Council passes updated forfeiture and RICO reimbursement rules, first unwinding a 1996 ordinance

What happened

The council first voted 7-0 by roll call to set aside part of a 1996 county ordinance so it could adopt Ordinance 2026-3, a prosecutor's-office-sponsored update to the rules for reimbursing investigation and prosecution costs out of forfeiture (seizing money or property tied to a crime) and RICO (organized-crime) cases. Councilman Randy Gentry said the prosecutor's office told him the 1996 version had become void under a change in Indiana law, and flagged a possible wrinkle: putting seized money into one account instead of several could make it harder for the auditor's office to track which court-ordered share is which. This is the second time the council has taken up this ordinance, after introducing the same amendment on first reading a week earlier.

The outcome

Passed 7-0 by roll call, after the council first voted 7-0 to set aside the 1996 ordinance it replaces.

Sources

• Motion to set aside Ordinance 96-2-1996, 1:14:13
• Set-aside vote passes 7-0, 1:15:53
• "The old ordinance became null and void," 1:17:13
• Auditor's-office tracking concern, 1:18:18
• Motion to approve Ordinance 2026-3, 1:19:47
• Roll call passes 7-0, 1:19:52
• First reading, Sept. 1

Also known as: forfeiture ordinance · RICO ordinance · Ordinance 96-2-1996 amendment · seized asset reimbursement rules