Tippecanoe County adopts drainage fee increases, extends Baker Tilly contract and approves monitoring agreements expected to save about $250,000 annually

The Tippecanoe County Board of Commissioners adopted changes to drainage review and sediment control fees and approved a package of contracts and grants at the Jan. 5 meeting.

Unidentified Speaker 9 (Zach) explained that the drainage board fee ordinance (Ordinance 2025-44) comprises two fee groups — drainage review fees established in 2016 and phase‑2 sediment control fees established in 2005 — and that the board was adjusting both fee schedules for inflation for the first time since their adoption. The ordinance was approved on second and final reading, recorded as passing 3–0.

The board approved a contract extension with accounting firm Baker Tilly to compile the county’s gap financial statements at an amount not to exceed $117,000, which a presenter said is about $7,000 less than the county's 2024 compilation cost.

Commissioners also accepted an additional disbursement for the state high‑tech crime unit program. The presenter said the statewide total is about $300,000, and the county’s direct allocation for FY26 is $102,112.42; the board approved acceptance of that amount.

Corey (Unidentified Speaker 11) presented two agreements to replace the county’s current electronic monitoring and on‑site drug‑screening provider. He said the new providers — ADEPT for drug and alcohol testing and Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc. for electronic monitoring — will offer service and technology improvements and estimated conservative annual savings of roughly $250,000. The agreements were approved by motion.

The board also approved a contract with Lindsay Wright for quality assurance and accreditation coordination at $2,000 per month, ratified a right‑of‑entry agreement allowing a church to use a county property at 6th Street for overflow Sunday parking (5 a.m.–3 p.m.) on a one‑year, renewable basis with insurance and a 30‑day termination provision, and approved several small grants and MOUs including a $271,645 juvenile corrections funding application for Youth Services, a $5,700 Problem‑Solving Court grant for veterans court, and an MOU with Purdue University for health‑department interns.