Hamilton Southeastern Schools will recommend a lower HSE referendum tax rate for 2027 than officials projected earlier this year, after Hamilton County government delivered better-than-expected assessed valuation numbers this week.

The assessed value of property inside district boundaries “came in quite a bit higher than we were projecting,” HSE Chief Financial Officer Tim Brown told the school board’s Finance & Facilities Committee Thursday morning.

That matters because a referendum rate is applied against total net assessed value. When the base is larger, a lower rate raises the same number of dollars. Administrators had been planning around a rate of 22.75 cents per $100 of assessed value in 2027 — the figure Brown has used in public presentations since spring — using the county data available at the time.

Brown did not tell the committee what the new 2027 recommendation will be, only that it will land below 22.75 cents.

An informational presentation on the revised recommendation is scheduled for Wednesday night’s board meeting. No vote is expected then.

What voters will decide November 3

Voters will decide November 3 whether to replace HSE’s current operating referendum, approved in 2023 with 70% support. State law requires the ballot question to show the maximum possible impact, so voters will see a rate of up to 36 cents per $100 of assessed value over eight years. District officials have consistently said they do not expect to levy the maximum in any year.

The rate is not locked in by the ballot. If the referendum passes, the school board votes each year on the referendum tax rate as part of the budget process — which is exactly the mechanism producing this week’s downward revision.

The district is asking again three years into an eight-year measure because of Senate Enrolled Act 1, the 2025 property tax overhaul signed by Gov. Mike Braun. Larger homestead deductions shrink the assessed value a rate is applied against, and consultants project HSE will collect roughly $45.3 million less than expected between 2026 and 2031. The same law limits referendum questions to general election ballots in even-numbered years, meaning HSE’s next opportunity after this fall would not come until November 2028.

HSE is far from alone. School finance experts estimate 40 to 50 Indiana districts will put referendum questions on this fall’s ballot, including Carmel, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville.

The revised number arrives as Brown and Superintendent Dr. Matt Kegley prepare a series of speaking engagements across the community to explain the referendum question to voters — appearances that will now carry a smaller first-year number than the one presented this spring.

Three members of the Hamilton County law enforcement community were recognized Tuesday for their work in patrol, investigations and community engagement.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office presented its annual Officer of the Year Awards to Westfield Patrol Officer Ezekiel McCarthy, Carmel Detective Michael Morley, and Noblesville police K-9 Luna and her handler, Sgt. Ben Lugar.

“We are incredibly fortunate to serve alongside some of the finest law enforcement professionals anywhere,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joshua Kocher said. “This year’s honorees not only stand apart from everyone else, but they exemplify the dedication, courage, and compassion that define our law enforcement partners every day.”

McCarthy was named Patrol Officer of the Year for what the prosecutor’s office described as extraordinary courage, decisive action and a steadfast commitment to public safety. Officials said his professionalism, selflessness and ability to remain calm under pressure reflect the highest ideals of law enforcement.

Morley received the Detective of the Year award for his work investigating complex financial crimes and offenses targeting vulnerable adults.

As an FBI task force officer and member of Hamilton County’s Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Team, Morley uses his financial expertise to investigate cases, hold offenders accountable and pursue the recovery of stolen money for victims. The prosecutor’s office credited his persistence and thorough investigative work with helping restore justice for vulnerable residents.

The K-9 of the Year award went to Luna and Lugar for their service with NobleACT, a partnership involving police, fire and mental health professionals.

The program connects people experiencing a crisis with community resources and seeks to divert them from the criminal justice system when appropriate. Luna provides emotional support and therapeutic comfort during crisis responses. She also serves as a familiar and reassuring presence at community events.

A new internal poll released Wednesday by Democrat J.D. Ford’s congressional campaign portrays Indiana’s 5th District as a dead heat, a striking claim in a district that has been reliably Republican since it was redrawn after the 2020 census — and one that comes just a day after national Democrats formally added the race to their target list.

The survey, conducted July 16-20 by Impact Research, a Democratic polling firm working for the Ford campaign, shows incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz leading Ford, a state senator from Indianapolis, 48 percent to 46 percent — within the poll’s margin of error.

The poll paints a difficult picture for the three-term congresswoman. According to the campaign’s summary, 51 percent of district voters view Spartz unfavorably, against 34 percent favorable. A majority, 53 percent, see her as “part of the problem in Washington,” and 49 percent consider her ineffective. The survey also found President Trump, who carried the district by 17 points in 2024, now viewed unfavorably by 51 percent of its voters.

“Hoosiers in the 5th district want a leader who will make life more affordable for us,” Ford said in a statement accompanying the release. “For six years, Victoria Spartz has used her position in Congress to rig the rules to benefit herself and her big corporate donors while our friends and neighbors struggle to make ends meet.”

The Spartz campaign did not issue an immediate response.

Internal campaign polls deserve caution. They are typically released only when favorable to the campaign paying for them, and their assumptions about who will turn out in November cannot be independently verified. Even this poll’s own numbers show Republicans holding a five-point advantage on the generic ballot, 45 percent to 40 percent. The poll’s most optimistic finding for Ford — a six-point lead — emerges only after respondents heard positive information about both candidates, a common technique that tends to overstate a challenger’s ceiling.

The district’s recent history also argues for skepticism. Since redistricting made it safer Republican territory in 2021, no Democrat has come close. Spartz won reelection in 2024 with 56.6 percent of the vote, an 18-point margin, and the major election forecasters rated the seat safely Republican throughout that cycle.

Still, there are signs this race is drawing attention it hasn’t seen before. On Tuesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the 5th District to its “Districts in Play” list — one of 12 Republican-held seats, nearly all carried comfortably by Trump in 2024, that the House Democrats’ campaign arm is targeting in November. The designation typically signals that national money and organizational support will follow, and it puts Spartz in the company of higher-profile Republican targets such as Colorado’s Lauren Boebert.

Ford, the first openly gay member of the Indiana General Assembly, has served two terms in the state Senate. His campaign reported raising more than $365,000 in the second quarter and has argued Spartz’s war chest is comparatively thin. Spartz, first elected in 2020, survived a crowded and expensive Republican primary in 2024 after briefly announcing she would not seek reelection.

Whether the 5th District — anchored in Hamilton County’s fast-growing suburbs — is truly in play won’t be clear until independent polling and spending decisions confirm what the Ford campaign’s numbers suggest. Midterm cycles have historically favored the party out of the White House, and Democrats are betting that suburban districts like this one are where any wave would break first. Republicans, for now, can point to two decades of results that say otherwise.

The general election is Nov. 3.

The Fishers Advisory Plan Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to send a proposal allowing accessory dwelling units in part of the Nickel Plate District to the City Council without a recommendation.

The commission’s decision does not stop the proposal. As an advisory body, it may forward zoning matters to the council with a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable recommendation or no recommendation. The City Council has final authority and is expected to consider the amendment Aug. 17.

Accessory dwelling units, sometimes called “granny flats” or “in-law suites,” are independent living spaces located on the same property as a single-family home. They may be built as detached structures, placed above garages or incorporated into existing homes.

The proposed amendment would permit the units in the Village Center zoning district. Because much of that district already consists of apartments and townhomes, city officials say the practical effect would be concentrated in the South Village area, generally south of Morgan Drive and along Meadows Drive and Lantern Road.

Under the proposed standards, an accessory dwelling unit could contain no more than 800 square feet, and only one would be permitted on a residential lot. The property owner would be required to live in either the primary residence or the accessory unit.

Each unit also would need a separate address or unit number and a paved route to a driveway or alley. Detached units could be up to 25 feet tall, while units constructed over garages could reach 42 feet. They would be required to follow the Nickel Plate District’s architectural standards.

The amendment would not require additional off-street parking beyond what is already required for the primary residence.

City planning staff recommended approval of the amendment. One written public comment opposing the proposal had been received when the staff report was prepared. The city also conducted a virtual town hall June 22 after mailing notices to property owners in the Village Center district.

Buckhaven development advances

In other business, the commission unanimously recommended approval of the proposed Buckhaven residential development on 131st Street, just west of Interstate 69.

Pulte Homes is seeking to rezone 11.54 acres at 11798 and 11842 E. 131st St. from R2 residential zoning to a residential planned unit development. The proposal calls for 23 for-sale, single-family homes, a density of about two homes per acre.

The preliminary plan shows a single street ending in a cul-de-sac, along with two stub streets intended to provide future connections. The developer also would be required to construct acceleration and deceleration lanes along 131st Street, a 10-foot-wide path, neighborhood sidewalks and an outdoor gathering area.

Plans include a pond for stormwater treatment, a landscaped buffer and homes with side-loading garages. Buyers would have the option of adding a third garage bay. Final home designs would be subject to approval by the city’s PUD Committee.

No written public comments had been received when the staff report was completed. Pulte held a neighborhood meeting June 11, where nearby residents asked questions about the development and its proposed stub streets.

The Buckhaven rezoning also is expected to go before the Fishers City Council on Aug. 17 for final consideration.

Citizens State Bank has eliminated the drive-through from its proposed new branch on East 116th Street and substantially reworked the building’s design—changes that helped the project win a unanimous favorable recommendation Wednesday from the Fishers Advisory Plan Commission.

The branch is proposed for a 0.83-acre site at 13562 E. 116th St., just west of Olio Road. The commission’s action is a recommendation, not final approval. The rezoning now returns to the Fishers City Council.

The changes followed continued discussions with nearby residents, particularly those in the 114th Street area, after the bank presented its original proposal to the council at a July 20 first reading. Several council members questioned whether a drive-through banking operation was appropriate for the site.

The revised concept removes the drive-through and depicts a low-profile, residential-scale building with pitched roofs, light-colored masonry, wood accents and extensive landscaping. The proposed planned unit development, or PUD, would limit the building to a 4,500-square-foot footprint and a height of 24 feet. It also would allow no more than 27 parking spaces and require the property to remain a single-tenant, owner-occupied development.

Four nearby residents spoke during the Plan Commission’s public hearing. Much of their concern centered on traffic in an already congested area, particularly the effect of vehicles making left turns. Residents also raised questions about the bank’s proposed signage.

The draft PUD would limit the property to one freestanding ground or monument sign. Building signs on the south and east facades would be limited to 10 square feet, with lettering no taller than 12 inches. Parking-lot lighting would be kept to the minimum required by city standards and dimmed overnight.

The Fishers Engineering Department reviewed the proposed branch and its full-access driveway on 116th Street. In an Aug. 3 memorandum, Engineering Director Hatem Mekky said the bank is not expected to have a negative effect on traffic along the corridor.

“There is no concern on the approach intersection with 116th Street,” the memorandum stated.

The department said it would continue monitoring access points along 116th Street and could revisit access to the property if problems develop. A different business operating at the site in the future would require another engineering review.

The property is currently governed by the Drive Planning PUD, approved by the City Council on a 9-0 vote in January 2024 for a single-tenant office development. Before that rezoning, the property was classified R2 residential. The city’s Fishers 2040 comprehensive plan continues to identify the surrounding area as suburban residential.

The commission’s favorable recommendation carried one additional request: Council members should discuss how changes to the PUD would impact their final vote.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the rezoning at its 7 p.m. meeting Monday, Aug. 17, in the Fishers Municipal Center Theater.

Disclosure: Citizens State Bank sponsors the LarryInFishers podcast series.

Gov. Mike Braun declared a new energy emergency Wednesday and extended Indiana’s gasoline tax holiday another 30 days, keeping 58.9 cents a gallon off the price at the pump through early September — and reopening a fight over how the state will pay for the roads that money was supposed to build.

The taxes had been set to return Friday. Braun said in July that his July 2 extension would be his last, telling reporters he lacked the authority to continue the break without lawmakers coming into special session. On Wednesday he found a new basis for it: the war in Ukraine and disruption to the Alberta Oil Sands Region from Canadian wildfires, rather than the Iran conflict that triggered the original emergency in April.

“New conditions that continue to disrupt global energy distribution provide a new basis for a suspension of gas taxes,” Braun said in announcing the order. “Affordability is my top priority, and my gas tax suspensions delivered the cheapest gas in America for Hoosiers all summer. I’m keeping those savings going for Hoosier families, and my recommended budget will tap our reserves to keep state and local infrastructure projects fully funded.”

What’s suspended

Two taxes remain off the books:

• The gasoline excise tax of 37 cents per gallon, which rose a penny July 1 under existing state law.
• The gasoline use tax — effectively the state’s 7% sales tax as applied to fuel — which was set at 21.9 cents a gallon for August.

Indiana’s average price for regular was $3.57 a gallon Wednesday, the lowest statewide average in the country against a national average of $4.08, according to AAA. That is up sharply from $3.06 in early July, and from $2.68 in late February before the Iran war began.

Huston: ‘make local communities and INDOT whole’

House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, endorsed the extension while signaling that the Legislature will have to sort out the road funding hole when it writes the next state budget.

“I support the Governor’s action today to provide continued relief for Hoosiers at the pump,” Huston said in a statement Wednesday. “All taxes paid at the pump are used to maintain and improve Indiana’s roads, and we intend to make local communities and INDOT whole for any road funding losses.”

“As we prepare for the next state budget, our intent is to work with the Governor and our colleagues in the Senate to identify existing resources and continue making the infrastructure investments that support Hoosiers, businesses and our growing economy,” he said.

That is not a small bill. Braun’s administration projects the four months of suspensions will cut $533 million from the revenue that flows to the Indiana Department of Transportation and to cities, towns and counties for road work. The governor has already directed the state to reimburse local governments from the State Highway Fund, with distributions underway since late July, and has suggested lawmakers tap the state’s surplus — which grew about 60% over the past year to roughly $4 billion — to cover INDOT’s share.

Democrats: ‘grasping at straws’

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian rejected the governor’s stated rationale outright, calling the new emergency declaration political cover for the Trump administration.

“Make no mistake, Governor Braun is using questionable legal authority to give cover to Trump for his undeclared war against Iran and the mess it created with oil prices worldwide,” Tallian said. “Braun is making up excuses — this time the long-running war in Ukraine and the Canadian wildfires — as reasons for a second energy emergency. Seriously? The truth is that he’s grasping at straws to outlast Trump’s unpopular war in the Middle East.”

Tallian pointed to S&P Global reporting that the Alberta wildfires were not expected to affect oil and gas production, and said no coverage has linked the fires to the oil sands region since early June.

“As long as the President continues with his unauthorized war for an unknown time, and the Middle East situation is an incoherent volatile mess, gas prices will continue to rise,” she said. “Governor Braun, we all want cheaper gasoline, not short-term highs that cost our local governments and INDOT over $533 million. Tell Trump to end the war in Iran today.”

The legal question

The dispute over Braun’s authority is not purely rhetorical. Indiana Code allows a governor to declare a disaster emergency by proclamation for up to 30 days, and states that “the governor may not renew or extend a proclamation more than once without approval of the general assembly.”

Braun’s first order, issued April 8, declared a 30-day emergency and lifted only the 7% sales tax on gasoline. A May 6 order extended it and added the excise tax suspension. A June 3 order declared a “second” emergency. By June, Braun was citing a 120-day maximum in the statute as the source of his authority; on July 2 he said the road ended in August absent legislative action. Wednesday’s order rests on a separate set of triggering conditions — Ukraine and the Canadian wildfires — rather than an extension of the earlier emergency.

Braun said in July he had not discussed a special session with legislative leaders but had not ruled one out. Nothing in Wednesday’s announcement indicated that has changed.

What it means locally

For Hamilton County drivers, the practical effect is another month of pump prices running roughly 59 cents below what they would otherwise be. For local government, it is another month of road money that has to come from somewhere else — and a reimbursement promise from the state that lawmakers have not yet written into a budget.

The suspension now runs through early September. Whether it goes further is a question for the General Assembly.

The Hamilton County Election Board will reconsider a proposal to replace traditional precinct-based voting with countywide Vote Centers beginning with the 2027 municipal elections.

The board will hold a public meeting and vote at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in the Commissioners Courtroom at the Hamilton County Judicial Center in Noblesville. Residents will have an opportunity to comment before the vote.

Under the current system, voters must cast their Election Day ballots at their assigned precincts. The Vote Center model would allow any registered Hamilton County voter to cast a ballot at any designated Vote Center in the county.

Hamilton County currently operates 102 precinct polling locations. The proposal calls for 57 Vote Centers—more than twice the 27 locations required under state law based on the county’s registered voter population.

If the plan is approved, election officials would introduce Vote Centers during the lower-turnout 2027 municipal elections. That would give the county time to evaluate and adjust the system before the 2028 presidential election.

Election Board member Ray Adler, who voted against the proposal last year, said he now intends to support it. Adler cited Allen County’s implementation of Vote Centers and renewed partnerships between the Hamilton County Election Office and local school districts.

Several districts had previously stopped allowing schools to serve as polling places because of security concerns. According to the county, every local school district has now agreed to host Vote Center locations.

Hamilton County Clerk Kathy Kreag Williams authored Indiana’s original Vote Center legislation while serving in the Indiana House of Representatives. She said the system is intended to make voting more convenient while helping election operations keep pace with Hamilton County’s population growth.

“One of the biggest reasons this proposal works is because our local school districts have stepped up as partners once again,” Williams said. “By opening their buildings as Vote Centers, they’re helping ensure voters across Hamilton County have a convenient place to cast their ballot close to home. We’re incredibly grateful for their willingness to work with us to make voting more accessible.”

Residents who cannot attend the meeting may email comments to kathy.williams@hamiltoncounty.in.gov. The county is also accepting responses to an online survey before Sept. 25.

A power outage affecting roughly 2,000 Duke Energy customers in the Noblesville area has also disrupted service at Deer Creek Elementary School.

Despite the outage, classes are continuing as scheduled, according to Hamilton Southeastern Schools spokesperson Emily Abbotts. Students will be offered a cold lunch while regular food-service operations are affected.

School staff may also use Deer Creek Elementary’s outdoor learning spaces throughout the day. A backup generator is supplying power to portions of the building, allowing the school to maintain essential operations.

No changes to the school’s dismissal schedule have been announced.

Update:  Power was restored late morning Wednesday.

Two Fishers businesses agreed to host the anti-immigration rally that drew a large counter-protest to the city on Aug. 1, then pulled out — and the event’s organizer is now accusing the Fishers Police Department of leaking word of his venue troubles to the press.

Both revelations come from an interview published early Wednesday by the Indianapolis Star, which spoke with Save Heritage Indiana co-founder Daniel Poynter about how the event — billed by organizers as the first U.S. mass deportation rally — came together. IndyStar politics reporting intern Lucy Tobier reported the story.

Poynter told IndyStar the group originally lined up two different venues in Fishers, but both backed out. He declined to name them.

“While the business owners liked us, and they wanted to give us a space, it was just too costly for them,” Poynter told the Star. “They don’t want to get dragged through the mud by these people.”

The rally never happened in Fishers at all. As protesters gathered there on Aug. 1 chanting “no hate, no fear,” roughly 130 vetted guests were directed by email to a tent in Colfax, about 45 miles away, where former U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino headlined the program. Save Heritage later described the shifting location reports as a “wild goose chase” in a post on X.

The second disclosure in the IndyStar story concerns law enforcement. Poynter said Save Heritage shared its security plans with Fishers police, and told them the group was having trouble locking down a venue. A day later, the local news site Indy Politics posted on X about those same venue struggles. Poynter told the Star he believes the Fishers Police Department leaked the information.

“The people on the left can march around and do their thing but we can’t,” he told IndyStar. “The government isn’t protecting us.”

Fishers police and a spokesperson for Mayor Scott Fadness did not immediately respond to IndyStar’s requests for comment on the allegation.

Poynter also told the Star that two private security firms scheduled to work the rally backed out over “safety concerns,” and that his group forwarded several death threats to the FBI. IndyStar’s request to attend the event was denied.

The rally exposed a split among Indiana Republicans. Gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks declined to give recorded remarks, while Attorney General Todd Rokita and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith spoke virtually. Co-founder Nathan Roberts stepped down the day before the event over the group’s public criticism of Banks.

State Rep. Jim Lucas, who attended, told WIBC on Aug. 3 that the secrecy — attendees were driven through cornfields in vans — was “too secretive” for his liking.

Poynter said Save Heritage is just getting started, and is assembling a guide for organizers in other states who want to hold similar events.

Full credit for this reporting goes to Lucy Tobier and the Indianapolis Star. Read the complete story at this link.  You will likely need an IndyStar online subscription to access this story.

One person is dead and a Fishers man is facing a preliminary charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death after a violent late-night crash at 96th Street and Allisonville Road.

The Fishers Police Department said officers and medics were called to the intersection just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4. When they arrived, they found the occupant of a white Hyundai Palisade dead at the scene.

The driver of a black Ford F-250 involved in the crash was still there when officers arrived and refused medical transport. Police identified him as Cory Amick and detained him for investigation of suspected operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Amick refused field sobriety tests at the scene, according to police. Officers obtained a search warrant for a blood draw, which was completed.

During the investigation, Fishers police reviewed video from a Flock camera near the intersection. Investigators said the footage shows the F-250 traveling at a high rate of speed through the roundabout before violently colliding with the Palisade. Police said the video confirms the contributing factors the department’s Crash Reconstruction Team had already identified.

First responders determined the occupant of a white Hyundai Palisade, identified by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office as 56-year-old Susann Hayden-Tindall, of Frankfort, had died.

“The Fishers Police Department sends its deepest condolences to the family of the victim of this devastating incident,” the department said in a statement.

The investigation remains ongoing. Final charges will be decided by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. The preliminary charge against Amick is OWI causing death, a Level 4 felony.

Under Indiana law, a Level 4 felony carries a sentence of two to 12 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of six years.

A preliminary charge is not a formal criminal charge, and Amick is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.