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Washington County council approves July appropriations as SB1 raises budget uncertainty
Summary
The Washington County Council approved several additional appropriations and salary ordinance amendments July 7 while staff and a data analyst warned that Indiana’s Senate Bill 1 could reduce county revenues, prompting calls to consider temporary tax rate moves to build reserves.
The Washington County Council on July 7 approved a set of additional appropriations and salary ordinance amendments while hearing a briefing on potential revenue disruptions from Indiana Senate Bill 1.
Council members voted to add funding for two correctional officer payroll lines ($25,000 each), small general expense and utility adjustments, and approved a $16,350 Solid Waste Management grant to buy recycling equipment. Council members later approved a $5,000 appropriation for the Law Enforcement Continuing Education Fund and adopted multiple 2025 salary ordinance amendments shifting several attorney pay lines.
The meeting also included discussion of additional appropriations for the child support (IVD) office: $8,600 to cover an IVD deputy prosecutor line and $15,750 to fund an IVD attorney supplement intended to rearrange payroll following the end of a related Adult Protective Services program in 2025.
Darren Bates, in a separate July 7 briefing, told the joint session that Senate Bill 1 contains “a lot of unknowns” and highlighted several provisions he said will materially affect county revenue: “In two years, there will no longer be a county-wide income tax,” Bates said, and taxing units will be responsible for setting their own rates. He added that deductions for solar and geothermal will be removed and that the homestead credit will be phased out. Bates recommended counties consider temporarily maximizing local income tax rates over the next two years to build a reserve to offset anticipated revenue declines.
The council’s votes were unanimous as recorded in the minutes. No formal policy change related to Bates’s recommendations was adopted at the meeting; Bates said he will continue to follow up with legislators on outstanding implementation questions.
The council also received routine departmental updates from Clerk Stephanie Rockey on voter list maintenance and from Sheriff Brent Miller on staffing, but no additional decisions were recorded. The session adjourned after the recorded motions and approvals.
