Committee advances bill allowing portion of Cumberland to become an excluded city from UNIGOV

A state House bill to change the UNIGOV status of the Marion County portion of the town of Cumberland cleared the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee after officials from the town and local lawmakers answered questions on taxes, fire coverage and debt-service arrangements.

Representative Rhett Miller, the bill sponsor, told the committee the legislation would make the Marion County portion of Cumberland an "excluded city" while preserving the town's name, boundaries and elected officers. "This legislation actually applies to only the portion of Cumberland, located in Marion County," Miller said. He told the committee that after 12/31/2026 "the town remains a town government" and "the term of any elected or appointed officer of the town is not affected."

The bill matters because it would shift zoning, permitting and growth-control authority that currently rests with the consolidated city of Indianapolis to the town government on the Marion County side, proponents said. "They really don't have control of their own zoning, and of their own growth policies. And their residents have to go to the city of Indianapolis to get a permit to do something on their property," Miller said. Committee members pressed sponsors for details on tax impacts and intergovernmental arrangements.

Benjamin Lipp, who testified for the town, described Cumberland as already providing many local services on the Marion County side. "We provide the policing today in Marion County, Cumberland and already provide those services," Lipp said. He told the committee the town does its own street maintenance and facilities work and would continue to participate in the consolidated fire territory. "The fire territory, that's a separate taxing district. So that taxing district would just stay in place," Lipp said.

Lipp and Miller said the change would not raise town residents' taxes and that the town already collects its local town rate. Lipp said the consolidated city tax rate would be removed for affected addresses, producing a savings for those taxpayers. He also described an agreement to pay Cumberland's share of an outstanding city debt instrument (described in testimony as a "2,043 series bond") so Indianapolis's consolidated tax rate would not be altered by the town's change in status.

Representative Dave Gore (who represents the Marion County portion of Cumberland) supported the change and said he had worked with constituent leaders and Indianapolis officials to ensure the bill addressed concerns about "unraveling" UNIGOV. "Anytime we can eliminate duplicative processes for folks is good," Gore said, adding that commitments had been made to limit this kind of change to Cumberland alone.

Committee members asked several technical questions about tax billing and township levies. Committee responses noted that tax bills in Marion County will continue to show multiple district rates (town, township, county, fire territory, debt service) and that debt and fire-district levies would remain on property tax statements until paid off. Miller and Lipp said Cumberland's total population is about 6,500 and described rapid housing growth on the Hancock County side that the town wants to mirror on the Marion County side.

The committee voted to move the bill to the floor. The roll call recorded unanimous support among voting senators present.

Votes at a glance Motion to move the bill: moved and seconded; vote recorded as unanimous (yes votes recorded: Senator Fedora; Senator Hundley; Senator Naskoskie; Senator Randolph; Senator Baldwin; Senator Buchanan; Senator Gaskell; Senator Johnson; Senator Neimeyer; Senator Rogers; Senator Walker; Chair Holden). Outcome: approved; bill moves to the floor.

Next steps The bill will be considered on the Senate floor. The testimony and questions focused on taxation mechanics, fire-territory participation and a city debt-service arrangement; sponsors said those elements were handled through amendments and agreements with Indianapolis and that the change applies only to the Marion County portion of the town.