Blackford County Considers Major IT Overhaul After Critical Infrastructure Assessment

From the Blackford County Commissioner Meeting on June 1, 2026

A Muncie-based IT company called LEAP presented commissioners with a sweeping assessment of the county's technology infrastructure — and the findings were not good.

LEAP conducted a walkthrough of every county office, rating systems on a red-yellow-green scale. Three areas received the worst rating. The county has no written disaster recovery plan, which the state prefers to see. Department heads reported they are not getting timely responses when they submit service tickets to the current IT provider, which is based out of Indianapolis. And the server room cabling was described as so disorganized that unplugging a single cable could shut down county operations.

LEAP also found aging equipment, with some hardware 8 to 15 years old and approaching end of life.

The company offered free IT consultancy from now until the current contract expires in June 2027. If the county proceeds, LEAP would provide 50 hours of service per month, create a master IT plan, deliver quarterly reports, and document everything for any future successor. LEAP already serves Randolph County, Jay County, Winchester, and the City of Muncie.

Council member Jim Weiseman was credited with raising the concerns that led to this evaluation. The LEAP presenter acknowledged that Senate Bill 1 property tax reform is adding budget pressure, saying the legislation is "monumental and unprecedented."

Specific pricing was included in printed handouts but was not read aloud during the meeting.

Source: Meeting transcript — Blackford County - County Commissioner Meeting - June 1, 2026 (timestamps 08:43–24:30)

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.