Decatur Township trustee warns state changes could strip local income-tax revenue

Decatur Township Trustee Jason Holiday warned area residents that recent state legislation is poised to move revenue streams away from local townships and toward county or city control, a change he said could force cuts to essential services.

"We absolutely believe we're going to get none of that back," Holiday said of proposed changes to local income-tax distributions, citing a projected loss he estimated at about $44,000,000 — roughly 20% of Decatur's budget. Holiday described Decatur's finances in detail: a roughly $20,000,000 annual budget, about $15,000,000 of which supports fire-protection services, approximately 8,200 fire/EMS runs last year and roughly 400 township-assistance requests.

Holiday reviewed the formal duties of township executives under Indiana Code (citing Indiana Code 36-6-4), including property management, administering township assistance and overseeing small-claims court facilities in Marion County. He also summarized two pieces of legislation discussed at the meeting: a 2025 property-tax relief measure (referred to at the meeting as 'Senator Roll Act 1') and a House-enrolled road-funding bill that, he said, would require townships to transfer roughly 30% of certain unspent general-fund reserves to county/city infrastructure projects.

On transparency and oversight, Holiday said townships are audited by the Indiana State Board of Accounts (typically on a multi-year cycle) and that most audit reports are publicly posted on the board's website. He also outlined the township budget calendar — submissions to the Department of Local Government Finance are due by Nov. 1 — and described the department's role in final approvals and adjustments to advertised tax rates.

Holiday took questions from attendees about abatements, TIFs and how those mechanisms affect local revenues. He urged residents to follow the county and state processes and to engage when hearings and public comment periods are announced.