The proposed 2023 Fishers City budget is $144.4 million, compared to the 2022 spending plan of $121.6 million. However, Mayor Scott Fadness is quick to point out debt service payments will increase next year to $33.9 million, largely due to additional bonding related to road projects and the acquisition of HSE Utilities. The 2023 operating and capital piece of the budget is shown as $110.5 million.
Under the mayor’s proposal, city employees would receive a 4% pay increase and a one-time inflation bonus in January, equal to 3% of their pay. Elected officials will not receive the bonus. City number-crunchers say the average employee bonus computes to $1,365.
The city’s share of the property tax rate will decrease a bit in 2023 under the mayor’s plan, to 0.7115, compared to the 20222 rate of 0.7165 of each $100 of assessed valuation.
Under the mayor’s plan, the city’s cash reserve will grow from the 2022 $30.44 million to $33.1 million in 2023. Fadness says the agreement to share income tax distributions with Carmel will be expiring, losing that revenue source. He wants the extra cash in place for the new City Hall/Arts Center construction project, the new community center to be announced sometime this fall, Geist Waterfront Park and road projects.
The large increase in the cost of fleet vehicles, especially for police and fire, plus a 2-3 year timeline from order to delivery, has complicated the budget picture. The mayor cited inflation in general as a budget challenge.
The city touted its contract with Community Health, providing health insurance and services to municipal employees, limiting any premium increase to 3% with no reduction in coverage or increase in deductibles or copays.
The city is also taking on the salaries of additional firefighters with a new station in place.
The Finance Committee has more meetings scheduled, setting the stage for the September City Council meeting when the mayor and his staff will provide a presentation of his 2023 spending plan.
The mayor provided a comparison of the Fishers City tax rate with other cities in Hamilton County
