Local government finance
June 10, 2022
Each year, the maximum amount of property tax revenue (levy) that may be generated by a local civil government unit is adjusted to account for growth and inflation. This article is intended to explain this calculation and the impact on your unit’s 2023 budget. How is the annual adjustment to the maximum levy calculated? Legislation stipulates the six-year moving average increase in Indiana, non-farm personal income (as published by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis) is the factor used to adjust the maximum levy each year. Will the amount of my local unit’s property tax revenue increase as a result of this annual adjustment? Not necessarily. Factors such as lost revenue from property tax rate cap credits and delinquencies/non-payment […]
March 14, 2022
Written by: Curtis Coonrod [Revised: 3/11/22] “How do I know I can trust all these people?” A newly-elected official once asked us that question. He inherited staff from his electoral opponent, the former officeholder. He wanted continuity of operations, so he did not want to fire everyone. He knew these people from his time on the fiscal body. Essentially, he trusted them, but he did not hire them. He did not want any of them to get him into trouble. Here was our advice: Even if you think you know people, you don’t. Besides, public office is a public trust. Your job is not simply to trust people you know but to put in place sound security systems to safeguard […]
October 19, 2021
Written By: Curtis Coonrod [Revised: 10/19/2021] 1. Reallocate Local Income Tax (LIT) Townships generally receive a share of local income tax with the revenue being budgeted in one or more funds. However, the Township Trustee is not bound by that portion of the budget. In fact, the Trustee has the authority to make reallocations such as redirecting LIT revenue during the year. This is done ideally by obtaining a Board resolution, though it is not a requirement to do so. For example, suppose that one half of your township’s LIT revenue is budgeted in your Township Assistance Fund with the other half in the Fire Protection Fund. The Trustee can effectively redirect some of the LIT revenue so that only […]
December 10, 2020
City Balance Rank Noblesville Civil City $15,964,656 1 Carmel Civil City $11,289,263 2 South Bend Civil City $10,708,300 3 Elkhart Civil City $9,550,664 4 Lafayette Civil City $5,566,994 5 Columbus Civil City $4,955,085 6 Bloomington Civil City $4,856,668 7 Jeffersonville Civil City $4,658,364 8 Franklin Civil City $4,390,090 9 Plymouth Civil City $4,371,528 10 Valparaiso Civil City $4,315,169 11 Evansville Civil City $3,081,421 12 Westfield Civil City $3,003,180 13 Greenwood Civil City $2,551,842 14 Auburn Civil City $2,388,800 15 Goshen Civil City $2,154,517 16 Fort Wayne Civil City $2,085,218 17 Jasper Civil City $2,024,274 18 Warsaw Civil City $1,805,154 19 Fishers Civil City $1,798,785 20 Vincennes Civil City $1,731,577 21 Lebanon Civil City $1,722,761 22 Greenfield Civil City $1,541,581 23 […]
September 5, 2020
If you are starting to think about your 2021 budget, you might like to know a way to get a little more money. The Department of Local Government Finance provides Form 4b, which allows you to calculate the funds available for the coming year. One item you must take into account is the current year’s unspent appropriations (Line 2 on the old Form 4b and Line 5 on this year’s new Form 4b). That makes sense. Usually, if the money is appropriated to be spent this year, you should not use it for next year’s budget. However, most years, your township does not actually expend its full budget. Now that we are halfway through the 2020 budget year, you may […]