The city of Beech Grove will begin planning next year’s budget on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
This budget discussion will take place roughly a month after the seven-member council voted to increase its flat-rate sewer and stormwater fees. The move helped prevent a $1.7 million budget shortfall for the city-owned utility.
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But maintaining city-owned services will be complicated as councilors navigate their first budget season after Indiana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 earlier this year.
The legislation will provide savings to homeowners, but it comes at a cost for local governments who will miss out on property tax revenue that helps pay for schools, health departments and public safety.
This month, Jeff Peters, the city’s financial adviser, told Beech Grove councilors that businesses with property worth more than $80,000 have to pay property taxes to the city. Over the next few years, though, businesses won’t have to pay property taxes if their assessed value is less than $2 million, according to state law.
Peters said it’s part of Indiana lawmakers’ plan to push local governments to rely on income tax revenue instead of property taxes. But Peters said the fallout from SB 1, combined with changes to the way income taxes are calculated, could leave local governments millions of dollars short and cripple small townships and cities, such as Beech Grove.
“If they don’t fix those things, I think you guys are insolvent by 2030,” Peters told councilors during their monthly meeting on Monday, Aug. 4. “I don’t know what the legislature’s true intent is going forward. I think there is a lot of pressure to get rid of those smaller units of government.”
In the meantime, Peters recommended the city retain as much cash as possible. Beech Grove’s Common Council is expected to vote on the 2026 budget in the fall.
The city’s first budget workshop will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the Council Chambers of Beech Grove City Hall, 802 Main St. Community members can also livestream the meeting remotely.
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Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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