

Discussion Points

•Chair noted interim IT-director hours included in contract (20–36 hrs/month).
•Commissioner questions about update frequency and engagement with current IT staff.
•Credentialing will allow billing Medicaid for select services; most vaccines remain through VaxCare.
•Department will continue community inspections while facility repairs proceed.
•Funding sourced from leftover tree-trimming funds; estimated additional cost ~ $28,000.
•Grant provides seats (up to 80) rather than cash; department replaced ~35 seats last year.
•HR recommended Celerix for integration with existing systems.
•Moser Consulting described prior county work and the assessment process.
•Need for a backup control point cited after dispatch moved to backup center at times.
•Need to transition retiree billing and COBRA administration prior to moving to Anthem in 2027.
•No public comments were offered.
•Plans for secondary siren tones, IPAWS certification and targeted geocaching of sirens to protect at-risk sites.
•Several insurer applications are pending and will come before the board when links are available.
•Several routine items were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Decisions

•Agreement with Celerix approved.
•Contract with Moser Consulting approved; interim IT-director hours included.
•Grant-application request approved.
•Multiple administrative and budgetary items approved.
•UnitedHealthcare credentialing and contract approved.
•Work-order change approved; implementation tasks assigned to EMA.

Directions

•Begin the assessment and provide findings to the board for decision-making.
•EMA to coordinate payment and implement the work-order change; conduct public-education campaign for new alert tones.
•Establish reporting cadence between Moser and the commissioners (coordinate with Commissioner Hazen).
•Health Department to reapply and coordinate seat distribution and education programs.
•Health Department to submit electronic signatures and coordinate cover letters with county staff.
•HR to coordinate implementation and data transfer with Celerix.

Nov

Board of Commissioners Meeting: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 11:00AM

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners packet for the Nov. 4, 2026 meeting included recommended contracts for IT consulting and benefits administration, a proposal to join UnitedHealthcare’s Medicaid network for the health department, requests for traffic sign changes and a siren-control change order using ARP funds.

Discussion Points

•Arbitration venue and limitation of liability clauses
•Credentialing required by UHC, collection of Medicaid IDs and W‑9 information
•EMA noted no additional county cost if funding is reallocated from ARP project account
•Estimated small annual revenue ($5,000) and existing vaccine billing via VaxCare that does not bill secondary Medicaid
•Fee structure: $0.95 PEEPM for COBRA; $4.00 PEEPM for direct bill services
•Fixed‑fee alternative listed ($33,000) for a discrete eight‑week engagement
•Operational requirements in UHC agreement (credentialing, claims, record retention, compliance)
•Service levels including a 99.9% availability target for downtime credits
•SOW limits (no hardware procurement, no end‑user support)
•Time-and-materials billing with discounted rate $275/hr
•Use of ARP project funds (tree‑trimming line) to pay the change order
•West Shore package total shown as $28,093.35 in the quote

Nov

11-2-2026 Drainage Board Meeting

St. Joseph County drainage board reviewed contractor payments and a high-volume temporary dewatering/discharge request for multiple utility construction sites, heard extensive public concern about flood risk and notice, and discussed monitoring and permit conditions required in the contract.

Discussion Points

•Approval of minutes and a contractor payment were routine.
•Contractors described dewatering methods (pipe, riprap, filters) and expected bubble height of 6–8 inches (Speakers 8, 9).
•Contracts include visual performance specs that require oxygenation, cascade flows and sediment controls.
•County/contract will install monitoring wells/piezometers and use Peerless Midwest for continuous hydrogeologic monitoring (Speaker 9).
•County engineering can coordinate bids and oversee work but the association/landowners are responsible for maintenance.
•Dewatering item included technical assurances but the exact motion language is absent from the transcript.
•Engineers stated 200,000 gph ≈ 7.5 CFS and provided bankfull capacities for local channels (Speaker 9).
•Monitoring wells/piezometers to be installed at sensitive locations.
•Multiple residents requested tabling and better public notice citing flood and ecological concerns (Speakers 2, 3, 10, 11).
•Peerless Midwest named as continuous monitoring hydrogeologist.
•Private culvert under Rogers Ditch has ~4 ft of silt and has not drained; contractor unable to reach landowner.
•Residents requested hydraulic modeling and verification of permits (NPDES/IDEM).
•Residents say packet posting and meeting time are barriers to participation.

Decisions

•Board recorded a carried motion related to the dewatering/discharge request; transcript does not include exact motion text but discussion indicates monitoring and permit compliance will be required.
•Board recorded motions as carried; official minutes should be consulted for final motion language and vote roll-call.

Directions

•Contractor required by contract to follow performance specs including oxygenation, sediment controls, and to maintain SWPPP / stop pumping if permit conditions or weather events require it.
•Residents requested that staff circulate the task force report and capacity memo and provide a county point of contact for follow-up.
•Staff to circulate supporting memos and task force materials to the board and public record.
•Staff to contact Rogers Ditch Association and include neighbors in communications; explore bid oversight options.
•Staff to obtain and distribute Lawson Fisher capacity memo; county inspectors to verify contract compliance during construction.
•Staff to provide Lawson Fisher capacity memo and coordinate reports from the Juday Creek task force.

St. Joseph County

Meetings

Election Board Meeting 11 15 2024

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 11:00AM

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11-2-2026 Drainage Board Meeting

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SJC Board of Commissioners Meeting - 11am 10/27/2026

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 11:00AM

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 11:00AM

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SJC Board of Commissioners Meeting - 11am 10/13/2026

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ABZA meeting 10-14-26_agenda & packet

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Tuesday, October 13, 2026 11:00AM

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RDC Meeting 10/13/2026

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SJC Board of Commissioners Meeting - 11am 10/06/2026

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Tuesday, October 6, 2026 11:00AM

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RDC Special Meeting 10/6/2026

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Drainage Board Meeting 10/05/2026

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Election Board Meeting 11 15 2024

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Board of Commissioners Meeting: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 11:00AM

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