After major cost-cutting, Wayne Township has bounced back from the prospect of a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall.
But the township trustee, Jeb Bardon, says reduced income due to state-level tax changes may make paying bills more difficult in the future.
Bardon introduced the township’s $55.8 million budget request for 2026 and its three-year capital improvement plan at the township board meeting Sept. 11.
Upcoming meeting
Wayne Township board meeting
The board will vote on the proposed 2026 budget.
🗓️ 6 p.m., Oct. 9
📍 Wayne Township Government Center, 5401 W. Washington St.
The meeting will also be live streamed on the trustee’s Facebook page.
He told the five-member board that the township has a balanced budget due to money-saving measures, such as getting civilians to take over some administrative jobs held by firefighters within the fire department and leaving some township court staff vacancies unfilled.
But Bardon said tax changes are reducing township income at a time when costs are rising.
In 2022 and 2023, state lawmakers reduced the individual income tax rate, which cut the township’s share of income taxes collected by Marion County. This year’s Senate Bill 1 changed how much is collected in property taxes, which is expected to reduce the township’s income by an additional $1 million from 2026 to 2028.
“The path forward is a little uncertain. I’ll be very blunt with you,” Bardon said. “Those two things have really jeopardized all local units of government.”
Only the essentials
In early 2023, overspending had the township facing a $5 million budget shortfall. The township considered merging its fire department and emergency medical services with the Indianapolis Fire Department and Indianapolis EMS.
The township voted to merge both, but only the EMS merger went through. The township saved enough money through the EMS merger to balance its budget and keep its fire department.
Now, most of its budget goes towards funding the fire department.
Here’s what the proposed budget looks like:
🧑🚒 $39.1 million for the Wayne Township Fire Department.
💰 $12.9 million for the township’s general fund, which supports the trustee’s office and small claims court.
👕 $2.9 million for township assistance, which helps low-income residents with things such as school clothes, rent payments and burials.
🚒 $1 million for the township’s cumulative fire fund, which helps pay for fire trucks and other equipment.
But the budget excludes some items that the township may need to do but will not be able to afford for years, such as $2 million in renovations at several fire stations.
“We have three fire stations that are over 40 years old, and one fire station that’s over 50 years old,” Bardon said. “We don’t currently have a plan to replace any of our fire stations. That is a capital expenditure that essentially has been put off. At some point it has to be dealt with.”
The trustee’s office also submitted a capital improvement plan in order to meet a new state requirement. Townships and other local governments have until Sept. 30 every year to introduce a three-year capital improvement plan or risk losing control of 30% of any unallocated money for buildings and other capital expenses to road projects.
Wayne Township’s capital improvement plan calls for $5.3 million for expenses in the next three years. The largest expenses would be a ladder truck at $2.4 million and two fire engines at $1.2 million each.
COmpare to Pike Township
Pike Township avoids losing millions in funding at heated board meeting
Board members approved a state-mandated capital improvement plan days before their deadline.
What’s next?
The board approved the capital improvement plan at the Sept. 11 meeting but will vote on the proposed budget at next month’s meeting.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Oct. 9, at the Wayne Township Government Center, 5401 W. Washington St. The meeting will also be live streamed on the trustee’s Facebook page.
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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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