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 range and used $7 million as an example for planning. He said park impact fees could cover part of that project and the remainder would come from the town’s capital fund if approved. Total capital outlays were shown at about $9 million for the year, driven largely by the Rex Park estimate.

Department heads summarized line-item expectations and organizational changes: - Development services and building: Staffing and software remain the largest expense categories; managers said they are not planning additional staff beyond what’s already included. - Streets/public works: Staff reported shifts of previously budgeted lead positions and inspector salaries between accounts and a planned increase in local paving because state matching (Community Crossings) will decline; the department still expects to accomplish roughly $3 million in paving next year and will use more local funds to make up reduced state match. - Parks: Parks staff said the parks budget is roughly flat, with the addition of one maintenance technician and plans to bring more mowing in-house while implementing a maintenance plan tied to levels-of-service standards. - Police: The police budget includes a roughly 5% increase in full-time wages to keep pace with regional market rates, an increase in pension costs tied to state action and anticipated higher fleet costs. Chief Ralston reported the town is completing the final lease payments on police vehicle leases, reducing the police vehicle lease/debt service line by about $162,000 (from a historical $632,000 allocation down to an anticipated $470,000 in vehicle-related spending). - Fire/EMS: The fire department’s budget changes reflect contractual wage increases, modest shifts in benefits lines, and a small increase in EMS transport revenue assumptions tied to recent usage trends.

Council and staff discussed LIT (Local Income Tax) revenue for public safety at length. Nathan Fox and staff described uncertainty in the LIT environment: for budgeting purposes the council used a conservative 7% growth estimate, which would yield an estimated public-safety LIT collection of about $7.9 million for 2026; a 12% scenario would produce about $8.2 million. Staff cautioned that supplemental public-safety LIT receipts are volatile — examples cited included roughly $327,000 in 2022, about $1.3 million in 2024 and just under $1.0 million last year — and should not be relied upon for ongoing commitments.

Councilmembers asked how LIT interacts with county and other taxing-unit rates. Staff explained that the new LIT framework allows for multiple taxing units’ levies to affect a resident’s total rate, with a statutory maximum aggregated rate across taxing units; exact county-level choices and the certified net assessed value will affect final tax-rate calculations. Staff said the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) will provide certified net assessed value prior to budget adoption, and that the public hearing will precede adoption: the budget workshop materials noted a public hearing scheduled for Sept. 10.

Other notable budget items and clarifications included: - Professional-services reallocation: a hydro rental line that had not been used was removed and the funds reallocated to legal services to reflect rising legal costs. - Council salaries: staff said council salary amounts had been budgeted conservatively under the salary matrix; an overbudgeting in the matrix led to a downward adjustment in the council-salary line to reflect expected actual payouts. - Capital and sustainability: Fox emphasized the office’s five-year sustainability view rather than a single-year cash check, noting that bond and capital decisions should be measured across multiple years.

The workshop was procedural; council approved the meeting agenda at the start and later adjourned by motion. No formal budget adoption votes occurred at the workshop stage; staff said changes can still be made before the public hearing and final adoption.

The council will consider a public hearing on the proposed budget on Sept. 10; the adoption date and final tax-rate impact will depend on the DLGF-certified net assessed value and the town’s final decisions about capital projects and LIT allocations.