Hancock County Board of Commissioners: 5/19/26

Hancock Commissioners 

05/19/2026

Terry Bynum

    As discussed on Signal, these meetings are often quite long and boring, but they embody all of the routine business the county has to deal with. 

Gary Pool of the Hiway department expanded on his comments of last week concerning the impact of the state (and possible federal) gas tax holiday.  He maintains that ALL Indiana cities and towns and counties will feel the impact of the suspension.  His estimate is that Hancock County may be down 400 to 500K if the suspension lasts through the summer. And that may require him to cut back on some planned projects. 

    One way he’s beginning to save money is by testing automated mowers.  They have a couple of the mowers that they are going to start using.  No info on how much the automated mowers cost. 

He also advised the commissioners that with all the additions to the capital plan of the county, it may be necessary to hire someone to oversee capital planning and execution of the projects. 

    The board passed a resolution supporting a data center ordinance (which is now being drawn up with input from a committee)

Sheriff Burkhart asked for an allocation of 50K to repair the two chillers at the jail.  He’s disappointed that he’s having to spend so much money on equipment that is only 4 years old.  He says it’s not under warranty any longer, and the manufacturer maintains that this is normal wear and tear.  He disagrees. 

    The prosecutor’s office came back to officially request the addition of two positions for next budget year–an attorney specializing in juvenile matters, and a paralegal.  These positions were approved last year, but apparently not funded.  He now has to go the County Council to ask to fund the positions this year.  (The council has previously stated they would prefer NOT to add any employees next year.)

    The new HR director presented 3 items for amendment into the HR manual…first is a more detailed description of Telework.  The second sets standards for what can be displayed on personal vehicles that are used for county business, and the third sets out a longevity rewards program for county employees. 

    No other items of more than passing interest.