Whitley County commissioners approve one-year levy switch to fund urgent drain projects

At a special meeting called at 9 a.m., the Whitley County Board of Commissioners voted 6-0 to approve a one-year switch that reduces the cumulative bridge levy and raises the cumulative drain levy so the county can collect money for urgent, regulated drain projects.

Brad Allen, county engineer, presented the proposal, saying the change would “turn off or down the cumulative bridge levy in order to turn up the cumulative drain levy and collect funds to help assist with regulated drain projects, especially those that are urgent or non tax wash.” Allen said the intent is to make the adjustment for one year and then repeat the process next year to reverse it if desired.

Commissioners and staff said the switch would not increase taxpayers’ bills because the bridge levy would be lowered by the same amount the drain levy is raised. “So just to reiterate, this is not an increase of anybody’s taxes,” a commissioner said during discussion.

Staff told commissioners they had identified roughly 100 candidate projects that could benefit from the money, including several reconstruction projects with costs up to about $100,000. Allen said many of the likely projects are tile repairs and that the drainage board is considering a scoring metric to prioritize applications so funds are distributed consistently.

The discussion also raised legal and administrative questions. Commissioners asked whether funds could be transferred between funds or whether the change could be applied only to unincorporated parcels; staff said the county would follow up with the State Board of Accounts to confirm what transfers and assessments are allowed. “There are some questions to work out and answer,” Allen said.

Commissioner (speaker 4) moved to approve the request outlined in the presented resolution; the motion was seconded and approved on a roll-call vote. The chair called the roll: Nick — yes; Kim — yes; Tom — yes; Joan — yes; John — yes; chair — yes. Tim was absent. The chair said the approved resolution will be prepared for signatures.

The county intends to use the collected funds to accelerate drain projects that otherwise would occur later, including work on non-tax drains (drains that currently lack an established collection). The commissioners noted the arrangement is temporary and will be reviewed again at next year’s budget certification and public hearing.