The Hamilton County Council approved the county’s 2027 budget Monday, Oct. 19, completing its local adoption process after earlier hearings focused on staffing two new courts and preparing for new public safety facilities.
Council members approved the county’s budget appropriations and tax-rate ordinances during the special meeting. No opposition was recorded in the transcript during those votes. A later debate over commissioners’ compensation involved the county’s separate salary ordinance.
Indiana’s public budget notice lists Hamilton County’s proposed 2027 budget at approximately $350.3 million, with a proposed property-tax levy of $110.3 million. Those are advertised proposal figures; a final adopted spending total was not established in the records reviewed for this story.
Much of the earlier budget discussion centered on services and buildings expected to begin operating next year.
Hamilton Superior Courts 8 and 9 are scheduled to open in January 2027. During budget hearings, departments requested 17 additional positions across the courts, Clerk’s Office, Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to support the expanded court system, according to the county’s September budget summary.
The county also is preparing to open its $85 million Public Safety Communications Center in 2027. The three-story, 108,000-square-foot facility will house emergency dispatch and operations. A separate Public Safety Training Center also is expected to become available next year, and at least seven additional Buildings and Grounds employees were requested to help maintain new facilities.
Monday’s most extended discussion concerned commissioners’ pay. Council members debated a proposed amendment to the salary ordinance and whether compensation should be linked to a separate health-insurance issue. After that discussion, the council adopted the salary ordinance, with opposition recorded in the transcript. The transcript does not clearly establish the final disposition of the pay amendment.
The council also approved separate 2027 budget measures for the Hamilton County Airport Authority and Solid Waste Management District.
The county budget next goes to the state for review and approval. The 2027 budget year begins Jan. 1.