Porter County Highway Supervisor Al Hoagland’s binder shows it all: Photo after photo of flooded roads and flooded fields at 29 trouble sites throughout the county.

Whether the solution involves acquisition of right of way or installation of a new drain tile, the county’s plan to correct the problem sites got a boost this week, when the Porter County Council granted a request from the commissioners to tap up to $600,000 in county income tax funds for drainage projects.

Five of the 29 drainage projects are in Liberty Township: C.R. 950N and Meridian Road, 900N and Meridian, 950N and 50W, 50W at the viaduct railroad crossing north of the Liberty schools, and on Dalke Road near a hunt club. The rest of the projects are in townships to the south.

Hoagland said in some cases, the county will have to contract out or lease equipment for the needed work. “We’re going to do as much with our own forces as we can,” he said.

How soon all the work will get done remains to be seen. The funding approved Tuesday, while significant, won’t be enough to fix all problems, Hoagland said. “It’s a start.”

The council approved two separate measures, one for $500,000 for drainage projects and another $100,000 out of a fund that includes both drainage and county building projects. All the funding will be out of the commissioners’ share of county economic development income tax funds.

Commissioner President Robert Harper commended both Hoagland and County Drainage Board President Dave Burrus for their work trying to correct drainage problems.

The drainage problems have been blamed not just on the unusually wet weather in the past year, but also on substandard drainage systems that the county used to allow in new developments. In recent years, however, the plan commission and county commissioners have passed new ordinances, such as one that requires developers to have their drainage plans independently reviewed, aimed at preventing flooding problems.

Also Tuesday, the council may have put an end to the long-running saga over tax software by approving additional appropriations to buy a new program for the auditor and treasurer, replacing a problematic system purchased two years ago.

The council approved a total of $170,718 for County Treasurer Jim Murphy and $195,718 for County Auditor Jim Kopp, with most of the costs related to the purchase of the software from Low Associates. The software will be used to for property tax billing.

The funding approved includes costs for training, license fees, and maintenance agreements. However, part of the funding for the auditor’s office includes $25,000 for consultants for continued assistance on tax issues. Kopp originally sought $50,000, but he told the council that he doesn’t think he will need the full amount; the council cut the amount in half.

Left unresolved for now was the issue of getting the tax bill data online. This expense would include a $55,000 software license and an annual maintenance fee of $10,000. The matter was tabled after council members directed Information Technology Services Director Sharon Lippens to explore if the webpage work can be done in-house, making the data available only through a subscription service.

The funding for the Low purchase for the treasurer’s office passed unanimously, while the vote for the auditor’s office was 6-1, with Dan Whitten, D-at large, voting no.

In other matters, the council voted 5-2 for an additional appropriation of $26,500 for Murphy to print and mail the 2008 tax bills for the three Pine Township districts that have not yet received their bills. Because the districts are in the Michigan City School corporation, their final tax bills cannot be prepared due to delays with the tax data in LaPorte County. The only two council members who voted against the additional funding were Whitten and Sylvia Graham, D-at large.

The council was unanimous in striking down another request from Kopp for an additional $15,000 in overtime. Council President Robert Poparad, D-1st, said no matter how much overtime is approved, tax bills are going to be late this year; back in February, the council approved $10,000 in overtime pay for auditor staff to work on the ‘09 bills.

By a 5-2 vote, the council approved additional appropriations totaling $103,350 for costs related to two upcoming special elections in Pine and Porter townships. Both are referendums on new school construction projects.

County Clerk Pam Fish said the upcoming referendums are relatively small. If the county had to hold special elections for Duneland, Portage, or the Valparaiso schools, the cost could be up to $200,000, she said. The special school referendums stem from a new state law that requires certain public works projects to first pass a voter referendum; the costs for the special elections must be picked up by county taxpayers.

Council member Karen Conover, R-3rd, noted that the county must pay the costs but said it’s too bad that the two school systems couldn’t wait until next year, a regular election year, to hold their referendums.

The vote to approve the funding passed 5-2, with Whitten and Poparad voting no. Whitten said his vote was a protest vote against the added cost to the county, but Poparad indicated that an unfavorable decision could have had merit. “If we vote no (and not approve the election funding), let them file suit,” he said of the schools.