GREENWOOD, Ind. — The Greenwood controller presented the city’s proposed 2026 budget to the Common Council on Sept. 15, outlining department-level changes, inflationary pressures and several public-safety cost drivers that will appear in the upcoming budget ordinances.
Controller Wright walked councilmembers through the online budget summaries and compared 2025 to proposed 2026 figures. “We are estimating… approximately 8% increase in our claims volume,” he said about the city’s self-funded health plan and noted that an 8% estimate in claims does not necessarily mean an equal increase in premiums because of the city’s stop‑loss arrangements.
Key items highlighted in the presentation included: an increase in software-licensing and maintenance contracts across multiple funds; inflationary pressure on utilities, repair parts and fuel; and planned capital and maintenance items such as traffic-light upkeep and security upgrades at the airport fund. Wright said some capital projects and one-time grant match items that appeared in prior years are not in the 2026 request, which reduces capital outlay in certain funds.
On public safety, the controller said the budget includes funding for six new probationary firefighter positions, the opening of Station 5 (including diesel fuel for an engine), and a PERF pension rate set at 23.3% for certified first-class pay plus highest longevity; the controller said 85 firefighters will be covered for that pension calculation. He also said there are specialty-pay and personnel adjustments in the police budget, including a market adjustment for a criminal analyst and a new specialty pay for a field training coordinator.
Wright also described administrative adjustments: a transfer of local income tax into the general fund and then to the fire fund to comply with state guidance; continued use of the EDIT fund to support police and fire salaries through 2028 under current projections; and concern about the probation fund, where fewer court cases are generating less revenue and staff are working with the judge and the county on options.
The controller noted the city is accounting for recent and forecasted utility price increases and higher insurance premiums, and that some costs (for example, tires, batteries and HVAC repairs) have risen materially. He offered to provide further details to the council and to produce additional summaries for the next meeting.
Several ordinances tied to the 2026 budget were introduced at the meeting (Ordinances 25-19 through 25-24), and the council amended Ordinance 25-23 to correct the year in the heading to 2026; that amendment passed on a roll call vote and the ordinance language was adjusted accordingly.
The presentation provided councilmembers a department-by-department view of proposed changes but did not finalize personnel policy changes such as restoring longevity citywide; the controller said there are no current plans to restore longevity given uncertainty around property tax cuts in the near term. No final budget adoption occurred at the Sept. 15 meeting; councilmembers were given the materials and the opportunity to request follow-up information.