Whitestown council reviews draft 2026 budget; council hears updates on health insurance, Rex Park and public-safety LIT

Whitestown — Town staff and the council’s municipal adviser reviewed the town’s draft 2026 budget at a budget workshop on Aug. 21, focusing on rising health-insurance costs, a multi-million-dollar park project and uncertainty over Local Income Tax (LIT) collections that fund public safety.

Nathan Fox, municipal adviser with Kron Associates, told the Town Council the town’s full-time payroll shows a net decrease of roughly $160,000 after reallocating some positions to specific departments and adding three new hires in maintenance and information technology. Fox said health-insurance costs are driving the largest single-year increase in personal-services spending — “just over a million dollars” — to cover premium inflation and funds for anticipated new hires.

The adviser said the town’s health-insurance reserve had been higher last year (about three months of premiums), which reduced last year’s budgeted premium line. If the town budgets for a full 12 months of premiums next year, Fox said the health-insurance line would move from the prior figure of about $3.1 million toward a higher run rate that more closely reflects 12 months of premiums (he contrasted a $3.1 million figure with a $3.6 million hypothetical to show the difference driven by reserve usage).

Fox also flagged a one‑time capital outlay increase to fund the Rex Park project, which he estimated in the $6 million–$8 million…