Brownsburg approves 2026 budget, authorizes levy appeal to staff new fire station

The Town of Brownsburg on a unanimous vote approved its 2026 proposed budget and authorized staff to pursue a levy appeal aimed at funding firefighters for a planned new fire station.

The budget passed at the town's regular meeting and includes a 3% wage increase, a 3% health-insurance increase, a 3% rise in the town's firefighter PERF (pension) contribution and a one-time "27th paycheck" that adds about $400,000 to next year’s payroll costs. Fire department line items for 15 new firefighters and related benefits total roughly $1.7 million in the packet, and the council voted to proceed with a levy appeal that town staff estimated could generate about $1,635,000.

Why it matters: the budget and the levy appeal together are intended to staff Station 4, which officials said has been under discussion and in planning for several years. Council approval starts the administrative work for the levy appeal and finalizes spending assumptions that could change if the appeal or grant requests fail.

Fire Chief (role), who presented the staffing plan, asked the board to grant staff and the town attorney latitude to prepare a levy appeal. "This would be to fund the firefighters that's outlined in the budget for the new station," the chief said. He told the board the town's budget analyst, Clay, estimated the levy appeal would bring about $1,635,000, "that would fund the 15 firefighters we need for their station." He also noted the town has applied for a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant, which could pay part of the first three years of new hires' salaries and benefits.

Resident David Wyant raised questions during public comment about how the town intended to address what he described as a "$1,627,000" budget deficit and why staffing for a station that has not yet been constructed was included in the 2026 budget. "I'm looking at your, proposed budget deficit of, dollars $1,627,000 and there's not any resolution to that deficit, at least noted in the in the budget," Wyant said. The chief and other officials responded that the budget includes conditional items that would be removed if revenue from the levy appeal or grant funding does not materialize.

The budget presentation included additional changes: a modification of longevity pay to a compounding longevity that officials said slightly increases pension base amounts at a modest cost (about $32,000 in the current proposal); and a clarification that items shown in green in the packet represent the 15 new firefighters tied to the new station. The packet also lists vehicle-maintenance and legal-fee increases tied to aging fleet costs and an unexpected lawsuit, respectively.

Board discussion noted timing considerations: training for newly hired firefighters would take about 26 weeks before they could staff the new station, and the chief said the town plans to place new hires on a reserve engine initially so they can acclimate to Brownsburg operations. "We're looking at 26 weeks to once we hire the firefighters to get them trained," the chief said. "They'll write on a reserved piece of equipment out of Station 3 where we have extra bunk rooms ... when that station opened, that reserve they would go to the new piece of equipment, and that pumper will be here February."

Motions and votes: the board voted unanimously to authorize staff to pursue a levy appeal and then voted unanimously to approve the 2026 budget. Officials said the budget includes contingency language: if the levy or grant funding is not secured, the budget lines for the new firefighters would be removed for next year and reconsidered later.

The budget packet shows separate categories for IT costs: one line is the town's cost share for a town-employed IT person who performs work for the fire department; another covers contracted IT services and records-management products. Deputy operations reports and staff Q&A in the meeting packet were cited by board members as useful background information.

The council scheduled follow-up implementation work with the town attorney and accountants before submission of the levy-appeal paperwork to the Department of Local Government Finance. Officials said formal instructions for levy appeals typically arrive in September or October.

Ending: The board approved the budget and the levy appeal authorization by unanimous voice votes and directed staff to proceed with the legal and accounting steps needed to file the appeal and pursue available grants. If those revenue sources do not materialize, officials said they will remove the firefighter positions and related spending from next year's appropriations.