Hamilton County has a general fund balance of nearly $140 million to draw on as it replaces the Hazel Dell Parkway bridge destroyed in August flooding. That’s according to reporting by Mickey Shuey of the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Shuey analyzed county finances and found the general fund ended 2025 at $139.5 million, up from $122.1 million a year earlier. About $115 million of that was held in cash or bank accounts. The balance is projected to reach $154 million by the end of this year, compared with $44.5 million at the end of 2016. Part of that growth comes from a 2021 accounting change that folded the county’s rainy day fund into the general fund figure.
Replacing the bridge is expected to cost about $10 million. Commissioner Christine Altman told the IBJ she expects emergency federal highway funding to cover 80% of eligible costs, following President Donald Trump’s disaster declaration. The county has hired United Consulting Engineers to design the new bridge. The Indiana Department of Transportation must approve that selection.
County Council President Brad Beaver told the IBJ the council has two options. It could pay upfront from reserves and wait for federal reimbursement, or it could borrow short-term, taking advantage of the county’s AAA bond rating.
Beaver said the county has long followed financial adviser Mike Reuter’s guidance to keep at least six months of property tax revenue on hand. That was about $48.3 million in 2024, and Beaver said the county is now well above it. Investment earnings, which totaled $16.7 million in 2025, go back into reserves rather than paying recurring costs.
“You might use it to build a bridge, but you don’t use it for payroll,” Beaver told the Journal.
Beaver also pointed to the State Road 37 project in Fishers as an example of why the county keeps a cushion. The project ran $20 million over budget, and the state’s share was capped. The county and the City of Fishers covered the overrun, with the county adding about $10 million.
Not everyone sees large balances as purely positive. Doug Noonan, a professor at IU Indianapolis’ O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the IBJ that reserves have an opportunity cost unless officials have a clear purpose for them. The cost could be projects not built, services not offered, or taxes that may not have needed to be collected.
How Fishers compares
The City of Fishers also keeps substantial reserves. The 2027 budget the Fishers City Council approved Oct. 12 projects about $78.7 million in cash reserves across all city funds, up from about $66.9 million projected for 2026. The 2026 budget put the city’s General Fund reserve at $35.9 million. The city figures are not directly comparable to the county’s general fund balance.
Reuter advises Fishers as well as the county. He told the City Council Finance Committee in August that a one-time distribution of about $10 million in local income tax added to the city’s cash balance this year.
Mickey Shuey’s full report is available at this link. You will need an IBJ subscription to access the full story. Once again, I remind everyone to subscribe to your local media!