It was the late Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, Everett Dirksen, that was supposedly quoted as saying, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”  I always thought that quote was genuine.

Come to find out, according to the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin, Illinois, there is no evidence Senator Dirksen ever actually said or wrote that.

But you don’t need to go all the way up to billions in getting to real money.  In Indiana municipal budgets, millions will do.  I thought about that when reading the Indianapolis Star story posted online March 21, about the court case involving Carmel, the State of Indiana, Fishers and the income tax distribution formula used by state lawmakers.

Marion Superior Court Judge John M.T. Chavis II ruled for Carmel and against the State of Indiana, saying that a provision of state law sending local income tax money from Carmel to Fishers is inconsistent with Indiana’s Constitution.

When learning of this ruling, I asked the mayor’s media relations office for comment and they had no comment at the time.  The next day, Mayor Fadness did have comments for the Star’s government and politics editor Kaitlin Lang.

The Star piece says Fishers could lose $10 million a year in local income tax revenue as a result of this judge’s ruling,  even though Fishers and Carmel are similar in many ways, including population.  The state distribution formula for passing out local income tax money provides Carmel with a lot more of that cash.

Obviously, Carmel takes the position that this is their money according to the state formula.  Fishers says the formula is flawed and Carmel benefits from an unfair share to income tax revenue.  Fadness told the Star this discrepancy is “almost becoming impossible to overcome.”

So, if Fishers is set to lose $10 million a year in its municipal budget, how does one put that into the proper context?  Let me say at the outset I am no expert in Indiana local government finance, and I have seen Scott Fadness juggle finances in ways others cannot.

However, I looked at the current 2024 Fishers city budget.  How would that have been impacted if $10 million were taken away?

In 2024, Fishers city workers received a 5% pay increase, The Police Department added 3 uniformed officers, 2 School Resource Officers and a lab technician.  The Fire Department added 3 firefighters.

Using general numbers, the entire Fishers Police Department has a  2024 budget of about $19 million.  Fire and Emergency Services funding is just under $22 million.  The Department of Public Works Budget is $21 million.

$10 million equals roughly half of the entire 2024 budget of each department named above.  I could go over many other parts of city government, but you get the picture.  A $10 million cut would hurt the city’s operations.

The entire Fishers City Budget for 2024, including debt service, is $164 million.  $10 million represents about 6% of all city spending in the current year.

Presuming this court ruling stands and there are no other changes in the offing soon, we should know more when Mayor Fadness begins the process of putting together the 2025 budget proposal to present to the City Council.  The mayor’s budget process normally begins during the summer months, with final approval from the Council in October.

Expect Mayor Fadness and his staff to be working on next year’s budget proposal with a fine tooth comb.