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Warsaw Common Council on Monday held a public hearing on the 2027 appropriations and tax rates ordinance, but no one present said anything about it.
Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen explained, “So, Ordinance 2026-10-01 is our budget adoption, basically, for next year, and we have a new format with the budget form from Gateway this year.”
On the civil property tax maximum levy, she said they’re over the maximum levy of $13,501,034 by $500,000 at $14,001,304; and the fire territory is at their maximum levy of $7,030,075.
“Now, don’t get too excited about that because our current tax rate right now is $1.2641 and we use only 95% of our certified net assessed valuation for next year ... but when it comes through it’ll be like $79 million more we’ll have in assessed value than what we can use for that. So when that assessed value comes in, it’ll lower the rate and also it’ll lower the levy,” she said. “I hope the fire territory, the way we figured it, will stay the same at, but the civil city side should go down so we will be under the max levy.”
She said the fire territory is about $75 million under their maximum levy as well.
“The other thing to note is when they do the final rate, they don’t include the CCD (cumulative capital development) or the fire equipment ... you’ll see the tax rate is at $1.3378. Right now, if you take out that CCD rate and the fire equipment, it’ll bring down the rate to $1.2575. So once they put in that full assessed value, that rate will probably drop down a few more cents I would imagine,” Christiansen stated.
Council President Jack Wilhite said the budget happens like this year after year. The tax rate and budget start high but comes down, and the new form looks different and they have to sort through it.
Christiansen said they have to advertise high because once they advertise the budget and rate, it can’t go higher but it can go lower.
Mayor Jeff Grose said many factors are involved in it.
“And all the funds have at least a 15% reserve at the end of next year,” Christiansen said.
Grose said the tax rate for 2026 is $1.26 and Christiansen is telling the council that when it finally settles it could be possibly lower.
According to a copy of the ordinance, the adopted budgets for 2027 for the city are: $200,000, casino/riverboat fund; $100,000, rainy day fund; $20,476.257, general fund; $260,200, debt service; $281,480, fire pension; $291,150, police pension; $300,000, local roads and streets fund; $350,000 motor vehicle highway fund; $3,439,100, parks and recreation; $342,875, park bond; $2,111,300, aviation/airport; $985,894, cemetery; $70,000, cumulative capital improvement (cigarette tax); $675,000, CCD; $1,863,000, economic development income tax; $393,980, redevelopment general; $1,075,500, redevelopment bond; $7,590,550, special fire protection territory general; and $1 million, special fire protection territory equipment replacement fund.
The total adopted city budget for 2027 is $41,806,286, with a tax rate of $1.3378 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Home-rule funds - such as funds received from tax increment finance districts, grants and fee funds - total $11,173,606 and those are not reviewed by the Department of Local Government Finance.
Grose opened the public hearing on the ordinance, no one spoke for or against it, and then he closed the hearing. The council then approved the budget ordinance unanimously on first reading.
In other business, the council approved:
• On second reading the 2027 general, fire, police and elected salary ordinances as presented by Human Resource Director Denny Harlan.
The ordinances include a 2% increase for all employees, with health insurance premiums raised by 9%.
The council approved all four ordinances on first reading at their Sept. 21 meeting.
• A petition to vacate a small portion of Columbia Street right-of-way in order to place the necessary NIPSCO transformers to serve the new Millworks development, as requested by Warsaw Community and Economic Development Director Jeremy Skinner.
The transformers can’t be in the public right-of-way but on private property.
With the council’s approval of the petition, a public hearing on the vacation will be advertised and the hearing will take place at the council’s 7 p.m. Oct. 19 meeting.
“Basically, what it’s doing is vacating a very small portion ... on the southwest side,” he said.
Skinner said they looked at a number of different places to put the transformers but they all created their own problems. After much deliberation, they were able to come to an agreement with NIPSCO and the Milllworks builder, AP Millworks LLC, on the location that will work.
“There are no utilities in it. It is not needed for the roadway that exists or any roadway improvements in the future, so I’m not opposed to it being vacated. But like I said, this is just the petition,” he said.
The council members have to approve the ordinance on first and second reading to vacate the right-of-way.
• A conflict of interest statement for Noemi Ponce, who sits on the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board and also helps teach painting courses.
