Mayor Scott Fadness lays out long‑range plan to keep Fishers in perpetual renewal
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Summary
Mayor Scott Fadness used the State of the City to outline a multi‑decade strategy emphasizing safety, economic opportunity, education and bold reinvestment to avoid civic decline, and he flagged rising service costs and upcoming council proposals to sustain Fishers' growth.
Mayor Scott Fadness delivered Fishers' 2026 State of the City address, calling for a long‑range approach to keep the city in a "perpetual state of renewal" and warning that complacency can lead to decline. He framed his agenda around three priorities: political leadership rooted in service, the elements that make a great city (safety, opportunity and education), and the major challenges the city must solve to preserve prosperity.
Fadness said leadership should prioritize service over self‑promotion: "Realize that you lead when you need to. And when you don't, you fade into the background. And you do the work that people expect you to do." He said Fishers' city council and administration share that orientation and called on residents to hold elected officials accountable to it.
On public safety and community trust, Fadness described both the "perception of safety" and the "reality of safety," citing work by units such as the crime reduction unit, patrol and EMS and naming Chiefs Gephardt and Ragsdale as leaders who "obsess" over operational performance. He urged continuing investments that make people both feel and be safer.
Education and opportunity were central to the mayor's remarks. He cited local school performance figures — a 98.8% graduation rate and a 96% iRead pass rate — and preliminary results from a citizen survey showing 86% of respondents rated schools "excellent or good" and 91% would recommend the district. Fadness said he and the city would support school leadership where it keeps a focus on students who need help reaching proficiency.
Fadness warned of rising municipal costs even as Fishers maintains a low tax rate. He said the city has held flat employee health‑care costs for six years and maintains the lowest municipal tax rate in Hamilton County, but noted service costs have increased: resurfacing a mile of road rose from $160,000 in 2021 to $282,000 in 2025, patrol vehicles have increased from about $53,000 in 2020 to $64,000 today, and ladder trucks now cost roughly $2,000,000, with long lead times. He used those increases to argue for disciplined financial management so the city can reinvest in infrastructure and amenities.
The mayor presented a strategic prescription for avoiding the standard municipal lifecycle (new → stable → decline → redevelopment → renewal). His proposals include maintaining a culture of evolution and adaptation, making bold and strategic investments in redevelopment, delivering government services innovatively, and operating the city as efficiently as possible to free funds for reinvestment. He said he will bring a series of proposals to the council in coming months to put those ideas into action.
Fadness closed with a personal, emotional appeal after describing a meeting with the parents of "Haley," a 17‑year‑old homicide victim whose case he said was investigated by the Fishers Police Department. He asked the audience for quiet reflection and support for the family.
The mayor did not propose specific new taxes or ordinances during the address; he characterized the next steps as proposals to be discussed with the council and signaled continued emphasis on long‑range planning and regional engagement. The city is expected to present those proposals to the council in the coming months.
