Pike Township residents have a chance to comment on the township’s proposed 2026 budget, but a delay has put millions of dollars at risk.
Who to blame for the delay, though, depends on who you ask.
Township trustee Annette Johnson says the fault lies with three board members who didn’t attend an Aug. 19 meeting when the budget was supposed to be introduced.
“To me, it’s a power struggle,” Johnson told Mirror Indy. “They want to make the trustee look bad.”
One of the absent members was board chair Claudette Peterson, who was Johnson’s primary opponent in the 2022 election and serves as the Pike Township committee chair for the Marion County Democratic Party. Johnson also ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat party chair Myla Eldridge.
Peterson and the other two absent board members — Demetrice Hicks and Kenya Perkins — said Johnson didn’t have the budget ready on time. So Peterson canceled the meeting.
“It’s about being well informed and being prepared,” Hicks told Mirror Indy. “Nothing was punitive on our end.”
Emails provided to Mirror Indy show the trustee’s office planned to have a draft budget prepared by Aug. 1, but difficulties assessing property tax revenue in the wake of Indiana’s property tax reform law delayed its release.
On Aug. 11, Johnson emailed the board telling them the draft and a presentation would be delivered at the next week’s meeting. That would give them a month to review the budget before a public hearing in September.
But the three board members wanted to see the draft before it was introduced. Peterson said the Aug. 19 meeting would be canceled if they didn’t have a draft by 2 p.m. the day before.
The draft never came.
Now, the budget introduction is planned for 6 p.m Sept. 16 at the Pike Township Government Building, 5665 Lafayette Road.
Upcoming meeting
Pike Township board meeting
🗓️ 6 p.m. Sept. 16
📍 Pike Township Government Building, 5665 Lafayette Road
The board has to meet a state deadline included in a new law that requires townships to adopt a three-year capital improvement plan by Sept. 30 or risk losing control of millions of dollars.
Johnson, who spoke to Mirror Indy before the emails were provided, did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Eldridge declined to comment.
What’s at risk?
Missing the Sept. 30 deadline would mean potentially losing out on millions of missed dollars meant to maintain fire stations and other buildings. The state could take 30% of any money not put toward capital improvement or another fund — such as a rainy day fund — and use it for road projects throughout the whole city.
It isn’t clear how much money the township plans to budget for capital projects in 2026.
But last year, the township budgeted about $15 million for capital expenditures, mainly for the Pike Township Fire Department. Using those figures as a guide, the township would lose control of about $4.5 million to road funding.
Beth Marsh, CEO of Bookkeeping Plus, which handles the township’s finances, said Pike could still try to work with the Hogsett administration to make sure some of that money benefits the township.
The loss of the capital improvement funding would mean that, if needed, the money would have to come from other township sources, Johnson said.
“It puts everything at risk,” Johnson said. “How are you going to pay the people? They have families. The court, the fire department, the trustee side, all their personnel. It’s a very serious matter.”
The trustee and board members expect to be able to pass the capital improvement plan at the Sept. 16 board meeting, but if that doesn’t happen, state law allows either the trustee, board chair or a majority of the board to call a special meeting with advance notice.
What’s next?
The 2026 Pike Township budget will be introduced at 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Pike Township Government Building, 5665 Lafayette Road. The meeting will also include a public comment period.
For more information, call the Pike Township Trustee’s Office at 317-533-6612.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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