Fishers enters the 2027 budget process with a strong revenue outlook, although state tax changes are creating uncertainty beyond next year, longtime city financial consultant Mike Reuter told the Fishers City Council Finance Committee Thursday morning.

“Revenues look good for ’27,” said Reuter. He reviewed the city’s two leading revenue sources: property taxes and the local income tax, or LIT.

Fishers’ certified assessed value grew just 0.4% for 2027, compared with 2.7% a year earlier. That figure included $282 million in assessed value from annexed areas—an addition equal to about 2.85% of the tax base.

Reuter said the figures show how new state deductions for homeowners, rental property and some business personal property are reducing taxable value even as property values remain strong.

The state-set maximum levy growth quotient is 6% for property taxes payable in 2027. The figure limits the potential growth of certain property-tax levies; it does not require Fishers to collect the full amount.

Reuter said an annexation adjustment of nearly 3% could push the city’s maximum available levy up roughly 9%, but city officials have not decided how much to use. A larger levy combined with nearly flat assessed-value growth would put upward pressure on the city property-tax rate, he said.

The LIT side offered better news. Hamilton County collections used in the distribution formula increased 15.7% for 2024 after growing 2.8% the previous year. Reuter cautioned that the sharp swing partly reflects when the state processed large tax returns, rather than an economic change of the same size.

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance estimates Fishers will receive about $47.3 million in certified-share LIT revenue in 2027.

Reuter also said Fishers received a special distribution of about $10 million this year, adding to its cash balance, although officials had anticipated some of that money in the budget.

Beyond 2027, state law calls for new LIT ordinances beginning in 2028 for collections starting in 2029. Reuter said important details remain unresolved, including reliable city-level income data needed to set a municipal rate.  Councilor Bill Stuart referred to this as the “Mike Braun local income tax.”

The committee plans to meet again at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, to hear spending requests from city departments.