An attorney representing Bartholomew County told the Bartholomew County commissioners Monday that ratifying a contract after it is already a done deal needs to be discouraged in county government.
Grant Tucker provided that advice after the three commissioners had just ratified a $12,890 agreement to purchase right-of-way for the county’s part of the Lowell Road project. County highway engineer Danny Hollander said two appraisals had been made to property owned by Craig A. and Dawn L. Bolte. After the couple accepted one of the appraisals, the sale was finalized last week, Hollander said.
That prompted Tucker to inquire about a number of recent incidents where the commissioners are being asked to ratify a purchase that has already been finalized.
Tucker’s legal concern can be found in the Guide to Indiana County Government, published by the Association of Indiana Counties.
Within the guide, it states a county official is prohibited from “paying money belonging to the county, to attempt to incur any bill or contractual agreement or, in any way, to obligate money belonging to the county unless there has been an appropriation made for that purpose.”
“Why don’t the commissioners approve it before you do it?” Tucker asked Hollander. “Because once you do it, we are committed to paying it.”
Commissioners’ chairman Larry Kleinhenz ended the discussion by agreeing with the county attorney.
“A ratification is approving an expense that has already been paid,” Kleinhenz said. “Those are really supposed to only be for emergency expenses.”
There is no emergency in obtaining right-of-way for the Lowell Road project. While the city of Columbus is already constructing its portion of the project, Hollander said the county’s upgrade isn’t likely to begin until 2027 because federal funds for the county aren’t expected to become available until late 2026.
The county highway department will oversee a new approach to the Lowell Bridge from County Road 325W southwest construction of a new bridge, and over a mile of Lowell Road east of the bridge to the newly-established city limits.
In March 2023, it was announced that Bartholomew County will receive $5,520,000 for the Lowell Bridge replacement, while a separate grant of $2,397,600 will be provided to reconfigure the southern approach to the future new bridge from County Road 325W.
But in order to receive the federal money, county government will be required to come up with 20% of the grant for the bridge replacement and 10% for the reconfiguration. The county is still exploring ways to set aside funds to match the federal grants, as well as to fund other sections of the project, the highway engineer said.
